Dave Koz

A well-established star in the world of smooth jazz since the early 1990s, Dave Koz's light, upbeat saxophone tracks have led to a string of Grammy nominations, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and collaborations with a wide variety of artists including Stevie Wonder, Donna Summer and Burt Bacharach. Growing up in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, Koz first took up the saxophone at the age of 13 as a way of joining his older brother's band, and would play locally at parties on the weekends. He soon fell in love with the horn sections he heard on the soul and R&B records of the era and played in school jazz bands before joining up with singer Bobby Caldwell's band shortly after graduating from college. Going on to tour with Jeff Lorber and work as a session musician, he got his big break when he joined Richard Marx's band in the late 1980s and later released his self-titled debut solo album in 1990. With fellow easy listening saxophonist Kenny G becoming hugely popular at the time, Koz too found a loyal audience and was a fixture of the Capitol Records roster for over 15 years, releasing smouldering renditions of classic standards and mellow, feel-good instrumentals. His 1993 album 'Lucky Man' was an early success, selling over 500,000 copies and 1999's 'The Dance' featured duets with singers including Bebe Winans, Luther Vandross and Montell Jordan, before he celebrated 20 years as a solo artist and topped the US Jazz Charts for the first time in 2010 with 'Hello Tomorrow'. Along the way he also recorded his version of vintage Hollywood anthems on 'At the Movies', released several Christmas records, paid tribute to his R&B heroes on 'Summer Horns' in 2013 and continued to be a leading champion of the smooth jazz scene while hosting a long-running show on syndicated radio and Syrius-XM.

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