Dave Koz

Dave Koz
Dave Koz is an American jazz saxophonist and radio host.Koz often draws comparisons to another well-known saxophonist, David Sanborn and the two sound almost alike.Dave Koz usually plays soprano and alto saxophones, but sometimes plays tenor and occasionally baritone.

Biography
Dave Koz was born on March 27, 1963 in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley. From an early age, he and his sister took piano lessons. Around age nine, he rebelled and began taking drum lessons, but notes that he was not very good at drums. At age 13, his brother, Jeff, had a band that Dave wanted to be in, but his refused it. At last his brother told him that the only way he could be in the band was if he could play the saxophone, because their band did not have a saxophonist. That was all he needed to hear. Two years later, he was in the band.

Dave attended William Howard Taft High School in Woodland Hills, performing on saxophone as a member of the school jazz band. He later graduated from UCLA in 1986, and then decided to become a professional musician. Within weeks of that decision, he was hired as a member of Bobby Caldwell's tour. For the rest of the 1980s, Koz served as a session musician in several bands and increased his popularity playing in the house band on Arsenio Hall's late-night talk show.

Koz decided to pursue a solo career in 1990, and began recording for Capitol Records. The move proved to be successful, and his self-titled album earned high praise from critics and fans alike. His later albums include Lucky Man, The Dance, and Saxophonic. Saxophonic was nominated for both a Grammy and an NAACP Image Award.

Koz began hosting a syndicated radio program in 1994, The Dave Koz Radio Show, featuring the latest music and interviews with who's who in the type. Dave co-hosted of The Dave Koz Morning Show With Pat Prescott on 94.7 The Wave. He decided to leave the show in January 2007.

Koz started a record label in 2002, Rendezvous Entertainment, with Frank Cody and Hyman Katz. One of the first albums from that label was Golden Slumbers: A Father's Lullaby.

He recorded the Luther Vandross song in 2004 ?If Only For One Night with Paul Jackson, Jr., Brian Culbertson and Lenny Castro, as one of the tracks for the GRP Records tribute album, Forever, For Always, For Luther. In 2006, he played on all the songs for the follow-up tribute album called Forever, For Always, For Luther Volume II.

In 2006, Koz was selected to host a syndicated afternoon show for Broadcast Architecture's new Smooth Jazz Network.

At The Movies:
Dave's latest work, At The Movies, showcases the timeless melodies from American and foreign cinema. Produced by the legendary Phil Ramone, and accompanied by full orchestra. The album also includes six stunning instrumentals showcasing Koz's interpretations of the themes from Casablanca, Schindler's List, Cinema Paradiso, Pink Panther and Summer Of '42 as well as Over The Rainbow.

Radio Shows:
Dave is host of the weekly syndicated radio show, The Dave Koz Radio Show, The show currently runs in approximately 120 markets and is in its 10th year on the air. Dave co-anchored, Dave Koz and Pat Prescott in the Morning, a daily morning radio show on KTWV, The WAVE, in Los Angeles, CA which wrapped up its six year run in 2007. Broadcast Architecture recently announced that Dave is now host the Smooth Jazz Network's afternoon show distributed nationwide.

Starlight Star Bright Children's Foundation:
For the past 15 years, Dave has served as Global Ambassador for The Starlight Star Bright Children's Foundation, an organization dedicated to making a difference for seriously ill children and their families. In 2006, Dave was awarded the Humanitarian Of The Year Award from Starlight.

Thanks to his remarkable talents in what he does the best, Dave Koz has registered himself as one of the best Saxophonists of our era. Hailing from Encino, California Koz initially started playing saxophone as a part of a Jazz Band back in his early high school days. Later in 1986, Koz earned his degree in Mass Communication from UCLA, and soon after he opted for a musical career. Soon after he made up his mind to become a musician, he toured along on a tour by Bobby Caldwell.

As kick started his career as a musician, he started playing for a number of bands as a session musician, and also played on Jeff Lorber's tour. In 1980s, he was recruited by Richard Marx's band, and during that time he also toured along with the band.

Later Koz decided to go for a solo career in 1990 and signed a record deal with Capitol Records. With Capitol Records, Koz recorded albums like Saxophonic, which went on to claim positive reception. Moreover, the album was also nominated for NAACP Image Award and a Grammy Award. Koz' most recent album came out in 2010.

For all the fans of Koz' music, it can get any better than seeing him perform live. So if you cherish his music, you should get your Dave Koz Tickets right away.