SAXOPHONIST DAVE KOZ GETS A LITTLE HELP FROM HIS
FRIENDS ON COLLABORATIONS: 25th ANNIVERSARY
COLLECTION, SCHEDULED FOR RELEASE ON JULY 31
15-song set includes classic collaborations with Herb Alpert, Eric Benét, David Benoit,
Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox, Jonathan Butler, Brian Culbertson, Gloria Estefan,
Heather Headley, Boney James, Toby Keith, Barry Manilow, Richard Marx, Johnny
Mathis, Maysa, Michael McDonald, Marcus Miller, Keb’ Mo’, Stevie Nicks, Rod Stewart,
Summer Horns, Luther Vandross, BeBe Winans and Stevie Wonder
Lead Single “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” featuring Kenny
Lattimore and Rick Braun, “Good Foot” featuring Jeff Lorber and Koz’s instrumental
version of “Let It Go” from Frozen are among newly recorded tracks
Dave Koz and Rick Braun Kick off summer tour
with special guest Kenny Lattimore on July 11
For Immediate Release – In the 25 years since the release of his self-titled debut album, saxophonist Dave
Koz has forged a distinctive sound that merges the best elements of jazz, pop, R&B, soul and funk. Along
the way, he’s received nine GRAMMY® nominations, charted seven No. 1 albums on Billboard’s Current
Contemporary Jazz Albums chart, toured the world and been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk
of Fame. But Koz would be the first to tell you that he hasn’t done it all by himself.
Collaborations: 25th Anniversary Collection, scheduled for release on July 31, 2015 via Concord
Records, shines a light on some of his most memorable creative partnerships, drawing from Koz’s
extensive catalog as well as other artists’ recording projects. The album also includes three new tracks that
send a clear message that there’s still plenty in store in the next 25 years. See below for track listing.
“Some of my favorite moments in the last 25 years have been collaborations with people whom I just love
and treasure, and from whom I’ve learned so much – mentors and friends and people whom I never would
have expected to meet,” says Koz. “And that’s the power of music. It will come up against any wall that
can divide people and bring it right down.”
Koz will be touring this summer with Rick Braun and special guest Kenny Lattimore. See below for
itinerary. The three tour mates recorded “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher”
(originally a No. 1 R&B hit for Jackie Wilson in 1967) for Collaborations: 25th Anniversary Collection.
The rousing track – one of three newly recorded songs that appear on the album – is the first single.
“‘Higher And Higher’ is a great vehicle for the three of us,” Koz says. “Amazing horn parts for Rick and I
to play, and a very soulful melody and lyric that Kenny just crushes! The saxophone and trumpet together
have been such an amazing sound on so many hit records over the past several decades – be they pop,
R&B or jazz. But it only works when you have the right combination of people playing the sax and the
trumpet. Rick and I have played on each other’s records, we’ve written songs together and we’ve toured
together. We have a musical kinship that spans so many years.”
“Good Foot,” another new song, features keyboardist Jeff Lorber, who co-wrote the song with Dave.
“Jeff was the first person to say to me, ‘You need to be a recording artist,’ recalls Koz. “The initial demos
I made with him got me signed to Capitol Records, so he changed my life.”
Koz’s soaring instrumental version of “Let It Go” from the 2013 Disney film, Frozen, is the third new
song that appears on Collaborations: 25th Anniversary Collection. It was co-produced by Carl Sturken
(who also plays keyboards and guitar) and Evan Rogers – both of whom produced tracks on Koz’s very
first album in 1990 and several since.
Previously released tracks that were hand-picked by Dave for the collection include 1999’s “Can’t Let
You Go (The Sha La Song),” which features the legendary vocals of Luther Vandross, “When Will I
Know for Sure,” Koz’s 2010 duet with saxophonist Boney James, and “Let Me Count the Ways,”
which features Stevie Nicks on vocals.
Vocalist Michael McDonald and the Summer Horns – saxophonists Mindi Abair, Gerald Albright and
Richard Elliott – appear on “So Very Hard to Go,” a rendition of a classic Tower of Power hit that
originally appeared on Koz’s GRAMMY-nominated 2013 release, Dave Koz & Friends Summer Horns.
Trumpeter Herb Alpert lends a hand with “This Guy’s in Love with You,” the Burt Bacharach/Hal
David song that Alpert himself had a hit with in 1968. “Think Big” features trombonist Brian
Culbertson and slide guitarist Keb’ Mo’. The stirring rendition of the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love,”
which originally appeared on Koz’s The 25th of December, features Eric Benét, Johnny Mathis, Heather
Headley, Richard Marx, Jonathan Butler, Maysa, BeBe Winans, Gloria Estefan and Stevie Wonder.
“Apartment 2G: I Hear Her Playing Music” is a track from Barry Manilow’s 2001 concept album,
Here at the Mayflower. “He wrote this song about a woman in an apartment who would listen to my
music late at night,” says Koz. “I went into the studio to play on the track and listened to the song, and
towards the end I hear this line that goes: ‘I hear her playing Dave Koz in the middle of the night.’ I just
said, ‘Are you kidding me?’ And Barry said, ‘Yeah, that’s you.’ Barry’s an amazing musician and I was so
honored when he asked me to open for him this year on his One Last Time! Tour.”
The classic ballad “(I Love You) for Sentimental Reasons” features Rod Stewart on vocals, and
originally appeared on Stewart’s Stardust: The Great American Songbook Vol. 3. “Linus and Lucy,”
featuring David Benoit, is from the compilation 40 Years: A Charlie Brown Christmas. Koz originally
recorded the jazz waltz version of “Game of Thrones Theme (The Smooth Version)” for a YouTube
video with Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox. The poignant “Cryin’ for Me (Wayman’s Song)”
features country artist Toby Keith and Marcus Miller. Originally released on Keith’s 2009 album,
American Ride, the song was written and recorded in tribute to athlete and musician Wayman Tisdale,
who died earlier that year.
“There’s a message in this album about opening your heart, opening your mind, opening your arms to the
idea of working with others,” says Dave. “The art of collaboration has been a theme that has run through
my entire career and my entire life. It’s a lesson I’ve learned over and over again about how important it
is to keep yourself open so you can truly understand other people, walk in their shoes for a minute and
become a better citizen of the world in the process. It’s a message that I think is a bit lost in the noise right
now. This record is my way of inviting people to open up a little and become better human beings.”
For more information:
Judi Kerr/Judi Kerr Public Relations at 310-477-8191
[email protected]
Mike Wilpizeski at 718-459-2117
[email protected]
Downloadable Images, Profile, Press Release & Album Art available at:
http://mediakits.concordmusicgroup.com/p/collaborations-25th-anniversary/
Track Listing:
1. “Good Foot” – featuring Jeff Lorber (4:09)
2. “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” – featuring Kenny Lattimore and Rick Braun
(4:01)
3. “When Will I Know for Sure” – featuring Boney James (4:51)
4. “So Very Hard to Go” – featuring Michael McDonald and Summer Horns (4:39)
5. “(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons” − Rod Stewart featuring Dave Koz (3:02)
6. “Let Me Count the Ways” – featuring Stevie Nicks (4:22)
7. “This Guy’s in Love with You” – featuring Herb Alpert (4:54)
8. “Linus and Lucy” – David Benoit and Dave Koz (4:02)
9. “Can’t Let You Go (The Sha La Song)” – featuring Luther Vandross (4:18)
10. “All You Need Is Love” – featuring Eric Benét, Johnny Mathis, Heather Headley, Richard Marx,
Jonathan Butler, Maysa, BeBe Winans, Gloria Estefan and Stevie Wonder (5:41)
11. “Game of Thrones Theme (The Smooth Version)” – Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox featuring
Dave Koz (5:20)
12. “Cryin’ for Me (Wayman’s Song)” – Toby Keith featuring Dave Koz and Marcus Miller (4:46)
13. “Think Big” – featuring Brian Culbertson and Keb’ Mo’ (4:59)
14. “Apartment 2G: I Hear Her Playing Music” – Barry Manilow featuring Dave Koz 4:09)
15. “Let It Go” (3:28)
Dave Koz Tour Dates:
Date
Venue
City
State
7/11/2015 Thornton Winery
Temecula
CA
7/12/2015 Thornton Winery
Temecula
CA
7/18/2015 Zoo Amphitheater
Apple Valley MN
7/19/2015 Winter Park Jazz Festival
Winter Park CO
7/24/2015 Cobb Energy PAC
Atlanta
GA
7/25/2015 Horseshoe Casino
Hammond IN
8/5/2015 Infinity Cruise Ship
New York NY
8/7/2015 Music Hall
Kansas City MO
8/8/2015 Fraze Pavilion-Festival Of The Vine Kettering
OH
8/15/2015 Nugget Casino Resort
Sparks
NV
8/21/2015 Red Lion Hotel
Sacramento CA
8/22/2015 Alliante Casino
Las Vegas NV
8/23/2015 Hollywood Bowl
Los Angeles CA
8/28/2015 One World Theater
Austin
TX
8/29/2015 Brown Theatre/Wortham Center
Houston
TX
8/30/2015 Music Hall at Fair Park
Dallas
TX
9/5/2015 Cancun Jazz Festival
Cancun
MEXICO
9/11/2015 Villa Montalvo Arts Center
Saratoga
CA
9/12/2015 Russian River Jazz Festival
Guerneville CA
9/18/2015 In Concert For Cancer/Redhook
Woodinville WA
9/25/2015 Humphrey's Concerts By The Bay San Diego CA