![\"Dave-Koz-Issue-No29\"](\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Dave-Koz-Issue-No29.jpg\")
<\/h1>\n<\/h1>\nBy Jeff Tamarkin<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a big sigh of relief that first day in\u00a0the studio when we made a sound together and it was really good,\u201d saxophone giant Dave Koz is saying. He\u2019s referring to the first recording session for his new album Summer Horns<\/i>. Until that moment, the record was nothing more than a high-minded concept\u2014get four smooth-jazz sax players together to reinterpret classics that featured horn sections front and center. \u201cUntil then, we didn\u2019t know whether this would work,\u201d Koz says. \u201cWe\u2019d never played together at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joined by fellow sax aces Mindi Abair, Gerald Albright and Richard Elliot, Koz knocks out spirited new instrumental and vocal readings of songs like Chicago\u2019s \u201c25 or 6 to 4,\u201d the Beatles\u2019 \u201cGot to Get You Into My Life,\u201d Earth, Wind & Fire\u2019s \u201cReasons,\u201d and James Brown\u2019s \u201cI Got You (I Feel Good).\u201d Michael McDonald lends his voice to Tower of Power\u2019s \u201cSo Very Hard to Go,\u201d Brian Culbertson\u2019s trombone is featured on Sly and the Family Stone\u2019s \u201cHot Fun in the Summertime,\u201d and Rick Braun and Jonathan Butler add soul to Stevie Wonder\u2019s already soulful \u201cYou Haven\u2019t Done Nothin\u2019.\u201d \u201cGod Bless the Child\u201d is sung by Jeffrey Osborne in an arrangement that\u2019s closer to the Blood, Sweat & Tears cover than Billie Holiday\u2019s original.<\/p>\n
Summer Horns<\/i> was a labor of love for Koz, who grew up on those horn-heavy hits of the late \u201960s and \u201970s. \u201cThis was the stuff that I loved and one of the main reasons I became a saxophone player,\u201d he says. \u201cI felt if I was lucky to be in this business long enough, maybe one day I\u2019d be able to make this album.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although Koz, 50, has been one of the reigning smooth jazz artists since rocketing to success with his self-titled debut album in 1990, he\u2019s still partial to pop. \u201cI was always more interested in that sound than jazz,\u201d he admits. \u201cThat very lyrical, very melodic playing really affected me and influenced the way I approached the saxophone.\u201d<\/p>\n
When did you become a fan?<\/b><\/p>\n
When I first picked up the saxophone, the music I was listening to was all these horn sections: Tower of Power; Chicago; Earth, Wind & Fire; James Brown; Sly and the Family Stone; and Blood, Sweat & Tears. The first record I ever bought was Tower of Power\u2019s Back to Oakland<\/i>. The horn sections in these bands weren\u2019t relegated to the back\u2014they were so much a part of that sound, you couldn\u2019t imagine those groups without the horn section.<\/p>\n
Why four sax players?<\/b><\/p>\n
I was thinking, \u201cHow could we make this sound different? How can we come up with our own horn section sound?\u201d And the thought occurred to me, \u201cWhat if we do it with all saxophones?\u201d I broached the subject with Gerald, Mindi and Richard\u2014and they shared an equal passion for the music. They agreed to do the album and the tour before we knew what we would sound like.<\/p>\n
Why include \u201cTake Five\u201d?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
We were on a conference call talking about material, whittling down the song list, and it was the day after Dave Brubeck had passed away. We thought, \u201cIs there a way to do that song and give it a unique spin?\u201d That\u2019s when the idea came to do it with four saxophones and bass. Gordon Goodwin, the great arranger, did a beautiful job\u2014and it became kind of the centerpiece on the album.<\/p>\n
Is covering songs challenging?<\/b><\/p>\n
It was a delicate balance. You can\u2019t improve these songs. The original versions are perfect, so the best you can do is reimagine them, come up with a slightly new take\u2014and hopefully inspire some people with\u00a0the new versions.<\/p>\n
Was the approach new for you?<\/b><\/p>\n
It was a new experience for me to just show up as part of an ensemble. This project was so freeing, because I didn\u2019t write any of the music except for one song that\u2019s a bonus track. I could just come into the studio and focus on playing great saxophone.<\/p>\n
Was there any sense of competition?<\/b><\/p>\n
There\u2019s no such thing in this group\u2014and I think you\u2019d hear the same answer from the other three. We all really respect each other\u2019s music and understand that everybody approaches their instrument differently and brings different things to the party. There\u2019s no point in competing\u2014all I can do is what I do, and let them do what they do. The result is 1+1+1+1 equals 100.<\/p>\n
Why did horn sections fade from popular music?<\/b><\/p>\n
Everything is cyclical\u2014and I actually think horns are coming back. I remember in the 1980s, you couldn\u2019t have a pop song and get on the radio without a sax solo. Then suddenly you didn\u2019t hear that again for 20 years. Now we\u2019re starting to hear horns come back into popular music with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Capital Cities, Daft Punk. It wouldn\u2019t surprise me if there was a resurgence of horn sections. I feel like this album is well timed, riding that trend.<\/p>\n
What drew you to the sax?<\/b><\/p>\n
My brother had a band that was doing weddings, bar mitzvahs and fraternity parties, and I wanted to be in that band. I didn\u2019t care what instrument I played. Finally he said, \u201cLook, the only way you\u2019re going to get in the band is if you play the sax, because we don\u2019t have a sax player.\u201d So I picked up the saxophone and practiced my butt off for two years, and finally my brother, just to get me off his back, said OK. I never, ever planned on being a solo artist. I didn\u2019t even plan on being a professional musician. I went to college for mass communications and was fully planning on having a regular job. But one thing led to another, and music just happened for me. It was really the greatest surprise.<\/p>\n
Recall your favorite recording session.<\/b><\/p>\n
One of my favorites was the time Luther Vandross sang on one of my albums. Even though I didn\u2019t play that day, I was so excited. We got the studio set up an hour beforehand. I knew what he wanted to drink and the mood lighting he liked. When I walked into the studio he was already waiting for us\u2014without an entourage! He just said, \u201cI\u2019m here to sing, and I want to make sure I do a great job for you.\u201d That work ethic has stayed with me. When I work on other artists\u2019 projects, I want to go above and beyond, just like he did for me. He could have been a diva and I would have been happy to serve that, but he wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Worst session?<\/b><\/p>\n
I\u2019ve done so many embarrassing projects\u2014and some were my own! But you know\u00a0what? You plow through it. And I\u2019ve been able to find a little musicality in every one I\u2019ve done. If I go to a session and hear the music and it\u2019s not my cup of tea, I can always find some nugget of goodness. You can walk away from every recording session\u00a0having learned something.<\/p>\n
Who do you want to work with?<\/b><\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been very fortunate to work with many throughout my career\u2014but Elton John would be at the top of the list. I love what he stands for, and the fact that he\u2019s still so popular after so many years. He\u2019s always doing something creative. Billy Joel, too. I\u2019ve never worked with Sting and would love to. As far as\u00a0newer artists, Janelle Monae is an artist I\u2019m completely enamored with. And Bruno Mars\u2014I\u2019d be thrilled to play saxophone for him.<\/p>\n
How has your music evolved?<\/b><\/p>\n
When I first started, I just made a record.\u00a0I didn\u2019t know who I was as an artist. I\u00a0painted a little picture and hoped people liked it. When people liked it, the next picture was more honed in on a style. Then I\u00a0kept honing. I think I\u2019ve gotten to know\u00a0what I do and how that\u2019s different from what\u00a0others do. For me it\u2019s always been about melody, and the more I realize that that\u2019s what people want to hear from\u00a0me, the better it is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DAVE KOZ His new project sets out to prove that when it comes to sax, more is better By Jeff Tamarkin \u201cThere was a big sigh of relief that first day in\u00a0the studio when we made a sound together and it was really good,\u201d saxophone giant Dave Koz is saying. He\u2019s referring to the first […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3805],"tags":[2619,7093],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11061"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11061"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11065,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11061\/revisions\/11065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}