Kauffman Center Presents: Dave Koz & Friends: Summer Horns

Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, Dave Koz initially saw the saxophone as a way to gain entry into his big brother’s band. What began as a ploy became a lifelong obsession. In 2007, Koz released two chart-topping collections of standards. At the Movies, his lush, romantic celebration of timeless melodies from cinema, spent 12 weeks atop Billboard’s Top Contemporary Jazz chart. Produced by the legendary Phil Ramone, it was nominated for a GRAMMY® in the Best Pop Instrumental Album category. Koz’s numerous television appearances led to stints as band member on “The Arsenio Hall Show,” as band leader on “Emeril Live” and as host of PBS’s “Frequency.”

Koz and his friends Gerald Albright, Richard Elliot and Mindi Abair turned to producer Paul Brown (Al Jarreau, George Benson, Boney James) to help them realize the vision for 2013’s first outing of Summer Horns (Concord Records), which paid tribute to the high-octane, richly arranged horn sections that fueled so many hits in the ‘60s and ‘70s. The album also features trumpeter/flugelhornist Rick Braun, trombonist Brian Culbertson, vocalists Michael McDonald, Jeffrey Osborne and Jonathan Butler, plus arrangements by Greg Adams (Tower of Power) and Tom Scott (Michael Jackson, Steely Dan). Topping it off is a sax-only rendition of Take Five with Gordon Goodwin offering his arrangement to the quartet and a new original composition, Summer Horns. The album was honored with a GRAMMY® nomination for Best Pop Instrumental Album and an NAACP Image Awards nomination for Outstanding Jazz Album.