Dave Koz and Friends 20th Anniversary Christmas also
features guest vocalists Selina Albright, Javier Colon, Kenny Lattimore,
Gabriel Orengo and Jeffrey Osborne
After twenty years of sold out Christmas tours and five
celebrated holiday albums within as many years, saxophonist Dave Koz has done
his share – and then some – to help to make the season bright. This year he has
reassembled his original holiday lineup – pianist David Benoit, trumpeter Rick
Braun and acoustic guitarist Peter White – for the making of Dave Koz and
Friends 20th Anniversary Christmas, an album that features brand new recordings
of classic Christmas songs.
The September 29, 2017, release of Dave Koz and Friends 20th
Anniversary Christmas on Concord Records sets the stage for Koz and this same
lineup to go back on the road in late November for the 2017 holiday season.
“If you had asked me twenty years ago, I would never in a
million years believed that we’d be doing Christmas tours two decades later,”
says Koz. “But here we are, still doing it, and it’s going as strong as ever!
So with twenty years under our belts, it seemed like a great reason to
celebrate, and that’s why we decided to include the original cast of our
Christmas tour. It’s our chance to go back to the very beginning and celebrate
the relationships that this whole journey was built on.”
In addition to the brilliant instrumental synergy of Koz,
Benoit, Braun and White, Dave Koz and Friends 20th Anniversary Christmas also
includes a stellar lineup of guest vocalists: Selina Albright, Javier Colon,
Kenny Lattimore, Gabriel Orengo and Jeffrey Osborne. In addition, several of
the tracks are enhanced by the West European Symphony Orchestra. This
confluence of instrumental, vocal and orchestral talent creates the peaceful,
familial, home-centered vibe that everyone seeks at holiday time.
“This is the kind of record that really sets a mood and
stays with that mood,” says Koz. “The feeling and the image I get when I listen
to it, is that quiet time after dinner when the kids are asleep, the fireplace
is crackling, you’re enjoying an eggnog and you’re gazing at the tree with all
the lights and trimmings. This music is perfect for that moment. It’s just a
very chill, very beautiful collection of songs for that very peaceful time
during the season.”
The album opens on a light-hearted note with “Winter
Wonderland.” The orchestra begins with a whimsical figure that sounds like snow
falling, and then segues immediately into the familiar melody. “It’s a great
song to start the album,” says Koz, “because everyone is featured, everyone
plays the melody and everyone has a solo. You really get a sense of everyone’s
personality in a single track.”
“Joy to the Wonderful World” is just what the title suggests
– a medley of “Joy to the World” and “What a Wonderful World.” The track talks
about the world in general, but especially at Christmastime. “People are
different at this time of year,” says Koz. “Christmastime brings out the best
in everyone and we all look at the world with childlike joy and tend to
appreciate things more. We often hear people say – why can’t it be like
Christmas all year ‘round.”
“Christmas Time Is Here” derives much of its beauty from the
spontaneity of its inception. “We had a five minute conversation about what we
were going to do,” says Koz, “we picked a key, we pressed record, and three and
a half minutes later, there was the track! When you hear that melody, it’s the holidays.
There’s no doubt about it. It takes you right there.”
Gabriel Orengo brings his expressive vocals to the Jose
Feliciano classic “Feliz Navidad.” Koz calls the arrangement “a completely
novel way of interpreting the song. Gabriel does this sort of Bruno Mars type
of vocal delivery that’s so expressive and so in the moment. When I first heard
Gabriel do it, I thought, ‘We have to find a way to make it work on the album,’
and we did. I’m very proud of this track.”
“Hark! The Herald Angels We Have Heard on High” is another
one-take wonder that came together in the studio with very little preliminary
planning. “It’s a pretty sophisticated piece of music, a musical mash up of two
classics” says Koz, “and yet it was just one pass from start to finish.”
Selina Albright’s heartfelt vocals bring a retro sensibility
to “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” but at the same time, “she has all
the dexterity of a modern pop singer,” says Koz. “She takes it to another
level, but never overdoes it. Her version sounds so true to what the song is
all about.”
“O Tannenbaum,” one of Koz’s all-time favorites, creates an
opportunity for plenty of interplay between himself and his three bandmates.
“At the end of the track, there’s a musical conversation that came about
organically. Look for quotes from familiar melodies like ‘Jingle Bells,’ ‘On
Broadway’ and others.”
Javier Colon delivers the emotional payoff in “Silent
Night,” a track that starts as a subtle instrumental piece and culminates with
Colon’s angelic delivery. “Since the moment this song was written in the 1800s,
it has been something more than a song. It’s like a prayer. So you must
approach it with tremendous respect. Javier does that beautifully.”
Kenny Lattimore’s emotionally powerful rendition of Leonard
Cohen’s “Hallelujah” had its origins in Koz’s 2016 Christmas tour. “The first
night Kenny sang it, he got a standing ovation,” Koz recalls. “So we asked him
to memorialize his version on this album.”
The lush and peaceful “O Little Town of Bethlehem” is a
classic that Koz hadn’t recorded on any previous holiday albums. “It’s a
beautiful melody in its own right,” he says, “and David wrote this absolutely
gut-wrenching, gorgeous arrangement for the orchestra.”
Jeffrey Osborne delivers the stirring “Home Medley,” a
combination of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and Kenny Loggins’ “Celebrate Me
Home,” a song that is traditionally the final number in Koz’s Christmas shows,
and it speaks to the emotional connection so common at this time of year. “It’s
that sense of stability you get when you’re surrounded by your loved ones,” he
says, “whether you’re actually in your physical home or not.”
Indeed, home for Koz and his bandmates is any place where
they feel a positive connection. It may be in your town, or even in your living
room. “Oftentimes,” he says, “because we’ve been going back to some of the same
venues over the course of twenty years for the Christmas tour, these places
feel like our home – even if it’s just for two hours in one night in December.
Likewise, the songs on Dave Koz and Friends 20th Anniversary Christmas are all
very important to those of us who recorded them. We’ve poured a lot of love and
care into each song, and hope fans are filled with warmth, kindness and
Christmas Spirit.”
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