DAVE KOZ AND FRIENDS Announce Christmas Tour 2011

Dave Koz opens the Holiday Season at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall on Saturday Nov. 26 at 8 PM with special guests trumpeter/composer/producer Rick Braun, South African singer/guitarist Jonathan Butler, and Dutch saxophone star Candy Dulfer.

Six-time Grammy nominee Dave Koz has established himself as one of the most prominent figures in contemporary jazz. His brand new Ultimate Christmas Collection (released October 2011) features 18 holiday classics including renditions of "The Christmas Song," "Winter Wonderland," and "Deck The Halls," Dave hand-picked from his three previous holiday albums-December Makes Me Feel This Way, A Smooth Jazz Christmas, and Memories of a Winter's Night. Koz also recorded two new instrumentals for the collection, "Welcoming the Season (Prelude)" and "Welcoming the New Year (Coda)". Koz will bring the holiday cheer to the Van Wezel as part of the 14th anniversary of his annual holiday tour. Koz and his guests will perform hits from their respective catalogues and jam on new arrangements of holiday favorites.

"[Koz] works extremely hard at engaging his audience. His showmanship, in fact, is impeccable," said The Times of London. The Palm Beach Post called last year's Christmas tour "downright uplifting and energizing" while the El Paso Times observed: "El Paso's love affair with Dave Koz, and his with us, showed no signs of letting up...as Koz and his latest touring companions lit up the Plaza Theatre like a Christmas tree."

Dave's latest studio album, Hello Tomorrow, debuted at No. 1 on both Billboard's Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart and iTunes' Jazz Album chart and was named the "Best Smooth Jazz Album of 2010" by iTunes. Hailed as "an event record" by The New York Times, it features "Put The Top Down," which spent 18 weeks at No.1 on the Mediabase Smooth A/C chart, the Top 5 hit "Start All Over Again" featuring vocalist Dana Glover and Dave's version of the Burt Bacharach-Hal David classic "This Guy's In Love With You," which hit No.1 on the Breakouts for Hot Dance Club Play chart.

Ticket prices range from $30 to $65. For more information and to buy tickets, contact the Van Wezel Box office at (941) 953-3368 or log onto www.vanwezel.org. Sponsored By Hyatt Regency Sarasota & SRQ Magazine

Date of Show: Saturday, November 26, 2011 - 8 p.m.
Ticket Prices: $30-$65

To post a comment, you must register and login.