Dave Koz News

The Reverend Shawn Amos delivering his message of joyful blues, bassist Jennifer Leitham, and saxophonist Mindi Abair are featured in a living room recital on The Broad Stage presents The Broad Stage Music Mornings, a new, recurring program featuring live performances from intimate rooms.  

This Monday, April 13 at 8pm EDT, a slew of deliriously-talented people will entertain live from the comfort their homes on the live stream version of Jim Caruso's Pajama Cast Party!

SPENCER DAY – the unique #1 Billboard charting pop/jazz singer and songwriter who has appeared at venues from Lincoln Center to the Hollywood Bowl – and EFFIE PASSERO, the acclaimed 2018 “American Idol” finalist, have released a video of their new song “State of Emergency.” Written, recorded and filmed on a rooftop while unexpectedly under quarantine in Mexico, the song features Spencer Day on piano and vocals, Effie Passero on vocals, and Zoe Wood and Eduardo Leon on guitar. 

Grammy Award-winning vocalist Steve Tyrell has reinvented and re-popularized classic pop standards for a modern audiencea?"and he's been a McCallum favorite for more than 15 years! Through the generosity of Rich and Judy Billings, he'll return to Palm Desert at 8:00 pm, Friday, March 27. Tyrell is widely known for his breakthrough performances in Father of the Bride and Father of the Bride II. His hitsa?"a?oeThe Way You Look Tonight,a?? a?oeThe Simple Life,a?? a?oeCrush on Youa?? and a?oeThe Sunny Side of the Streeta??a?"have launched millions of romances and been played at thousands of weddings, including Chelsea Clinton's!

Green Hill Productions is delighted to announce an integrated partnership with pianist, songwriter, and instrumental music icon Jim Brickman. The deal with Green Hill Productions (which struck a partnership with Primary Wave Music in 2019) will include the acquisition of the breadth of Brickman's publishing and master catalog coupled with a partnership for his new releases.

New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) presents Sugar Bar Comes to Newark featuring Valerie Simpson and Special Guest Dave Koz on Saturday, March 14, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. and Saturday, March 14, 2020 at 7:00 p.m.

Jim Caruso's Cast Party returns to the West Coast for two nights only, Wednesday and Thursday, March 18 and 19 at 7:30pm. The 'extreme open mic' will take place at Feinstein's at Vitello's, located at 4349 Tujunga Avenue in Studio City.

The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture, the arts center of the Archdiocese of New York, presents 'An Intimate Evening With Bernie Williams' this Thursday, February 13 at 8:00PM in the Loreto Theater, 18 Bleecker Street (between Elizabeth and Mott Streets). Tickets, ranging from $45- 65, are available online at SheenCenter.org, by phone at 212-925-2812, or in-person at The Sheen Center box office Monday to Friday.

The four years since dropping his debut album has been a bit of a rocket ride for award-winning R&B-jazz guitarist Adam Hawley. Six of his seven singles have gone to No. 1 nationally and he deftly avoided the sophomore slump when his second outing further established the artist as a centerstage solo artist. The stage is now being set for the February 28th arrival of “Escape,” his third album and first for his new record label, MBF Entertainment. Hawley produced and wrote eight of the record's ten tunes featuring collaborations with a constellation of smooth/contemporary jazz luminaries including Rick Braun, Najee, Michael Lington, Jeff Ryan, Marcus Anderson and Greg Manning.

Birdland presented the TENTH year of “A Swinging Birdland Christmas,” starring Birdland regulars Klea Blackhurst, Jim Caruso and Billy Stritch.  The limited engagement of five performances, December 21 - 25 was completely sold out, thanks to some smashing reviews, including one by Stephen Mosher at BroadwayWorld, who said, “This jazzy, festive, melodious show is one of the finger-snappingest, toe-tappingest, laugh-riotous shows this season.”

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. That's a sentiment that has been expressed for many years, sometimes merely through the utterance of the sentence, but usually through the singing of the popular song written by Meredith Wilson in 1951. While many attribute the song to the 1963 Broadway musical Here's Love, it was actually written simply as a Christmas song and singers have been crooning the tune ever since.

Dave Koz's music and multitalented friends lit up the Kravis Center For The Performing Arts last night on all levels. It was a spectacular presentation of swinging holiday music and multi media lighting effects that had the West Palm Beach audience dazzled during the entire concert. The friends who joined Dave for this tour were, Jonathan Butler, Melissa Manchester, Michael Lington and special guest Chris Walker. Broadwayworld was there…check out the photos below.

A holiday tradition returns as the McCallum Theatre welcomes the Dave Koz and Friends Christmas Tour 2019 at 8:00 p.m., Wednesday, December 18. The show is made possible through the generosity of Wayne and Rachelle Prim. Since the beginning of his career, Koz has been all about dodging expectations and traditions. His brand-new holiday album, Gifts of the Season, is his seventh holiday release, and features the very same guests with him on this year's Christmas tour.

A Swinging Birdland Christmas has become a New York City institution, a holiday tradition and a staple of the Birdland calendar. With three of the most popular talents of the cabaret community and, definitely, three of the hardest working people in the business, the annual Christmas concert gives fans a chance to spend a night with Klea Blackhurst, Jim Caruso and Billy Stritch, to sip on some eggnog or to skip the egg and go right to the nog, and to get into the holiday spirit without fighting the all-night crowds at Macy's. The trio of friends are each extremely popular in their own right, with Ms. Blackhurst spending the year going from show to show, Mr. Stritch playing in concerts and clubs around the world, and Mr. Caruso maintaining his place as Birdland's impresario and most fashionable host in town, so this event when the three of them join forces to spread cheer is something Birdland audiences look forward to for eleven months. 2019 saw a special happening to add to the season when the trio released the cd A SWINGING BIRDLAND CHRISTMAS. With the holiday music out on every platform, these chums jumped into rehearsals for their holiday show, which opens December 21st.

Bernie Williams, Latin Grammy-nominated jazz musician and former New York Yankees World Series Champ, returns to Café Carlyle, April 21-25. Bernie Williams, the New York Yankees center fielder for 16 years, is best known for his long and storied career in pinstripes - a career that includes four World Series championships, five appearances on the American League All-Star Team, four Gold Glove Awards and the 1996 American League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award. Since he's hung up his cleats, he's had time to devote to his other great passion in life - jazz guitar. Now that he's out of the game, he's getting back to his musical roots. His return engagement at Café Carlyle, as part of the Bernie Williams Collective, will include an eclectic mix of Latin rhythms, smooth jazz, blues and standards. The Bernie Williams Collective is comprised of Bernie Williams (guitar), Don Harris (trumpet; music director), Joel Rosenblatt (drums), Dave Anderson (bass guitar), Erik Piza (percussion) and Clifford Carter (piano; keyboard).

The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts will celebrate the joyous holiday season with four different concerts, shows and special presentations, ranging from family-friendly to hilariously offbeat.

Christmas traditions sparkle and holiday music fills the air, as Grammy-nominated songwriter and piano sensation Jim Brickman embarks on his 25-city holiday tour A Christmas Celebration.

On Sunday, November 10, 2019, Education Through Music-Los Angeles (www.etmla.org) hosted its 14th Annual Benefit Gala at the Beverly Wilshire to raise awareness for music in disadvantaged LA County schools. Supporters gathered to celebrate the 2019 Shining Star Honorees: Emmy Award-Winning Music Director & Producer Rickey Minor (Stevie Wonder, American Idol), Music Educator Angela Woo, and Cusumano Real Estate Group.

On Sunday, November 10, 2019, Education Through Music-Los Angeles (ETM-LA) will host its 14th Annual Benefit Gala at the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills. Supporters from the music, film, business, and education communities will gather to honor Emmy Award-Winning Music Director, Composer & Producer Rickey Minor (Stevie Wonder, American Idol), Celebrated Music Educator Angela Woo (John Adams Middle School), and Cusumano Real Estate Group, a leader in real estate and philanthropy.

In October 2019, Grammy-nominated saxophonist Dave Koz released his new holiday album, Gifts of the Season. In the 11-track collection, Koz takes a very different stylistic approach, bringing a buoyant, soul/funk/pop feel to Christmas classics across different eras, and shedding new light on their rich musicality and lyrical depth. The accompanying 22nd annual Dave Koz & Friends Christmas Tour will feature Jonathan Butler, Melissa Manchester, Michael Lington, and special guest Chris Walker, all of which appear on the new album. Butler and Lington have also released new Christmas albums this fall, so in a first for the tour, the show will feature material from three brand new holiday albums.