Saxophonist Dave Koz on the magic of live shows and the joy of destruction with Eric Andre

Dave Koz. // photo by Irvan Risnandar

Even if you’re not big into jazz, you likely know the name Dave Koz. The saxophonist’s work on various television shows and reconfigurations of popular tunes have made the musician if not a household name, then one with which music fans are certainly familiar. When speaking with Koz by phone a few weeks ago, I start by bringing up the fact that even though I am not a jazz person, I definitely know who he is.

“That’s what happens when you’ve been around for too long: people start to know you that shouldn’t even know you,” Koz quips before getting heartfelt. “But, I feel honestly like it’s been a magic carpet ride since I started and nobody is more surprised That I’ve been able to be around for this long than me.”

The saxophonist’s first record, Dave Koz, came out in 1990 and since then, Koz has gotten the chance to travel the world, making music, and the fact he continues to make music people enjoy is just as exciting to him as it is for his fans. As he puts it, that’s one of the things that’s nice about his genre of music.

“People, once they are in your camp–once they like you–you have to really try hard to just screw that up,” explains Koz. “They usually stay with you and are very loyal. That’s one of the things that I appreciate most.”

Given the fact that Koz’s career has been so varied, it gives a lot of paths for people to come to what he does, be it the movie themes album, At the Movies, the Summer Horns collaborative albums and tours, or collaborations with the likes of Postmodern Jukebox. I ask Koz how he thinks folks come to his music.

“I think just from the variety standpoint that you just mentioned,” Koz responds. “It kind of comes from the fact that I think I would get very, very bored if I ended up doing the same thing over and over. These collaborations–and the weirder, the better. The ones that you scratch your head and go, ‘Well, how’s that gonna work?’ Those are the ones that I really, really love.”

What keeps it interesting for the musician is to continually morph and find different aspects of his creative persona that I can explore. A good example is Koz’s 2021 album with Vulfpeck’s Cory Wong, Golden Hour. Wong and Vulfpeck are, as Koz puts it, taking the music that’s a cousin of the music that he makes and bringing it to–or making it palatable–to young people in their 20s and 30s.

“That’s something I’ve not been able to do, but these guys have,” Koz says, admitting his music gears towards an audience a little bit older audience. “I’ve just tried to infiltrate them and figure out how they’re doing it and learn from them. It’s really about having fun, having new adventures, because after doing it for 30-plus years, that’s what I crave most: new adventures musically.”

In terms of said adventurousness, Koz has appeared on many TV shows over the years. He was the bandleader on The Emeril Lagasse Show, but also appeared on The Eric Andre Show—two diametrically-opposed talk shows.

“I get more comments about Eric Andre,” says Koz. “I think that stands as probably the weirdest thing that I’ve ever done. He just found me and he said, ‘Can you come on and let me destroy my set in front of you?’ and I said, ‘Of course. Absolutely. I’m excited about this.’ I’d never seen a show. I’d heard of him, but I’d never seen him before and or seen the show. And they destroyed the set right around me. He said, ‘Just keep playing and we’re gonna actually tear this whole thing apart around you,’ and I was like, ‘Okay, it’s your show. I’ll do whatever you want.’”

For all of the albums and TV shows, the reason I’m speaking with Koz is because he’s headed out on the Summer Horns tour with fellow players Candy Dulfer and Eric Darius, and I’m curious as what this offers him, as opposed to his regular studio work.

“If given the choice of doing live shows or being in the studio, there are people who are studio rats that love the laboratory, love being in the studio and creating,” Koz replies. “I’d much rather be on stage or in a club or doing a jazz festival or whatever the case may be, which is bringing the music to people live, because that’s the live laboratory.”

He can see right in front of his eyes, Koz says, the kind of reaction that he’s having on the audience in real time. He likens it to a Driver’s Ed car, which is an odd but entirely apt metaphor for the live music push and pull between performer and audience.

“There would be these cars that had two steering wheels–one for the instructor and one for the person who’s learning,” explains Koz. “That’s kind of what it feels like being in a very organic live situation: yes, the musicians and the artists on stage have their hands on one of the wheels, but the audience has their hand on the other wheel.”

If those two entities are pulling apart from each other, you can have chaos, but if you’re really going in the same direction, there’s something that’s very magical that happens. The saxophonist feels like the audience is really a big part of the success of his concerts and really have their hands on that wheel just as much as he dos.

“Because of you don’t really know what’s gonna happen whenever you go out on stage to make music, there’s this thrill,” Koz enthuses. “’What’s gonna happen?’ You could do the same act–exactly the same music–from night to night, but the show could be totally different and that’s the thrill.”

The Dave Koz and Friends Summer Horns tour featuring Candy Dulfer and Eric Darius will perform in Kansas City at Muriel Kauffman Theatre on Saturday, July 15. Details on that show here.