The Rage Monthly: Congratulations on receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Please share a bit of that experience. Dave Koz: I was born and raised in California and Los Angeles. I kind of grew up where


stars were in the back yard. I use to go with my parents and walk down the street and look at those names. I’d ask my mom, “Who’s this and who’s that?” Now, somebody can be walking with their parents and walk over to my star and say,


“Who the hell is Dave Koz (laughter)?” It all comes full circle. To say the word “surreal” doesn’t even do it justice. It was such an outrageously “pinch me” moment. How did this happen? How did I get here? I just kind of embraced it. I had a great time and was surrounded by family, friends, colleagues and fans. It was a day I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.


Rage: And what a prime spot…right smack dab in front of the Capitol Records building. DK: I went 20 years on Capitol Records as an artist there. When I found out that the star


was coming, I scoped out a spot. I kept my fingers crossed and prayed that they would actually give it to me. And they did! It’s right at the front door. You’ve got Garth Brooks, Bonnie Raitt, all The Beatles, Natalie Cole and all these huge megastars and there’s me (laughter).


Rage: You’ve struck up quite a chemistry with Jonathan Butler and Sheila E. on your current tour. What do you enjoy most about performing with them? DK: Jonathan and I have known each other for years. He and I are like kindred spirits.


He likes to call us, “brothers from another mother.” As for playing with both of them, what is most exciting or exhilarating is that they are completely on the edge of unpre- dictability. They’re so much alike, the two of them in that you never know what really is going to happen. There is a lot of spontaneity on stage. For someone like me, even though sometimes it’s terrifying or scary, I really love being pushed and prodded that way on stage. It makes for an always interesting and entertaining show. Inside of that well-rehearsed show are huge chunks that are completely improvisational. I love watching the reaction of the audience to Sheila. First of all, she’s gorgeous. She wears these huge high heels. Then, she gets behind a drum set and kills it!


Rage: What are your thoughts about the inaugural American Smooth Jazz Awards? DK: It’s kind of an important thing now, especially because radio’s been so strange,


with a lot of radio stations flipping formats. So, it’s nice to have this organization set up to pay some attention to the music that’s been on the airwaves for a long time, and in a lot of people’s hearts, too.


Rage: What’s it like playing at Jazz Festivals, such as your upcoming appearance in Long Beach? DK: They put on a fantastic show there, and also because you are surrounded by your


contemporaries that are there with other bands, every group that’s on the stage real- izes they have to bring their A game, so the music’s always great. It’s nice to see friends that you may not see very often, too.


Rage: Let’s talk about your upcoming CD Hello Tomorrow, how would you describe the vibe on this one? DK: I’m very excited about this album; it’s my debut for Concorde Records. I work with


the great Marcus Miller, who’s a bass player and producer, and John Burk who is the other producer. This is a very live recording with live musicians - the best musicians on the planet. And what the title signifies to me on a personal level, and I think for a lot of people of a certain age – myself included – who are trying to figure out how to embrace the amount of change that’s going on in the world; and how do we see ourselves in this next chapter as we turn the page. Because there is so much going on, everything we counted on as the pillars on which we built our lives, everything has changed; trying to find solid ground right now is very difficult. So I wanted to combat that with a recording that would hopefully awaken people


on a musical level to, in a sense, embrace the future. There’s a lot of embracing the discomfort zone on this album for me, and it’s a very hopeful album.


Rage: How did the decision for you to sing on “This Guy’s in Love With You” come about? DK: I ended up singing because I heard it with different ears this time. It’s always been


one of my favorite songs, but I heard it within the framework of the time that we’re liv- ing in, especially as a gay man, the time for gay marriage is now. It’s not even let’s argue about it or have a conversation about it; it’s so much like, “Yes, now’s the time.” And I heard that song as being somewhat of a gay marriage anthem, I just heard


it that way. I called up Herb Alpert, whose one of my chief mentors in life, because I wanted to get his blessing on this reworking of the song. And he said, “Not only do you have my blessing, but send me the track, I might see if I can play a couple of notes on it.” So he does play on it, and that makes it extra special to have the guy who made the song famous be on this version of it.


Rage: How has working with Marcus Miller changed or affected your talent on this project? DK: I think this music digs way deeper down and drills down to another place than


I’ve done in the past; a lot of it has to do with him. His overriding musicality is so en- trenched and so deep, and when you have that kind of thing that goes way down deep, you can build these much more elaborate structures on top of it, because you have the foundation there to hold it. And that’s what he provides, both figuratively and also phonically, he was a major


source of foundation for me to try these things. He really pushed and prodded me in a bunch of different ways. I was so out of my comfort zone, that for the first couple of days of recording I was not enjoying it. Then I settled into it and realized this is what the album is exactly about, which is the


essence of being alive in 2010. It’s been a real journey, in fact, he wrote a song for this album called “The Journey,”


and that’s really what the album making process was like; and what I feel that my life process has been. It’s been a wonderful journey up until this point, and, in many ways I feel that the best is yet to come.


For tickets and more information visit longbeachjazzfestival.com To keep up with Dave Koz, log onto davekoz.com


AUGUST 2010 | RAGE monthly 45


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