Multi-Grammy(R) nominee and pop instrumentalist/saxophonist extraordinaire Dave Koz will again be delighting audiences with his smooth jazz hits and holiday favorites. The Dave Koz and Friends A Smooth Jazz Christmas 10th Anniversary Tour With Special Guests Jonathan Butler, Wayman Tisdale and Kimberley Locke launches November 23rd in Lake Tahoe, CA and concludes with a two-night stand at Southern California's Cerritos Center. Highly respected South African singer/guitarist Butler and former NBA All-Star turned star bassist Tisdale have joined Koz on previous jaunts, but this marks vocalist Locke's first tour with him. Locke first garnered widespread attention as one of the top three finalists on "American Idol's" second season (alongside Ruben Stoddard and Clay Aiken) and has since racked up five Top 10 Billboard AC hits. Rendezvous recording artist Brian Simpson will be the tour's Music Director.
This year's tour has a special twist: Dave will also perform selections from his latest album At The Movies, which topped Billboard's Contemporary Jazz chart for most of the summer, claiming the #1 spot for 12 weeks. Released earlier this year, the collection features some of the most beloved movie themes of all time. In addition, Dave and his guests will play hits from their respective catalogues, as well as a variety of Christmas/holiday standards -- including selections from his new holiday CD, Memories Of A Winter's Night.
Scheduled for release on September 18th by Capitol Music Group, Memories Of A Winter's Night features the Koz-penned title track plus 12 holiday standards. Highlights include two brand new duets: first single "White Christmas" with Kelly Sweet, who scored a Top Ten hit at both Adult Contemporary and Smooth Jazz radio with "Raincoat" the first single from her debut album and "Please Come Home For Christmas" with Christmas tour mate Kimberley Locke, who has topped the AC charts for the past two holiday seasons with singles "Up on the Housetop" and "Jingle Bells."
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Dave Koz and Friends A Smooth Jazz Christmas Tour, so you can be sure Dave and his guests will be pulling out all the stops to make sure everyone gets into the holiday spirit!