Yamaha Corporation Of America Winter Namm 2012 Press

RENOWNED SAXOPHONIST DAVE KOZ
CELEBRATES 20 YEARS PLAYING YAMAHA
INDIANAPOLIS — Yamaha Artist Services Indianapolis celebrates the 20 th Anniversary of the
company’s relationship with six-time GRAMMY nominee, record company owner, radio talk
show host and sensational saxophonist, Dave Koz. Koz plays the YAS-62IIS.
“Having an artist of Dave’s caliber on our roster for two decades affirms not only the quality of
our instruments, but the strength of our relationship,” said John Wittmann, Director, Artist
Relations, Yamaha Artist Services Indianapolis. “He is truly a formidable force in the music
industry and an inspiration to us at Yamaha, as well as to aspiring musicians everywhere.”
Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, Koz got his start as a youngster longing to join his
older brother’s band. He learned to play the saxophone, auditioned for the part and was
embraced as a full-time band member shortly thereafter. He has been an avid player and
saxophone enthusiast ever since. Koz earned a degree in mass communications from UCLA, but
immediately decided to leap into a career as a professional musician.
His phenomenal talent led to his first musical tour with vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Bobby
Caldwell's band. While he was playing with Caldwell, he met keyboardist Jeff Lorber, who
invited Koz to join him on a tour. He gained even more popularity after touring with Lorber and
caught the attention of pop singer Richard Marx, with whom he toured for 14 months. Other top
musicians that have enlisted Koz's unique skills include Burt Bacharach, Ray Charles, Natalie
Cole, Celine Dion, Kenny Loggins, U2, Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross and Vanessa Williams.
The saxophone had become Koz’s “best friend [and] most trusted ally…it enabled me to
communicate feelings that I didn’t have the words for,” he says. In the early 1990s, he decided
that pursuing a solo career would help him communicate those emotions to the world and he
signed with Capitol Records and recorded several noteworthy albums, including the GRAMMY
nominated Saxophonic. Koz remained with Capitol Record for 20 years, but in 2002 went on to
launch his record label, Rendezvous Entertainment.
His latest album, Hello Tomorrow, which debuted at No. 1 on both Billboard’s Top
Contemporary Jazz Albums chart and iTunes’ Jazz Album chart, was named the Best Smooth
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