Courtesy photo
By Darlene Donloe
Contribuitng Writer
Bob James and Dave Koz are synonymous with incredible music and smooth jazz. Individually, they have slayed the music industry.
James is a two-time Grammy-winner, while Koz boasts nine Grammy nominations and 12 No. 1 albums on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Albums chart.
James, originally from Marshall, Missouri, is considered by some to be the godfather of smooth jazz and a hip-hop icon because samples of his music played a pivotal role in the foundation of rap.
Discovered by Quincy Jones at the Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival in 1962, James made his mark at producer Creed Taylor’s CTI label in the 1970s when he was the architect of an innovative new sound that fused jazz with classical music and funk.
In 1978, his track “Angela” was the theme for the popular U.S. television sitcom “Taxi.” He had a record label, Tappan Zee, and co-founded the smooth jazz group Fourplay. Now signed to EVOsound, Evolution Music Group, his latest album, “Jazz Hands,” was nominated for a Grammy.
Koz has numerous world tours, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, performances for multiple U.S. presidents, and, most recently, a 2023 Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award from President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
He also received the 2023 Starlight Children’s Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award for serving as the foundation’s global ambassador for 30 years. To date, he has raised more than $2 million for the foundation through the Dave Koz & Friends At Sea silent auctions and his network of fans.
The two legendary contemporary jazz icons recently joined forces, culminating in their titled duo album “Just Us,” released by Just Koz Entertainment.
“Just Us” is described as raw and unplugged, with just the saxophone and piano on every song.
They recorded most of the 10 tracks in the living room of James’ Traverse City, Michigan home, setting up a microphone for Koz’s alto and two soprano saxes next to Bob’s grand piano.
The longtime friends started their “Just Us” mini-tour with a sold-out show at the intimate Alluvian in Traverse City.
The dynamic duo released “Just Us” earlier this year, capturing the No. 1 spot on the Luminate (formerly SoundScan) Current Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. The limited edition vinyl of “Just Us,” which features the lead single “New Hope,” was recently available for pre-order. It will be released May 9.
I recently spoke with James via telephone at his home in Michigan and Koz at his home in Los Angeles about their collaboration.
“We were just two friends in a room making music for ourselves,” Koz said.
DD: Why did you release a vinyl album?
DK: My first album came out in 1990, the CD era. Mine has never had a vinyl approach. But Bob’s has. Working with him, it was a foregone conclusion. Vinyl has this new resurgence. It just sounds good.
BJ: The listener’s attitude changes when they have something they own. There is a tactile feeling of having it in your hands. That makes the album stand out. I admit, I very often am too lazy to put on two LPs, but I have a big LP collection. It brings back the memories. It makes me feel good.
DD: Dave, why did you want to work with Bob James on this project?
DK: I’ve been a fan, and we’ve been friends for 20 years. We have collaborated, but I didn’t fathom that we’d do this. The whole impetus was Bob’s. He did one of our cruises. He said he would accept participating in the cruise if he could do something just for the people on the cruise.
We just hit it off. Six weeks later, we recorded more. Soon, we had a full album. It was different. It was hearing sax and piano in a novel way that we’ve never shared with our fans.
DD: Bob, tell me why you thought Koz was the right person to collaborate with.
BJ: He put it in a nutshell — the feeling we both had. It would be different and challenging and present us differently. I take the blame and credit for pushing it as a complete project when it didn’t start that way.
DD: Can you describe your experience recording most of the tracks in your living room, Bob? How did the intimate setting influence the music?
BJ: David Marchione is our engineer. We have to mention him. Before Dave Koz got to our house, we prepped to set up the living room to make it feel natural. We wanted it to feel like a living room.
DD: Why is it called “Just Us?”
BJ: We lived up to our title, “Just Us.” When you put the record on, that’s what you get.
DK: This was live. We recorded it in the living room. People will listen to it in their living room. We created that kind of environment.
DD: How did you approach selecting songs for the album?
DK: Bob said, “Bring an original idea, an idea for a standard.” It was a combination of writing and bringing our material to the project. Plus, we brought the standards. All the pieces seem to work well. A huge amount of credit goes to Mr. James, who played piano. He was the drums, strings, percussion and everything else.
BJ: Dave, that’s flattering. But I think my piano role was, yes, I’m the drums, brass, percussion, etc., but it’s more in how both of us play so that the listener imagines those instruments are there when they are not there. The audience goes with us on this journey.
DD: What has music given you, and does music owe you anything?
DK: Music does not owe me anything. I owe it. It’s the pure language that connects in a way that words can’t. My image of music is like … if you take a pitcher of water and pour it on the sidewalk. It knows how to go into all those nooks and crannies and fill them up. I am humbled by music. Music knows where to go. I owe it.
BJ: When I look at our tour schedules and realize I can go worldwide and do what I do, it’s because music is universal. All communication is in the abstract. The music speaks to you directly. I don’t know what I owe, or what music owes me. When I first wake up, going to the piano is the second thing I do. I gotta have my espresso first. Music is the highlight.
DD: Talk to me about your feelings when you know you’ve hit all the right notes.
DK: That’s the juice. That’s the special thing. Music is still a beautiful friend you can rely on if nobody is there. If people are there, and you can see that it’s directly affecting an audience — that’s also the juice. That’s when you can use it wisely and effect great change in the world. Music is powerful.
BJ: Something that happens to me that is a big highlight is related to the unknown — when you don’t know when it will happen. It will happen in a different place in the music. The emotional impact is when everything comes together. When I’m playing with Dave, our passions converge. Sometimes, you have to wait for it and hope that you have those moments within the show. Hopefully, the audience feels that way, too.
Darlene Donloe is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers who covers South Los Angeles. She can be reached at ddonloe@gmail.com.
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