Dave Koz (born David Kozlowski, March 27, 1963) is a Jewish-American jazz saxophonist and radio host.
Koz graduated from UCLA with a degree in mass communications in 1986 and started into his musical career almost immediately afterwards playing for crooner Bobby Caldwell. For the rest of the 1980s, Koz served as a session musician in several bands, toured with artists such as Richard Marx and played in the house band on Arsenio Hall's late-night talk show.
In 1990, Koz decided to pursue a solo career. The move proved to be successful, and his self-titled album earned high praise from critics and fans alike. His later albums include Lucky Man, The Dance and Saxophonic. Saxophonic was nominated for both a Grammy and an NAACP Image Award.
In 1994, Koz entered another medium: radio. He began hosting his own syndicated radio show called "The Dave Koz Radio Show" (formerly "Personal Notes" ) featuring the latest music and interviews with who's who in the genre. He is currently co-host of the morning show on 94.7 The Wave, a smooth jazz station in Los Angeles.
In 2002, Koz started a record label, Rendezvous Entertainment. One of the first albums from that label was Golden Slumbers: A Father's Lullaby, which came at the time his brother Jeff became a father for the first time.
Koz also performs "Faces of the Heart", which is the current theme song on the ABC hit soap General Hospital.
Koz often draws comparisons to another well-known saxophonist, David Sanborn. Because the two sound almost alike, Koz is sometimes billed as the second coming of Sanborn.
Koz came out publicly as a gay man in an April 2004 interview with The Advocate magazine. Later the same year, he was named by People magazine as one of their "50 Hottest Bachelors" in their June issue.
Dave Koz (1990)
Lucky Man (1993)
Off the Beaten Path (1996)
December Makes Me Feel This Way (1997)
The Dance (1999)
A Smooth Jazz Christmas (2001)
Golden Slumbers: A Father's Lullaby (2002)
Saxophonic (2003)
Golden Slumbers: A Father's Love (2005)
