Dave Koz Memories Of A Winter's Night CD

Personnel: Dave Koz (alto saxophone); Gigi Worth (vocals); Ray Parker, Jr. (guitar); Michael Thompson (guitars); Doug Pettibone, Phil Parlapiano, Bruce Watson (acoustic guitar); Paul Jackson, Jr. , Tony Maiden (electric guitar); Jeff Koz (nylon-string guitar); Jim Culbertson (trumpet); Nick Lane (trombone); Eddie Miller (Hammond b-3 organ); Brian Simpson (keyboards); David Piltch (acoustic bass); Bill Sharpe , Alex Al, Fernando Perdomo (bass guitar); Gerry Brown , Stephen Theard (drums); Brian Kilgore (percussion); Brian Culbertson (drum programming); Ester Nicholson, Sandy Simmons, Bridgette Bryant (background vocals).
Additional personnel: Brenda Russell (vocals); Peter White (acoustic guitar); Rick Braun (trumpet); David Benoit (piano); Kelly Sweet, Kimberley Locke (background vocals).
The creamy-smooth saxophone of Dave Koz takes everyone's favorite Christmas classics on a ride through a wintry jazz/pop wonderland (with a little detour to Hanukah-town). Koz's Holiday tree has some noteworthy ornaments, namely the funky guitar of Ray Parker and Paul Jackson, the honeyed voices of Brenda Russell and Kelly Sweet, and the delicate nylon-string guitar of Koz's brother Jeff. Koz brings out a Holiday celebration that's alternately up-tempo fun ("Boogie Woogie Santa Claus," featuring Russell) and old-school soothing ("O Tannenbaum").
From trends visible in the 2000s, smooth jazz fans couldn't get enough of three things: all-star cruises, all-star summer tours, and big holiday tour extravaganzas. In 2006, the only year since 1997 that genre superstar Dave Koz didn't traverse the country for Christmas, there were three other tours out there. As if to say, "I'm back, now deck those halls," he celebrated the "Dave Koz and Friends" Smooth Jazz Christmas tenth anniversary in 2007 with not only another great touring show but his third Christmas CD in ten years. For fans who missed 1997's underrated December Makes Me Feel This Way and 2001's Smooth Jazz Christmas, Memories of a Winter's Night is a good way to catch up with the best of those discs and hang out by the fire with some exciting new tracks (seven in all). There are three songs from December, two from Smooth Jazz Christmas (including the high-spirited, big-band flavored Brenda Russell led jam "Boogie Woogie Santa Claus"), and a nice mix of classics Koz hadn't previously tackled, from "Deck the Halls" to a jamming blues version of "Winter Wonderland." The real highlights, however, are the new tracks by young vocalists Kelly Sweet (an ethereal voiced singer who toured with Koz in 2007), who creates a lovely chill take on "White Christmas," and former American Idol finalist Kimberley Locke, who rocks steady on "Please Come Home for Christmas." Koz pays homage to his own tradition with the beautiful, lyrical Hanukkah-inspired title track. ~ Jonathan Widran