BOB JAMES & DAVE KOZ

JUST US

Just Koz Entertainment

Bob James, Yamaha piano; Dave Koz, Yamaha saxophones.

This is a unique milestone album. Two iconic artists have recorded an acoustic duet outside the realm of their normal contemporary recordings. Bob James (a two-time GRAMMY winner) and Dave Koz (with twelve No. 1 albums on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Albums Chart) decided to record an album of acoustic music. Instead of going into the studio, they met in the warm, comfort of the James home in Traverse City, Michigan. The two old friends set up their Shure microphones by Bob’s grand piano and comfortably began to make music.

“In this digital age, artists can have as many tracks as they want to record a song. Say you have 100 tracks on a recording.  Each one takes up sonic space.  If you only have two instruments, as we have here, taking up the entire sonic space, each can be heard in a much clearer, bolder, bigger way,” Dave Koz explained.

When I think of Bob James, I immediately recall his group ‘Fourplay’ and their hugely successful smooth jazz albums. Songs like “Angels We Have Heard on High” has a melody that sticks like glue to my memory. Also, the theme song for that TV sitcom “Taxi” was another Bob James tune that many people recognize right away called “Angela.”

Quincy Jones noticed Bob James’ talent in 1962 at the Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival.  He thought James had a unique way of blending his classical music background with funk and smooth jazz. In the 1970s, James was signed to the CTI label and his popularity exploded.

Another artist who makes international waves is Dave Koz.  He offers his unique saxophone sound and prides himself in producing hit record after hit record.  He too has a lovely way of composing melodic music with a catchy funk groove. For example, his tune “All I See is You” or another best seller like “Endless Summer Nights.”  Koz is so loved, he garnered a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

When you put these two best-selling artists and composers together, you get the “Just Us” album.  They open with the Bob James ballad, “Sommation” followed by an exquisite arrangement of the American Songbook Standard, “My Ship.”  Where “Sommation” spotlights the Bob James love of classical music, “My Ship” becomes an elegant representation of this familiar song, with Dave Koz letting his satin smooth saxophone caress each melodic note. When Bob James enters for his solo, the notes sing like windchimes blowing in a Santa Ana breeze. This duo puts me in a pleasant mood.

The recently released single from this “Just Us” album is another ballad.  It’s a Koz composition (co-written with Todd Schroeder) titled “New Hope.”

I really like a tune that James and Koz wrote together called “TWO.”  I can hear the funk, the groove, and the excitement in this tune.  There is also a trace of Straight-ahead beauty in their composition. With bass and drums, this tune could really swing!

Of course, familiar tunes like “All the Way,” “Smile” and “Sunny Side of the Street” are bound to please.  “Fontaine d’Alice,” composed by Bob James, spotlights his love of classical European music and his wonderful talent of creating rhythm on the piano keys that push this tune forward like a drummer would. The Koz original of “The Naked Ballet” is also quite classical in tone and structure.  It reminded me a little of Bach’s wonderful musical style.

All in all, this is a lovely album by two master musicians. Both bring us their best, the way wise men do. Humbly, artistically and spiritually, they invite us to their unique musical table to enjoy an unforgettable and delicious feast.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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