Dave Koz celebrates 25 years of holiday tours with Cerritos, Palm Desert shows

Twenty-five years ago, saxophonist Dave Koz and keyboardist David Benoit embarked on the first Dave Koz & Friends Christmas Tour. That initial outing, born out of a period of grief for the two musicians, has grown into one of the greatest joys for Koz in his musical life.

“The whole idea to do that first Christmas show was David Benoit’s,” Koz recalled during a phone interview. He’s bringing that tour and a bunch of talented friends to Balboa Theatre in San Diego Dec. 15, Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts in Cerritos Dec. 16-17 and McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert Dec. 19.

“He had lost his mom and I had lost my dad. That was his suggestion to me; ‘Maybe a good way to deal with our emotions is to go out and play some Christmas shows, play some Christmas music. Maybe we can help some other people and help ourselves with our feelings and stuff,’” he continued. “As a musician, that was an amazing suggestion on his part, to have that vehicle to work through such complex emotions … and that tour was very short, it was not well attended either. But the promoters liked the show and they invited us back the next year. Here we are, 25 years later, still doing it. It’s the best Christmas gift ever to be able to do this tour for so many years.”

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Hitting the 25th anniversary prompted Koz to invite guitarist Peter White and trumpeter Rick Braun — both regular participants in the early years of the Dave Koz & Friends Christmas Tour and periodic guests of later tour lineups — to be part of this year’s outing. He also has long-time friend and colleague, keyboardist Keiko Matsui, joining the tour for the first time in several years, as well as vocalist Rebecca Jade, who did her first stint with this group last year. Benoit, unfortunately, was unable to be part of the 2022 anniversary tour, Koz said, as he currently awaits a kidney transplant.

However, Benoit did join Koz, White and Braun as a member of the core band that recorded the new Koz album, “Christmas Ballads,” which serves as a companion to the anniversary tour. Koz had already released seven holiday albums, so deciding on a direction for the music became a key piece of the puzzle for “Christmas Ballads.” Working with producer Philippe Saisse, they arrived at a theme.