On a sunny fall day in 1997 I walked into our local record store with my then 13-year-old son, Ben, in search of a CD by some guy named Dave Koz. About a month prior to this Ben had begun taking sax lessons, and after his lesson that week, his instructor, Paul Marquez, spoke to me and told me it would be really good if I bought some CDs of contemporary sax players for Ben to listen to. I was fine with that suggestion, but totally clueless as to what to buy. I had listened to some straight-ahead jazz in my college days, but that was about it. I didn’t even know there was such a thing as “Smooth Jazz.” Paul suggested Dave Koz.

Ben and I wandered around the store for awhile looking for the Jazz section. We finally found it in the back of the store and started scanning the selections and found the bin with Dave Koz CDs. There were three of them. I suggested we pick he most recent one – Off The Beaten Path.

My family is into instant gratification, so the minute we got back into the car we ripped off that annoying cellophane wrapper and popped the CD into the car CD player; the first track, “Don’t Look Back” would be eerily prophetic. That seemingly mundane event would turn out to be one of the most pivotal moments of my life. A little over seven years later… I’ve traveled all over the country, seen too many concerts to remember, met people from all over the world, written a couple of dozen Smooth Jazz CD reviews and feature articles, conducted several artist interviews (including one with Dave Koz), helped start two jazz related websites including this one, and co-founded a business where I design and maintain websites for people in the music industry.

Off The Beaten Path blew me away.

Off The Beaten Path is Dave Koz’s third solo CD. Among Koz fans, it tends to either be the favorite or the least favorite. It is certainly in a class apart from the rest. Acoustic driven, slightly rock oriented - it was produced by Thom Panunzio along with Dave and brother, Jeff Koz, and features vocals by Stevie Nicks and guitar work by Leo Kottke - Off The Beaten Path contains 13 original tracks written or co-written by Dave Koz.

Setting the pace for the entire CD, “Don’t Look Back” beckons us to take a little leap onto a road less traveled – one that includes mixing the saxophone with a mandolin, accordion, Hammond B-3 organ, and acoustic and electric guitars. Next up is a gentle, yet emotional ballad, “I’m Ready” that throws a lap steel guitar into the mix.

“Wake Up Call” is a rockin’, upbeat, feel-good number complete with horn section and electric guitar. “Let Me Count The Ways” is a wonderful little acoustic love ballad featuring Stevie Nicks on vocals. “Follow Me Home” is probably the coolest blending of acoustic musical elements with a saxophone as the lead voice I’ve ever heard. It features a mandolin, a 12-string guitar, a pedal steel guitar, acoustic guitar, Hammond B-3 organ, accordion, fiddle, and a tin whistle, all blended together in one wonderfully heart-felt piece of music.

Guitarist Leo Kottke joins Koz on the beautifully reflective “Awakenings,” but lest you get too introspective, Koz follows that one up with “Flat Feet,” one of the most fun tracks I’ve ever heard. What is recorded here is basically the first run-through of the piece, but it captured so much magic that it couldn’t be improved on, so it made the final cut. Next is the gentle “Lullaby For A Rainy Night,” that features Koz’s trademark sweet soprano sax tone.

“That’s The Way I Feel About You” is an emotional love ballad that offers the listener a rare treat – vocal solo work by the saxman himself. He should do it more often. Following that, “Leave The Light On” is a taste of 50’s rock-n- roll featuring Koz on the tenor sax backed up by stand-up acoustic bass and a “doo-wop” chorus!

One of the most emotionally engaging tracks on this CD is “Under The Spell Of The Moon,” again featuring Koz’s unique soprano sax sound, followed by the laid-back, mellowed out “My Back Porch,” which is predominantly acoustic guitar and soprano sax.

Closing the CD is what is for Koz, a very rare solemn, introspective composition. “Remembrance” features only Koz playing piano, tenor and soprano sax. It creates the other bookend of a body of work that started out beckoning the listener to strike out without looking back and ends with a reminder to not forget where we have been and the people who have touched us along the way.

- Elizabeth Ware