10th Annual 98.9
Smooth Jazz Festival
Dave Koz, Phil Perry, David Benoit and Kelly Sweet
The Seattle area Smooth Jazz Festival is always
a special event, but when the “Dave Koz and Friends” gang
is the headliner, the anticipation is almost palpable. As
the final act in a day long festival, they were well worth
the wait. Dave charged onto the stage with the energy
of ten men, starting off his set with “Give it Up,” a
favorite from his 1990 debut CD. He followed up
with the up-beat “Honey Dipped,” a #1 hit from
his Saxophonic CD. Dave is
very lively and animated when he performs, jumping from one
end of the stage to the other to play alongside his fellow
band mates: Randy Jacobs on guitar, Bill “Rubberhand
Man” Sharpe on bass, Stevo Theard on drums, and Brian
Simpson on keyboards. While David Benoit was playing “Beat
Street,” Dave stood up on the piano stool behind David
and played his heart out while David let his fingers fly. It’s
always enjoyable to see a Dave Koz and David Benoit duet. The
energy is unmatchable. David is an accomplished piano
player and doesn’t let us down, playing with such passion
and finesse. Later in the show while David played “Freedom
at Midnight,” one of his most recognizable songs, Dave
Koz was by his side on the piano stool and played right along
with an equal amount of passion.
Dave got the crowd going with a song from his latest CD, At
the Movies - a snappy version of “The
Pink Panther,” played on the soprano sax. Everyone
really enjoyed this one. At one point, Dave sat alone
on a stool, and blew us away with another tune from At
the Movies, an emotional version of “Over
the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz. A
favorite of his mother’s, who passed away almost
two years ago, it can bring tears to your eyes knowing
he’s playing it with his mom in mind and in his heart.
Always the generous man to his fellow artists, he stands off
to the side when Phil Perry enters the stage, allowing Phil
to command the stage with his powerful version of the early
1980’s hit by Christopher Cross, “Ride Like the
Wind,” a song on his current CD entitled, A
Mighty Love. Later in the show Phil sang
a beautiful and poignant rendition of “It Might Be You” from
the movie Tootsie, another song from Dave’s
movie themed CD.
Enter Kelly Sweet – a rising star in the smooth jazz
world, whose sweet, enveloping voice and expressive manner
are fascinating to witness. She sang her hit song “Raincoat” first,
followed by the title track of her CD, We are One. She’s
a joy to watch, and for such a young woman, she’s incredibly
sophisticated and talented.
The crowd was on their feet when the whole gang, including
Phil Perry and Kelly Sweet on vocals, sang “Car Wash,” a
familiar favorite from the late 1970’s. Beginning
with Dave shouting “do you wanna get your car washed,” it
was a complete blast from start to finish, with the crowd on
their feet, clapping, dancing and singing along.
The show ended with an encore performance of Dave’s
signature tune, “You Make Me Smile,” from his Lucky
Man CD. It was a perfect close to a fabulous
show. Just like walking out of a theater after seeing
a great movie, after lots of laughter and a few tears, you
walk away from a Dave Koz show with a smile on your face. For
those of us lucky enough to attend this show, we left with
a smile that would last for days!
- Barb White |
