PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
When Dave Koz & Friends’ Summer Horns Tour hits Fraze Pavilion in Kettering on Friday, July 20, it’ll be much different than the last two outings.
Koz and his saxophone-playing collaborators Gerald Albright, Richard Elliot and Mindi Abair had great success with the Grammy-nominated “Summer Horns” (2013). When Abair was unable to participate in the follow-up album, it allowed Koz, Albright and Elliot to expand their sound by enlisting trombonist Aubrey Logan and trumpeter Rick Braun.
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Koz recently discussed “Summer Horns II: From A to Z,” which was released on June 22.
CLASSIC HORNS
“We had the opportunity to bring in trumpet and trombone, the heavy hitters, to create that classic horn section sound with sax. We all love that sound. It’s been a part of all genres of popular music for generations. That’s the sound we really took on for this project, which is very different from the last time we got together. We really wanted to celebrate that classic horn section sound in all the different genres and eras it’s been popular.”
GROUP DYNAMICS
“We all have successful solo careers. We travel the world playing our own music, but we all really began as ensemble players. When we get together as the ensemble Summer Horns it accesses a different part of our musical DNA. It’s in there as a blueprint. Playing next to somebody and creating sounds much bigger than your own sounds is a big part of who we are as musicians and that’s what this project is to all of us.”
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CHAOS PREVENTION
“The other big stars of this project are the three amazing horn arrangers. These are the guys that created the pop sound of the horn section. Greg Adams was one of the founding members and principal horn arrangers for Tower of Power. Tom Scott has arranged horns for everyone from Michael Jackson to Steely Dan and everyone in between. Gordon Goodwin, with his Big Fat Band, is one of the greatest horn arrangers of all time. We could be the greatest players in the world but without the right notes to play we’d sound like crap. It would be chaos.”
UPLIFTING HORNS
“Not to make it too self-involved or self-important, but the society we’re living in just isn’t very nice. I like being part of something people can look at on the stage and say, ‘Look at them, they could each be doing their own show, but they chose to be together to support each other and to create something larger than their own interests, even if it’s just for this one summer.’ I love what that says.”
HOW TO GO
What: Dave Koz & Friends' Summer Horns Tour featuring Gerald Albright, Rick Braun, Richard Elliot and Aubrey Logan
Where: Fraze Pavilion, 695 Lincoln Park Blvd., Kettering
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 20
Cost: $46.50 law & terrace, $56.50 side orchestra, $66.50 center orchestra in advance. All ticket prices increase $5 day of show
More info: 937-296-3300 or www.fraze.com
Artist info: https://davekoz.com
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