Music lovers yearning for a honey-dipped night of sweet tunes give it up inside Morristown, NJ’s MPAC auditorium this Wednesday, August 6, 2025 evening for a Summer Horns 2025 concert by saxophonist Dave Koz and Friends.
Born in California in 1963, Dave Koz was a saxophone player in his high school band. After graduating college, he became a professional musician and started working with artists such as Bobby Caldwell, Jeff Lorber, and Richard Marx.
In 1989, Koz launched a solo career and released a string of albums including Lucky Man, The Dance, Saxophonic, and At The Movies. Altogether, Koz has garnered nine Grammy award nominations and has had 11 #1 albums on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Albums Chart. In addition to winning a Soul Train Music Award, Koz has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and, in 2023, was honored with a Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award.
Inside the MPAC auditorium, the crowd applauds as guitarist Randy Jacobs, percussionist Sedar Jones, keyboardist Nile Hargrove, drummer Demetrice Everett, and bassist Nathaniel Kearney, Jr. take the stage along with The Summer Horns — baritone saxophonist Leo P, saxophonist Marcus Anderson, trumpeter Evan Taylor, trombonist Jeff Bradshaw, and saxophonist Dave Koz.
Koz and Friends play with style and flair on an opening medley of horn-based tunes including Earth, Wind and Fire’s “September” and Kool and the Gang’s “Celebration.”
Music lovers cheer and Koz asks, “How are you feeling tonight?” before introducing the members of the Summer Horn section. Launching into his 1990 recording, “Give It Up,” the horn players step in time on this upbeat and jazzy funk tune while Koz solos on alto and the crowd claps to the music as impeccably-played horn lines support his tight runs.
Koz switches over to soprano sax for his jazzy and rhythmic smooth jazz tune, “Together Again,” where Leo P dances and plays super low on the bari sax while Koz plays high above him on his curved soprano.
As the arrangement progresses, all five Summer Horn players stand shoulder to shoulder and slow walk in unison while playing to avid cheers and applause.
Koz explains the genesis of the Summer Horns project, recalling, “In 2013, some saxophone player friends of mine decided to take our horns and pay tribute to the bands that shaped us as human beings and musicians.” Here, Koz introduces vocalist Marcel Anderson who sings with soul on the ensemble’s rendition of Earth Wind and Fire’s “Got to Get You Into My Life.”
To introduce his next number, Koz talks about buying his first album with his own money at the age of 10 — a Tower of Power record featuring the song, “So Very Hard to Go.” Marcel’s bluesy voice cries out on the ensembles’ interpretation of this R&B power ballad and the horn players perform synchronized hand motions before Marcus Anderson renders a tenor sax solo.
Marcel gets the crowd clapping along on a medley of horn tunes which includes David Sanborn’s R&B arrangement of Duke Ellington’s “Harlem Nocturne” and a hip hop version of Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” where Nile Hargrove’s organ swirls before the horn section is featured playing the arrangement’s famous bridge and Koz has the audience singing along on the tune’s well-known “I love you baby and if it’s quite alright” refrain.
Next up, Koz is the featured soloist as the horn section screams on the group’s presentation of Koz’s funky 2018 R&B tune, “Honey-Dipped.”
Music lovers hoot and holler and Koz exclaims, “I’m from California, but I love the state of New Jersey!” prior to inviting the audience to take an imaginary trip with him to New Orleans where he and the band march into the high-energy New Orleans style jazz tune, “Think Big.”
After talking about his musical heroes — David Sanborn and Herb Albert — Koz introduces trumpet player Evan Taylor who impresses with his rich, clear tone on the 1979 Herb Alpert hit, “Rise,” where he and Koz trade licks as they increase in intensity and dynamics.
Jeff Bradshaw has the crowd standing and echo-singing, “Everybody say ‘yeah!’” before strutting around the stage playing the trombone and leading the audience in singing The Gap Band’s appealing R&B ballad, “Yearning for Your Love.”
Marcus Anderson hands a rose to a fan before being featured on sax on an arrangement of the smooth jazz tune, “You Made My Day,” which also sports a Randy Jacobs guitar solo and bassist Nathaniel Kearney, Jr. on keyboard bass instead of electric bass guitar.
Koz introduces internet sensation Leo P who steals the show dancing in circles with his feet flying while honking out an animated rendition of Tower of Power’s “Squib Cakes” on his bari sax. The rest of the horn players join in on this energetic number which elicits a lively standing ovation from the crowd.
“There’s nobody like Leo!” exclaims Koz before he’s featured on soprano sax playing an entrancing rendition of his 1993 smooth jazz release, “You Make Me Smile.”
Marcel Anderson handles the lead on a pair of Marvin Gaye tunes including the 6/8 R&B number, “Distant Lover,” where his bandmates sing backup while dancing with their microphone stands, and a soulful version of Gaye’s 1973 Motown hit, “Let’s Get it On.”
Marcel cries, “Great God in Heaven, you know I love you” on a dynamic version of The Ides of March’s “Vehicle” before the Summer Horn musicians take turns trying to outplay one another.
Demetrice Everett’s drums and Sedar Jones’ percussion lead into a Stevie Wonder medley which features hits such as “If You Really Love Me,” “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing,” and “You Haven’t Done Nothing,” where Koz plays tenor to Marcus Anderson’s alto prior to the ensemble concluding with a “Living in the City” coda.
Music lovers stand and cheer and Koz thanks the audience before launching into a Summer Horns finale of ’70s classics which includes The Emotions’ “Best of My Love,” KC and the Sunshine Band’s “That’s the Way (I Like It),” Stevie Wonder’s “Sir Duke,” Kool and the Gang’s “Hollywood Swinging,” Earth Wind and Fire’s “Getaway,” Rick James’ “Give It to Me Baby,” and Sly and the Family Stone’s “Dance to the Music.”
The crowd hoots and hollers and Koz introduces his bandmates prior to concluding tonight’s show with a spirited arrangement of Tower of Power’s “What is Hip” which ends with a coda of Average White Band’s “Pick Up the Pieces.”
As concertgoers make their way out of the MPAC auditorium, several comment on tonight’s performance by Dave Koz and Friends. Declares Ed from South Orange, “It was fantastic! The music was incredible and I especially loved the moves on stage — it reminded me of The Four Tops or The Temptations, except these guys were doing the choreography with instruments around their necks. It was just unbelievable; they were on fire!”
Risa from South Orange insists, “Dave Koz and his friends were wonderful, fabulous, amazing tonight! They played such great tunes, I enjoyed the whole show so much!” Fern from Florham Park calls Dave Koz’s Summer Horns 2025 concert, “Excellent,” explaining, “It was great — so much more than I expected — and it had such high energy!”
Debbie from Bellmore, NY, agrees, revealing, “We were so surprised because we thought this was going to be a low-key show — we never realized it was going to be so high-energy. It was so adorable and the guys were so cute, I smiled the entire time!”
Buzz from Bellmore, NY jokes, “I’m a lifelong saxophonist and after seeing these guys, I think it might time for me to put my horn back in the case!” prior to adding, “These guys were just unbelievable! The energy was crazy, the choreography was great, and they all had so much fun, it was like a love fest which was truly fabulous from beginning to end.”
Frank from Mountainside asserts, “Dave Koz was simply amazing! He did an incredible job right from the start. The choreography was terrific and the way he put all the musicians together — including the bari sax — was phenomenal. I’ll definitely be back to see them again next year.”
Lastly, Gene´ from South Africa contends, “Dave Koz absolutely made what he was doing look easy, but what he was doing was not easy. I was expecting this to be a mellow jazz concert but it turned out to be this phenomenal high energy show,” prior to declaring, “It was absolutely brilliant!”
To learn more about Dave Koz, please go to davekoz.com. For info on upcoming concerts at MPAC — including Steve Winwood on September 24, Yes: The Fragile Tour 2025 on October 2, and An Evening With Amy Grant: Songs/Stories/Memories on October 8 — please click on mayoarts.org.
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