It’s been 24 years since Dave Koz’s first holiday album and inaugural Christmas tour, and I can’t believe it took that long for us to realize that the smooth jazz horn blower is actually a Jewish boy who grew up in the valley in Los Angeles.
“Kind of a head scratcher. But I’m also very humbled by it,” Koz once told his local newspaper. “I have great respect and love for Christmas music.” The 58-year-old’s fans love it, too, and we suspect they’ll be merry and bright when Santa Koz rolls back into Clearwater with South African guitarist-singer Jonathan Butler, trumpeter Rick Braun, saxophonist Richard Elliot and new-to-the-tour-vocalist Rebecca Jade in his sleigh.
Dave Koz & Friends Christmas. Saturday, Nov. 27, 8 p.m. $37 & up. Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater. rutheckerdhall.com
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This article appears in Nov 18-24, 2021.