Summer Horns Tour 2023 poster (Photo by DaveKoz.com)
(Photo by Irvan Risnandar)
ORLANDO | Grammy Award nominated, multi-platinum selling jazz icon Dave Koz returns to Orlando July 2 with another Summer Horns Tour. This time he is bringing along some saxophone superstars in Candy Dulfer and Tampa local Eric Darius.
“The summer tour, and specifically when we do a Summer Horns Tour, that really is about the best music there is,” Koz says.
Summer Horns Tour started as a tip of the hat to some of Koz’s favorite horn bands that he listened to growing up like Earth, Wind & Fire, Chicago and Kool & The Gang.
“So Summer Horns is a celebration of that music and also of our music that we are adding to the overall mix of great horn music,” he says.
But Koz can’t do it alone and that is where Dulfer and Darius come in. Happy to grab two friends that he admires and hasn’t toured with yet, Koz speaks very highly about both guests on this tour.
Although slightly younger that the rest of the line up, Darius has impressed Koz with his energy and musicality. About Darius, Koz says “I like to call him the energizer bunny of saxophone cause he is just a machine.”
When talking about Dulfer, Koz highlighted her 30-year career noting her breakthrough as the first prominent female saxophone player.
“We remain great friends,” Koz says speaking about Dulfer. “She’s one of the funkiest people I have ever met in my entire life.”
But for Koz, the music is always the most important thing to focus on. Whether he is leading his own song or jumping on a track by Dulfer or Darius, Koz will be playing with the same intensity all night.
As for the rising anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in the country, specifically in Florida, Koz is not seeing any blow-back but his focus is on the music and the crowd not the politics.
“In my music and the things that we do, the cruises I host and produce, the idea is that everybody sees each other and respect each other,” Koz says.
The Summer Horns Tour kicks off with the first show June 30 in Jacksonville, Florida. Koz and company then head to The Sound at Coachman Park in downtown Clearwater July 1 and the Dr. Phillips Center’s Steinmetz Hall July 2. Tickets are available now at DaveKoz.com/tour.
