Ten-time Grammy nominated artist Dave Koz is bringing his friends and his 28th Christmas Tour to a heart-warming stop at the Lansdowne Theater on Dec. 6.
He’s had 12 No. 1 albums on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Albums chart, numerous world tours, a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, performances for multiple U.S. presidents and a 2023 Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award from the White House and next year marks his 50th year playing the saxophone.
Recently, Koz received his latest Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for his duet album with Bob James, “Just Us,” a recording featuring only Koz’s saxophone and James’ piano artistry. The album also took the No. 1 spot on the Luminate, formerly SoundScan, Current Contemporary Jazz Albums chart earlier this year.
Having played at Royal Albert Hall in London, Carnegie Hall in New York and the Kennedy Center in Washington, Koz will soon be able to add the Lansdowne Theater to the locations he’s serenaded, along with singer-songwriter and guitarist Jonathan Butler,
The Lansdowne Theater reopened in August after being closed for 38 years. Dave Koz comes to the venue Dec. 6. (KATHLEEN E. CAREY -DAILY TIMES)
singer-songwriter Haley Reinhart, jazz musician Casey Abrams and pianist and composer Kayla Waters.
“Every year, we like to have a few new spots that we … haven’t been to so that’s why this is on the tour schedule this year because it’s a new venue, a new area for us and we’re excited about that,” Koz said. “Yes, of course, we always want to return to the places that we go to every year, but we also have to filter in some new places and bring new fans along and let people in different cities see a little of the magic of this trip.”
In fact, in order to make space on the tour for places like the Lansdowne Theater, other cities are removed to accommodate the new venue.
The Lansdowne Theater reopened in August after a nearly 40-year hiatus after a tremendous renovation project by the Historic Lansdowne Theater Corp., which purchased the building in 2007 and had been working to restore it to its full glory since then.
Koz, who received his first Grammy nomination in 2001 for Best Pop Instrumental Album for “A Smooth Jazz Christmas,” touched on what makes this time of year and its music so special.
“Holiday music is all about tradition and nostalgia and family and heart and warmth and unity,” he said. “These are things, especially this year, that seem very much that we need it. We need a little Christmas right now.”
Plus, there’s all the variety.
“The music, first of all, there’s so much of it and it’s so good that that gives us a fresh canvas to paint on every year,” Koz said, noting that they’re more than just songs, they’re messages, melodies and lyrics wrapped up in tradition.
“They provide musicians with so much meat on the bones that you can kind of twist and turn them and morph them into different
RAJ NAIK
Jonathan Butler will be performing with Dave Koz at the Lansdowne Theater Dec. 6. (COURTESY OF PIX BY RAJ NAIK)
ways,” he said. “You can use them every year, the same songs but do them in different arrangements and the songs just always hold up.”
Or, you can add different songs.
“There’s so much of it too, that you never run out,” Koz said. “You can change it every year and never run out of songs.”
That mix is part of his show that crosses the divides of Christmas music, whether traditional repertoire or songs written in the Great American Songbook tradition and performed by some of the same artists on his tour, like Butler, or new ones like Reinhart, Abrams and Waters.
And its appeal on his tour has become the fabric for holiday tradition.
“It has become an annual tradition for lots of families,” Koz said. “I remember in the early years seeing parents bring their kids and now, their kids are bringing their kids.”
And that repeat business is why the show changes each time.
“We change our lineup and the artists that are part of the tour every year,” Koz said. “This year is very special and we try and mix it up every year because we know that people come back every year.”
The musician spoke of the lineup for the Christmas Tour.
“I always love to have Jonathan Butler at my side because he’s such a powerhouse, that’s what he is: South African singer and guitarist filled with music and filled with heart and love,” Koz said of the man whose music inspired Nelson Mandela during his imprisonment.
And, there is the new artists added to the stage.
“Over the last few years, we’ve been showcasing amazing young talents on the show,” Koz said.
He highlighted Hailey Reinhart as a “phenomenal vocalist who’s very very famous” with hundreds of millions of plays of her songs on Spotify.
MAX THOMPSON
Haley Reinhart comes to the Lansdowne Theater Dec. 6 with Dave Koz’s 28th Christmas Tour. (COURTESY OF PIX BY MAX THOMPSON)
“She’s like the most famous person on the stage for sure this year,” Koz added.
Then, he noted Kayla Waters, a “wonderful pianist,” who is also the daughter of saxophone player Kim Waters, whom Koz described as “musical royalty.”
The ensemble is rounded out by Casey Abrams, who finished sixth as a jazz musician during “American Idol’s” season 10. Known for playing the upright bass, he also sings and plays the guitar as well.
“All five us know each other very, very well, even though this is the first Christmas tour we’ve done,” Koz explained, adding that they are veterans of the cruise he does every year.
Casey Abrams (Courtesy of Monika “Mushka” Lightstone)
Serving as a Starlight Children’s Foundation global ambassador for 30 years, Koz has raised more than $2 million for the nonprofit that supports families with children diagnosed with serious illness or injury through the Dave Koz & Friends At Sea silent auctions and donations from fans.
And, Koz truly appreciates and cherishes his fans.
“I get inspired by seeing the faces in the crowd,” he said. “I know it’s a cliché thing to say but it really does inspire me. Every year, I never know that anybody’s going to show up to these shows. The fact that an audience assembled. Think about all the different options, especially during the holidays that people have for entertainment … or they could just sit on their couch and watch Netflix.
“So the fact that people would come out to share in the holiday season by coming to our show, that really is what keeps me going year after year especially this time of the year,” Koz said.
In fact, he hopes that the experience of his Christmas show fuels his fans with an optimistic spirit in the year to to come.
“It’s been a tough year for a lot of people,” the musician noted. “This is a year where we’re looking into the next year of 2026 with a lot of question marks and what’s going to happen. There’s a lot of like existential threats coming: AI and climate and politics and all of this stuff, the economy and terror The list is on and on and on.”
“So how do you get people to open their hearts and look positively forward for the next year?” he asked. “And that is our charge for the month is to somehow take the feeling that everybody’s feeling and in a sense, morph it into positivity.”
And, if anything can do that, music, Koz said, has the power to heal, inspire and motivate.
“I myself am constantly humbled by the power of music to affect change,” he said. “And it also is one of the most unifying things too.”
The interior of the Lansdowne Theater ready for opening night restored to its original glory. (KATHLEEN E. CAREY – DAILY TIMES)
So, for those coming to the Lansdowne Theater on Dec. 6, know that Dave Koz & Friends has a long-lasting gift for you.
“That’s really what we want to project is love and warmth and unity and try to inspire people to look forward to the future with a smile on their face,” Koz said. “That’s our goal.”
If you go
Dave Koz & Friends’ 28th Annual Christmas Tour featuring Jonathan Butler with special guests Haley Reinhart, Casey Abrams & Kayla Waters will come to the Lansdowne Theater, 31 N. Lansdowne Ave. in Lansdowne 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6.
Doors open at 7 p.m. For tickets and more information, visit thelansdownetheater.com or call 856-429-6100.
Upcoming BRE Presents shows at the Lansdowne Theater include:
• Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt on March 12
• Graham Nash on April 4
• Micky Dolenz: 60 Years of The Monkees on April 12
• Jon Anderson (of YES) & The Band Geeks on April 30 and May 2
• Joe Jackson on July 17
• Stayin’ Alive: One Night of The Bee Gees on Oct. 15.