Music for a Rainy Night

Clockwise: Darren Ockert; Janis Ian; Matt Gold; and Dave Koz.

Here on the East coast, the rain started during the middle of the night, and has continued all day, at least for us. There are some reports it might change to snow, but so far, it has not. As I look out the window, I can hardly see, for the rain has beaten through the screen, causing a watery blur to make outside seem distant. So the cold and damp day also makes me want to reach for a blanket to curl up on the sofa, or even to crawl back into bed, snug in a warm blanket or two. All this made me think of a song or two, perfect to capture this feeling. It was then the light bulb went on, and I knew what I was going to post about - the rain. So I opened up iTunes, typed in 'rain' to see what came up. And a stunning 472 possibilities came up, giving me plenty of room to pick and choose. I decided to go with artists who were out and proud members of the LGBT community, making beautiful music. I still trimmed further, simply by picking some favorite songs. And one of those favorites is by Darren Ockert, an ElectroPop singer/songwriter. His song "Out of the Rain" is off his album 'Anything Is Possible'. The chorus is so damn catchy, I find the song irresistible.

You can purchase the album 'Anything Is Possible' on iTunes or Amazon. Folk artist Janis Ian is best known for her stunning "At Seventeen", a song that takes a close look at a young woman coming of age, and the pressures that come with maturing into womanhood. Her songs were often stories that were based on her experience, coming straight from the heart. Such is the case for the next song, "Night Rains". The moody song captures the feelings and emotions behind one of the rainy nights. Enjoy Janis Ian singing "Rainy Nights", off the album of the same name.

You can purchase the album 'Night Rains' on iTunes. There is something very sexy about listening to the Jazz Saxophone, which is almost doubled when I know it is a handsome man like Dave Koz. And when it is a song that seems to spen a bit of time steeping, and a little time brooding, all while you listen, I can't help but think this is a wonderful treat. That is how I feel about "Lullaby for a Rainy Night", a hit single off the 1996 album 'Off The Beaten Path'.

You can purchase the album 'Off The Beaten Path' on iTunes or Amazon. For the final song of the post, I picked a song that was written by Harold Arlen with lyrics by great Johnny Mercer. "Come Rain or Come Shine" was published in 1946, and quickly became a favorite of singers around the world. Some of the greatest names in the music business have taken their turn, an a couple have already appeared on this blog. I love when an artist can take a classic like this song, and deliver a performance from their heart that stands by itself, and I think I found that when I heard singer/songwriter Matt Gold take on "Come Rain or Come Shine". This song is a Jazz standard, but in this live performance, Gold makes it sound new and fresh. Listen for yourself.

Unfortunately, Matt Gold's performance of "Come Rain or Come Shine" is not available for purchase. But you can buy his debut album 'Drown Before You Swim' on iTunes or Amazon. And you can also listen to it on his Soundcloud page. I hope you are staying warm and dry this wet and chilly day.

Dave Koz • O Tannenbaum/Sleigh Ride

Hope everyone is having a 'smooth' Christmas day. Just thought I would offer up a medley from out and proud Jazz star Dave Koz playing "O Tannenbaum" and "Sleigh Ride" off his wonderful album, 'A Smooth Jazz Christmas'.

You can find 'A Smooth Jazz Christmas" on iTunes and Amazon.

Modern Torch

Clockwise: John Barrowman; Sinéad O'Connor; Boz Scaggs; and Dave Koz.

Normally on Saturday nights, I offer up a salute to some of the great ladies of Jazz from the 1930s and beyond, singing songs of love and loss. Great torch singers brought a whole life of experience that filled the songs with such weight, so much depth. This week, I thought I would point out it wasn't just the singers of yesterday who could deliver the goods, using the material that remains timeless. And I will begin with a song by the great Cole Porter. He wrote "After You, Who?"for the 1932 musical The Gay Divorcee, featuring the great Fred Astaire. While "Night And Day" might have been the huge hit from the show, Porter was never one to throw away an opportunity to impress. Here John Barrowman sings "After You, Who?" and reminds us all how important love is.



The song can be found on the album John Barrowman Sings Cole Porter on iTunes and Amazon. Next up, there is a stunning performance of a song written by the great team of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. Originally written for the 1940 show Pal Joey, "Bewitched, Bothered, And Bewildered" has been sung by the greatest names in the music business. Here I offer you a wonderfully vulnerable vocal from the amazing Sinéad O'Connor.



This song can be found on Sinead's album Am I Not Your Girl? on iTunes and Amazon. While the next song might not be as old as the others, it certainly is every bit as popular. In 1961, a film was released that had everyone talking. While not a musical, it did have a song that was sung by the lovely star of the film, Audrey Hepburn. Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini wrote "Moon River" for Hepburn's vocal range, and to be a character piece in Breakfast At Tiffany's. It was recently recorded by Dave Koz, who plays his saxophone to perfection. Koz is joined on "Moon River" by Barry Manilow, both on piano and vocals.



You can find this duet on Dave's album At The Movies on iTunes and Amazon. And finally, we have a stunning song with music by J. Fred Coots and the lyrics by Sam M. Lewis. "For All We Know" was released in 1934, and was immediately on the list of songs all the greatest singers wanted to be singing. In 2003, Boz Scaggs relased an album of Jazz standards, and included his own very special version of "For All We Know".



You can find a recording of this song on Boz Scaggs' album But Beautiful on iTunes and Amazon. It is really a great collection. Hope you enjoyed tonight's selections, and you are having a great weekend.

Sunday Jazz with Dave Koz

While thinking about what music to offer you to close out the weekend, I had a bit of a revelation. What about a bit of smooth jazz... Yeah, that's the ticket. So I of course thought of Dave Koz. He is a talented smooth jazz musician. After playing in some great bands, the saxophonist went out on his in in 1990. He's had several solo albums, and his own jazz show on the radio. In 2002, he started a record company, Rendezvous Entertainment. In 2004, he gave an interview to The Advocate, coming out as a proud gay man. All along, he's been a strong musician, making great music. And looked damn good doing it.



So, with more than 20 years of music to call on, I thought I would just see what I could find that made me happy, and one of the first was a clip of Dave and Jake Shimabukuro doing a wonderful cover of The Beatles song Blackbird. Originally Dave performed the song with his brother Jeff for the Golden Slumbers: A Father's Lullaby album in 2002.



The first single off the Lucky Man album in 1993, You Make Me Smile featured some beautiful work by keyboardist Jeff Lorber. It was the first of Koz' songs to make it on a Billboard chart, having made it to #20 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The album was also a hit, making it on the jazz charts for a long time, and finally being certified Gold.



The song Starting Over Again features the wonderful voice of Dana Glover. The talented friend of Koz also wrote the song several years ago, and Koz always liked it. When it came time to record his latest album, Hello Tomorrow, he asked her if he could record it, with her featured on it. The friends were happy to work together. The song was released as a single in 2011 and went to #1 on the Jazz chart. They were also featured on an episode of Desperate Housewives singing the song.



Back in 1999, Dave was writing some material with his brother Jeff for a new album. One of the songs off The Dance was Together Again, song that went to #20 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It is wonderful smooth jazz, with a hint of Spanish in the spicy beat.



And the final entry for tonight goes to the song that topped the Jazz charts in 2011, Anything's Possible. The song was written by Koz and Brian Culbertson to appear on the Hello Tomorrow album. After listening to the song, it is no wonder it went #1 on the Billboard Jazz chart.



For more about Dave Koz, check out his official website here. You can purchase his music everywhere good music is sold. You can find Hello Tomorrow on iTunes and Amazon. It is a great addition to your music library, and I had a great time listening to it while I wrote this post!

This Guy's In Love With Koz

There is something interesting happening on so many levels of the video for This Guy's In Love With You, from out, proud and handsome Dave Koz. For starters, there is a the fact that the wold renown saxophonist is singing on it, as a cut from the album Hello Tomorrow, released in October of 2010. Add to that fact that this is a gay man man singing the classic song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Well, for now, I'll leave it at that so you can watch the video and enjoy it.






So how cool was it that the video, recorded in Venice Beach, California, had a cast of volunteers, all who descended on the scene after requests on social media, like FaceBook and Twitter? They showed up in numbers, straight and gay, young and old, men and women. It seems like people all all ages, races, nationalities and even hair color were present.



And how exceedingly cool was it to see Herb Alpert, who originally recorded the song to make it a hit in 1968, 43 years ago. Albert also appeared on the album recording, bringing his trumpet to duet with Koz' saxophone. Alpert also has a sweet moment with his wife, Lani Hall. And when they are playing together, it is just pure jazz joy.



You can find more about Dave Koz at his official website here. You can purchase the album Hello Tomorrow on iTunes here, and on Amazon.com here. And with marriage equality trending across the country, this video might just help with several campaigns. And, best of all, when I am watching and pretending Dave is singing to me, I can scream 'I Do' at the screen all I want!

Sunday Morning with Dave Koz

This morning I thought I would drop a little Dave Koz on you, cause I think his music is great, and he is a sexy out man. Everything I would love to be snuggling with this morning. And Jazz on a Sunday morning seems just about right. The first is the video for Faces of the Heart.



Next up is a live recording of You Make Me Smile featuring Jeff Lorber. There is just a nice energy to this song.



Yes, I do enjoy the song, but watching him move on Castle of Dreams is just really sexy to me.



For more about Dave Koz, check out his website here. And have a great Sunday.

Great Music - Dave Koz

Out saxophonist Dave Koz has given us some great music through the years. And he seems like a great choice to allow everyone to relax after a long holiday weekend. I thought about it, and decided to just post some songs from the movies. So enjoy!



Somewhere Over The Rainbow


Moon River


Somewhere With Anita Baker


Find out more about the music of Dave Koz at his official website here.