“You’re going to hear our instruments with elegance, in purity with warts and all;”
Such was David Koz’s apt description of not only his stellar recent debut album with legendary pianist/composer Bob James (Just Us), but his comment from his interview with Mr. James by Tavis Smiley set the scene for a magical musical evening of music that focused on melody, hope and warmth.
Smile evoked excellent answers and quotes from the two musical collaborators, with Koz emphasizing that while the album and evening of duets created “no sonic competition” and “a return to melody”, he also confessed that in an intimate setting such as this “ there is nowhere to hide. James agreed that these melodies were “an open canvas” for the two, and that the title of the album was to demonstrate that “hope is something that never goes out of style.
As to the music itself, Koz started things off by admitting “we want you to know that we’re terrified” before bringing up his alto sax for some gorgeous interplay on pieces like “Summation” , while a rendition of Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile” had James mixing modern piano ideas with sepia toned nostalgia, sneaking in ideas from over the rainbow.
The two went into ideas from the Left Bank with Koz putting on his beret for a Old World “Rue de Rivoli” and then switching to a straight soprano gliding over James’ jaunty fingers on “Fontain d’Alice” , with his curved soprano peppy on “TWO”.
For the encore, the two went straight into Tin Pan Alley for a playful “Sunny Side Of The Street” before James filled the room with his gorgeous theme from “Taxi” as Koz obeyed all the traffic signs. The most impressive parts was the inspired playing by James, who at 85 played like he’s imbibed from the Fountain of Youth, while Koz’s strong and melodic tone revealed an aspect of his playing unable to be captured in a group setting. A rare evening of artists filling a rich canvas.
Upcoming events at the Grammy Museum include Chloe Moriondo 03/25, Anoushka Shankar 03/26, Nubya Garcia 03/27 and Judy Collins 04/05