A Smooth Jazz Christmas 2010

Friday, November 26th at 8:00 pm

Tickets: $59/$49

Dave Koz & Friends 2010 Smooth Jazz Christmas tour will be extra-special as South African singer/guitarist Jonathan Butler, keyboardist Brian Culbertson and Dutch saxophone star Candy Dulfer join the multi-GRAMMY® nominee and saxophonist extraordinaire in celebrating the joys of the season. This will be Dulfer’s first tour with Koz, while favorites Butler and Culbertson are back by popular demand. The tour has become a cherished tradition for fans and 2010 marks its 13th anniversary. The foursome will perform hits from their respective catalogues and join together on a variety of holiday standards for a high-energy, soul-inspiring show the whole family will love. Koz, who recently received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, has released three classic holiday albums — December Makes Me Feel This Way, A Smooth Jazz Christmas By Dave Koz & Friends, and Memories of a Winter’s Night. The Dave Koz & Friends 2010 Smooth Jazz Christmas Tour with Special Guests Jonathan Butler, Brian Culbertson and Candy Dulfer will run Thanksgiving to Christmas 2010.

Koz – who is the bandleader/co-host of the new ION Television varietyseries “The Emeril Lagasse Show,” airing on Sundays at 8:00 PM ET/PT – is currently recording at Henson Recording Studios (previously A&M Studios) in Hollywood, CA with GRAMMY-winning co-producers Marcus Miller (Miles Davis, Luther Vandross) and John Burk (a producer on Ray Charles’ final studio album, Genius Loves Company). He’ll be giving audiences a preview of songs from the record, set for release this fall by Concord Records. He’ll also be delving into his extensive catalogue,which includes hits such as “You Make Me Smile,” “Faces of the Heart,” “Can’t Let You Go (The Sha La Song)” and “Honey Dipped.” Dave Koz – Greatest Hits debuted at No.1 in September 2008 on Billboard’s Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. It topped the chart for eight weeks and now, a year and a half later, is still in the Top 40.

Multi-GRAMMY nominee Jonathan Butler has a diverse background of R&B, contemporary jazz, adult pop and gospel, blending his roots in African music with western pop sensibilities. Born in Cape Town, South Africa, his 1986 debut, Introducing Jonathan Butler, was a Top 10 hit on Billboard’s Top Jazz Albums chart. So Smooth is his 15th solo collection and follows 2007’s Live In South Africa and Brand New Day, which peaked at #6 on the Top Contemporary Jazz and Top Gospel Albums charts respectively, and 2009’s Falling In Love With Jesus: Best Of Worship. Butler was a featured vocalist on Gospel Goes Classical, which hit #2 on both Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums and Top Classical Crossover Albums charts. Fans can look forward to hearing Butler perform such hits as the GRAMMY-nominated “Lies” and “Going Home” on tour this summer.

Brian Culbertson is a talented young composer/ arranger/ keyboardist/trombonist’s music has maturity that is, at times, beyond his years. Culbertson credits his dad with helping him develop an ear for the type of music he makes. His father, Jim Culbertson, a respected high school jazz band director and trumpeter, cultivated a love of sanguine sounds for a young Brian, who eagerly listened to anything his dad listened to. Their Decatur, IL, home would be alive with the recorded sounds of Maynard Ferguson, Buddy Rich, the Brecker Brothers, and David Sanborn. Growing up, Culbertson also listened to ’70s R&B/pop/funk bands like Blood, Sweat & Tears, Tower of Power, and Earth, Wind & Fire. Culbertson began his musical training at the age of eight with piano lessons; at nine he moved to drums, at ten trombone, and at 12 bass.

Candy Dulfer has been performing since age seven, and has been the bandleader of Funky Stuff since age fourteen. She is an international recording artist since age nineteen, touring the world since age twenty. Dulfer has recorded and / or performed with artists like Prince, Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Van Morrison, Maceo Parker, Sheila E., Mavis Staples, Lionel Richie, Beyoncé, Pink Floyd, Chaka Khan, David Sanborn, Larry Graham, Marcus Miller, Aretha Franklin, Jimmy Cliff, George Duke, Blondie, Jools Holland, Jamie Cullum, Angie Stone, Tower of Power, The Time, Alan Parsons, Fred Wesley, Pee Wee Ellis, Joey DiFrancesco, Jonathan Butler, and many others. Candy Dulfer has been touring the world with her own band Funky Stuff since the early nineties. From the Roxy in L.A. and the illustrious Bottom Line in New York to the Blue Note clubs in Japan and the legendary Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. She toured in Canada, USA, Asia, Scandinavia and the Baltic States, as well as performing in San Remo and Perugia, Italy, the Gurten Festival in Bern, Switzerland, the Nice Jazz and Vienne Festival in France, Couleur Locale in Brussels and of course the famous North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague where Candy Dulfer sold out their biggest venue for over thirteen years.

source: Sunrise Theatre Marketing