1. Smooth Jazz Christmas Overture
2. The Christmas Song
3. O Tannenbaum/Sleigh Ride Medley
4. Silent Night
5. Beneath The Moonlit Sky
6. Little Drummer Boy
7. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
8. December Makes Me Feel This Way
9. Boogie Woogie Santa Claus
10. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
11. White Christmas
12. Eight Candles (A Song For Hanukkah)
13. Get Here (For The Holidays)
14. 'Twas The Night Before Christmas

Musicians:
Dave Koz – saxophones (alto, soprano, tenor)
David Benoit – piano
Rick Braun – flugelhorn, trumpet
Nick Lane  - trombone
Bill Sharpe – bass
Peter White – accordion, guitar
Stephen Theard – drums
Bridgette Bryant, Nick Lane, Esterlee Nicholson, Brenda Russell, Sandy Simmons – vocals

Since 1997, the Dave Koz & Friends Christmas Tour has evolved from a handful of concerts by the beloved saxman and pianist David Benoit to a 30-plus-city national phenomenon also featuring fellow genre all-stars Peter White and Rick Braun and singer Brenda Russell. The original tour came in support of his popular 1997 seasonal offering December Makes Me Feel This Way, but the show has taken on an incredibly joyful creative life of its own, prompting Koz and his cohorts to create an exciting studio recording which captures the powerful emotion, warmth, and special familial spirit of these shows. Featuring unique ensemble arrangements of timeless classics, a handful of several Koz originals (including the brand new Koz/Benoit collaboration "Beneath the Moonlit Sky"), and musical surprises by the sleigh-load, A Smooth Jazz Christmas By Dave Koz & Friends is contemporary music's premier event for Christmas 2001. The experience begins the same way as the live performance, with a lengthy medley ("The Overture") introducing each artist one by one; in a complete blend of styles, the songs include "Let It Snow," "Winter Wonderland," "What Child Is This?," "Angels We Have Heard on High," "Jingle Bells," and "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," the latter segment featuring Brenda Russell. Russell also adds her lush vocal presence to "The Christmas Song," while the medley of "O Tannenbaum/Sleigh Ride" moves from a playful Vince Guaraldi-like groove to a feisty Latin explosion. The gang creates a gentle, moody atmosphere for "Silent Night," while "Beneath the Moonlit Sky" features a wild moodswing from smoky soprano sax/piano duet to guitar, trumpet, and sax jam. "The Little Drummer Boy" is an exciting showcase for Braun's trumpet over a marching drum beat, while "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" features a bluesy solo improvisation by Benoit. Koz sang on the original recording of the title track to December Makes Me Feel This Way, and gives the reins here to the incomparable voice of pop superstar Kenny Loggins. Russell found the intensely energetic '40s big-band gem "Boogie Woogie Santa Claus," and it's since become a showstopper live; Koz and Braun create a potent horn section here as well. Cozy readings of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "White Christmas" are followed by a festive and folksy Koz original for Hanukah, "Eight Candles" (featuring Peter White on accordion), and a passionate new recording of Russell's classic "Get Here." Here as in the show, the encore/grand finale is "It Was the Night Before Christmas," featuring each member of the band reciting a verse of the famous poem over a bouncy, finger-snap-driven groove. One of the most diverse and original smooth jazz Christmas CDs ever. --- Jonathan Widran, Rovi

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1. Deck The Halls
2. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
3. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Instrumental)
4. White Christmas
5. Winter Wonderland (Fast)
6. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
7. Please Come Home For Christmas
8. Memories Of A Winter's Night
9. Little Drummer Boy (2001 Version)
10. Silver Bells
11. Boogie Woogie Santa Claus
12. O Tannenbaum (O Christmas Tree)

Musicians:

    Dave Koz - Saxophones, Piano
    Alex Al - Bass
    David Benoit - Piano
    Rick Braun - Trumpet
    Gerry Brown - Drums
    Bridgette Bryant - Background Vocal
    Brian Culbertson - Piano, Keyboards, Percussion, Trombone
    Jim Culbertson - Trumpet
    Paul Jackson, Jr. - Guitar
    Brian Kilgore - Percussion
    Jeff Koz - Nylon String Guitar
    Nick Lane - Trombone
    Kimberley Locke - Vocal
    Tony Maiden - Guitar, Vocal
    Eddie Miller - Wurlitzer, B-3 Organ
    Ester Nicholson - Background Vocal
    Ray Parker, Jr. - Guitar
    Phil Parlapiano - Keyboards, Guitar
    Fernando Perdomo - Bass
    Doug Pettibone - Guitars
    David Piltch - Acoustic Bass
    Brenda Russell - Vocal
    Bill Sharpe - Bass
    Sandy Simmons - Background Vocal
    Brian Simpson - Keyboards, Piano
    Kelly Sweet - Vocal
    Michael Thompson - Guitar
    Stevo Théard - Drums
    Bruce Watson - Guitars
    Gigi Worth - Background Vocal
    Donn Wyatt - Piano, Keyboards

From trends visible in the 2000s, smooth jazz fans couldn't get enough of three things: all-star cruises, all-star summer tours, and big holiday tour extravaganzas. In 2006, the only year since 1997 that genre superstar Dave Koz didn't traverse the country for Christmas, there were three other tours out there. As if to say, "I'm back, now deck those halls," he celebrated the "Dave Koz and Friends" Smooth Jazz Christmas tenth anniversary in 2007 with not only another great touring show but his third Christmas CD in ten years. For fans who missed 1997's underrated December Makes Me Feel This Way and 2001's Smooth Jazz Christmas, Memories of a Winter's Night is a good way to catch up with the best of those discs and hang out by the fire with some exciting new tracks (seven in all). There are three songs from December, two from Smooth Jazz Christmas (including the high-spirited, big-band flavored Brenda Russell led jam "Boogie Woogie Santa Claus"), and a nice mix of classics Koz hadn't previously tackled, from "Deck the Halls" to a jamming blues version of "Winter Wonderland." The real highlights, however, are the new tracks by young vocalists Kelly Sweet (an ethereal voiced singer who toured with Koz in 2007), who creates a lovely chill take on "White Christmas," and former American Idol finalist Kimberley Locke, who rocks steady on "Please Come Home for Christmas." Koz pays homage to his own tradition with the beautiful, lyrical Hanukkah-inspired title track. ---Jonathan Widran, Rovi

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