Presented by Mesa Arts Center
Members on sale Tue, Jan 21 at 12:30 PM (For VIP $500 ticket only). Not a member? Join today!
Box Office Hours: TUE-SAT 12P-5P
Enjoy VIP seating to the show, pre-show reception and much more at our special fundraising event, The Art of 20—An Evening with Bob James & Dave Koz! Learn more about our VIP Package and support the fundraiser HERE.
Join us for an intimate evening of songs and stories with two living legends of instrumental music in support of their brand new unprecedented duet album, "Just Us."
About Bob James:
Originally from Marshall, Missouri, two-time GRAMMY winner Bob James (b.1939) has enjoyed a tremendously varied career, characterized by many fascinating twists and turns. To some, he’s a hip-hop icon because samples of his music played a pivotal role in the foundation of rap, while to others, he’s the godfather of smooth jazz.
After being discovered by Quincy Jones at the Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival in 1962, James made his mark at producer Creed Taylor’s CTI label in the 1970s when he was the architect of an innovative new sound that fused jazz with classical music and funk. James’ music found a broader audience in 1978 after his track “Angela” was used as the theme to the popular U.S. TV sitcom, “Taxi.” He also ran his record label, Tappan Zee, for many years, has released albums dedicated to classical music, and co-founded the popular and hugely successful smooth jazz group Fourplay. Now signed to international record label, evosound, his latest album, Jazz Hands, was nominated for a GRAMMY.
About Dave Koz:
Dave Koz has racked up an astoundingly impressive array of honors and achievements: nine GRAMMY® nominations, 12 No. 1 albums on Billboard’s Current Contemporary Jazz Albums chart, numerous world tours, a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, performances for multiple U.S. presidents and, most recently, a 2023 Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award from President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
He also received the 2023 Starlight Children’s Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. Koz, who has served as global ambassador for the Foundation for 30 years, has raised over two million dollars to date for the foundation through the Dave Koz & Friends At Sea silent auctions and his network of fans.
In over 30 years of constant touring, Koz has graced the stages of some of the most prestigious venues the world over, including Royal Albert Hall in London, Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, Carnegie Hall in New York City and various symphony orchestras across the country. Koz also headlines The Hollywood Bowl every other summer season as one of the legendary venue’s “regulars.”
