UMPG's Dave Koz is one of contemporary jazz music’s most respected artists. Koz first started playing the saxophone in Junior High School and upon graduation from UCLA played his first professional gig with Bobby Caldwell. With the encouragement of Caldwell, and support of his longtime friend and collaborator, Jeff Lorber, Koz went on to pursue a solo career. In 1990, Koz released his self-titled debut album, which spent 25 weeks on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz chart, producing the Top Ten song “Nothing But The Radio” and the No. 1 hit “Castle of Dreams”. Koz’s sophomore release, Luck Man (Capitol), proved to be an even greater success selling over 700,000 copies in the US alone. The album included a song written by Koz and his brother Jeff titled, “Faces of the Heart,” which was chosen to be the new theme song of the television soap opera General Hospital, the soap’s first new theme song in over 30 years. Breaking the barrier into mainstream media, Koz quickly became a crossover success as he enjoyed regular Thursday night gigs on The Arsenio Hall Show, as well as guest appearances on ABC’s Family Matters and Fox’s Beverly Hills 90210. Koz’s unique saxophone sounds could also be heard on the albums of some of the most talented voices in the early 1990’s, such as Celine Dion, U2, Curtis Stigers, Phil Perry, Stevie Nicks, Vanessa Williams and Julio Inglesias. A very special moment for Koz was being invited to perform at the presidential inauguration of former President Bill Clinton along with such jazz connoisseurs as Tom Scott, Grover Washington, Jr. and David Sanborn. Koz also appeared on televised special events including “Quincy Jones—First 50 Years,” the Disney Channel’s "American Teacher Awards" and his very own PBS special. On his fifth studio album, The Dance (Capitol), Koz surrounds himself with some of pop, R&B, gospel, and smooth jazz’s greatest performers, writers and producers including Burt Bacharach, Glen Ballard, Luther Vandross, Montell Jordan, Take 6, Marc Antoine, Chris Botti. Currently Koz can be heard live on his syndicated radio program, “The Dave Koz Show,” which airs on over 100 radio stations throughout the US. Koz is releasing a new record, Golden Slumbers: A Father's Lullaby (on his own brand new label through Warner Bros.), in late 2002. The CD features tracks by UMPG artists Dave Koz, Brian Culbertson, David Benoit, Rick Braun, and Norman Brown. Koz is also touring this summer as Dave Koz and Friends with James Ingram, Brian Culbertson, and Norman Brown.