Customer Reviews

At the Movies

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

With two decades of performances under his belt,the renowned, multi-Grammy nominee master saxophonist Dave Koz has turned to one of his favorite pastimes, the movies, for inspiration for his new album .
The result is "At The Movies", a beautiful, romantic collection of timeless songs from some of the most beloved movies of all time.
The record is produced by Phil Ramone, who has produced other such legendary projects as Ray Charles' "Genius Loves Company" and Billy Joel's "The Stranger".
The 40-piece orchestra enlisted by Koz and Ramone provides a majestic, sweeping soundscape for the saxophonist and his guest vocalists.
The album features theme songs from 12 movies, including "As Time Goes By" from Casablanca; "Moon River" from Breakfast at Tiffany's (Special Aniversary Collector's Edition) (one of his favorites on the disc); and "It Might Be You" from Tootsie.
On six tracks, guests India Arie, Anita Baker, Chris Botti, Barry Manilow, Johnny Mathis, Donna Summer and Vanessa Williams add gorgeous, rich vocals and other music to Dave's saxophone.
For this eighth solo album, Dave Koz worked with a live, full orchestra, a new experience for him.
The orchestration was essential for the cinematic songs, adding that he believes in the magic that movies and music can create together.
"When you go into a darkened movie theater, ...you're transported to another world, completely forgetting about your problems. ...It takes you away. And that's the feeling that I wanted to go for with this project," Koz said.
My favourite tracks are : "Somewhere" from West Side Story (Full Screen Edition) featuring Anita Baker , and "The Shadow Of Your Smile" (Love Theme From The Sandpiper [DVD] (1965) Authentic Region 1 Starring Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton & Eva Marie Saint featuring Johnny Mathis and the ubiquitous Chris Botti, " It Might Be You" featuring India.Arie, and "A Whole New World" from Aladdin (Disney Special Platinum Edition Collector's Gift Set).
Dave's sax playing is relaxed, soulful, and infectious. It is an irresistible attraction of sexiness, nostalgic memories, warmth and deep bluesy notes that make up one stunner of a smooth jazz album any jazz fan will appreciate.It sent me to a good comforting place, to collect my thoughts and my memories and unravel any tiredness felt.
Perfectly weighted and surprisingly moving,this CD shows the crucial role music plays in the filmmaking process and reminds us how deeply movies and their music touch our emotions, creating a soundtrack not just to a given film, but also to our lives.
Most likely it will be one of the most popular and commercial Smooth Jazz sets of 2007.
I listen to it every chance I get. It is great just to put in your CD player on "repeat" and allow it to soothe and inspire you for a few hours, for an evening, or an for entire day.

I absolutely love "The Dance". I was expecting the same with this release and I am greatly disappointed. The idea of re-making classics works, but the remakes were not that new or exciting.

I am a big fan of Dave Koz and have been for years but I find this new release a bit heavy on the schmaltzy/cheezy side. There is a lot of string laden arrangements which make it very sappy in general. I love the tunes and the guest vocalists are a treat but I just wish it sounded more like it would if he were doing the tunes live (without a huge orchestra behind him.)

I just bought this cd today and i love it ! Dave has created a cd that every fan of movie music will enjoy

who can't forget moon river or Somewere? Dave adds his own unquie touch to each of thease songs .

This very well could be the one that will land him a grammy next year!! let's hope

Dave Koz has created a great salute to songs from the movies that is fresh in it's approach, pays tribue to the songs, and gives them a unque updated vibe.

It kicks off with one of the most famous movie thme songs ever, and considering that Over The Rainbow has been covered by countless singers, it is appropriate that here we have a smooth instrumental cover, with some sampling of Judy Garland. Other songs with a smooth instrumental bent include; The Theme From Schindlers List, Cinema Paradiso Suite, and The Pink Panther. A great feature of this release is that Dave spans the generations. This is not about old movies, new movies, in between movies, it about good music from good movies, of all periods.

The vocal tracks shine in a different light. Anita Baker, Vanessa Williams, and Barry Manilow, all work with Mr. Koz seemlessly, and all lend a vocal class to their reads of these songs.

Speaking of vocal class, and for those of you who follow my reviews, my all time favorite, Donna Summer,
delivers a beautiful, simple, restrained take on A Whole New World. Donna and the artist known for this song, Regina Belle are friends and Regina has covered some of Donna's material in the past. Here Donna returns the favor, and shows many of todays vocalists that you do not have to over-sing to be heard.

Pass the popcorn and enjoy!

Ken

Dave Koz has created a special CD that goes beyond good. He takes old standards from the movies and makes you feel like you are hearing them for the first time without sacrificing the beauty of the old. This CD is simply extraordinary. Wow.

This album gives you the feel and memories of the special movie themes chosen along with the Great Dave Koz. I recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the movie's or Koz. You won't be disappointed.

Dave Koz does a great job in bringing a jazzy and smooth touch to some of the greatest movie music that has been produced. Both versions of "The Shadow of Your Smile" are just perfect. And the "Pink Panther" theme is GREAT!!

I have been a Dave Koz fan four about 4 years now since I saw him in concert in Concord, Ca. I have almost all of his albums (at least I think I do). His music is so soulful, relaxing, and invigorating all at the same time. I get nothing but compliments when I play this cd at work, and this album is a perfect product of a great artist.

I loved how Dave used the voices of the great legends in some of the songs. This CD was well produced and mixed. Once again Dave has used his creativity to come up with a project that isn't the norm. Thanks Dave.