Dave Koz – at the Movies Review

Dave Koz – At The Movies / 2006 Capitol / 12 Tracks / http://www.davekoz.com / http://www.capitolrecords.com/davekoz /

You know what would have been cool for Dave Koz to do? 12 different reinterpretations of Alien Ant Farm’s hit “At The Movies”. Well, this album is not it, and instead features Koz doing his reinterpretation of a number of important films (Moon River, Cinema Paradiso, Schindler’s List). While there are hints of the original vocals for “Over The Rainbow”, a soulful sax line starts up soon after the vocals fade out. Of course, the original melody is reproduced faithfully, with the rest of the orchestra kicking in at the moments that the saxophone needs that little boost. The overall track for “Over The Rainbow” has so many things in common with the original song, but the inclusion of the saxophone gives usch a different style to the song that it just is not the same song in the least.

While individuals that are my age (21-29) may not know some of these tracks (the theme from The Sandpiper or the theme from The Way We Were), the smooth approach of Koz on this album will ensure that individuals will have some familiarity with the movies from whence they came. The version of “A Whole New World” is leaps and bounds above the version of the track that is currently charting high on the United Kingdom’s charts. This is due primarily through Koz’s saxophone work on the track, but also from the extremely adept Vanessa Williams, who sings on this track. Vanessa Williams is not the only added star to “At The Movies”, as India.Arie makes it onto “It Might Be You”, the theme from Tootsie.

The production is strong, the orchestra is easily the equivalent to any that would have been on the original soundtrack for the movie, and Koz’s saxophone lines are absolutely stellar throughout the entirety of this album. The only suggestion that I would have for this album is that is should have been a 2 CD set, with the earlier movies occupying the first CD and a newer set of movies present on the second. Obviously, twice the amount of songs would have been necessary, and individuals that are younger could be more familiar with the work of the second disc while movie aficionados would know the earlier tracks better. For movie fans that would like to hear classic and not so classic themes be reinterpreted, “At The Movies” is a necessary pickup; for any fans of smooth jazz, this album is also a great pick up.

Top Tracks: Over The Rainbow, The Pink Panther

Rating: 6.3/10