Out March 7 on the Just Koz Entertainment label, ‘Just Us’ from contemporary jazz legends Bob James and Dave Koz not only promises to be a standout release of 2025 but also, from a personal perspective, a timely reminder of the contribution these two musical icons have made to the development of what is now widely referred to smooth jazz. Take for example the 1983 CD from Bob James, ‘The Genie’ which was the record that first got me hooked on the genre or going to my first smooth jazz show where Dave Koz headlined the first ever Guitars & Saxes gig at the Shepherds Bush Empire, London on November 13, 1999. These, to me, were magic moments and much the same can be said of ‘Just Us’, a spine tingling collection of originals spliced with colourful re-imaginings of standards lifted from the Great American Songbook.
The sheer beauty of ‘Just Us’ is there for all to hear with the stunning title cut, ‘New Hope’. Koz co-wrote the track with Todd Schroeder while in Saudi Arabia and another complex yet melodic gem comes with the Bob James composition ‘Sommation’.
‘Just Us’ came about after Koz invited James to headline the main show stage aboard the Seaborn Ovation in September 2024 as part of Somma Italia, Koz’s inaugural Somma Cruise, a luxury extension to his well-established Dave Koz At Sea. James agreed on the condition that the two of them create a new recording to give to attendees and the rest, as they say, is history.
Recorded at James’ house just weeks before the ship sailed, the souvenir recording featured the previously mentioned ‘Sommation’ and a wonderful rendition of ‘My Ship’ which was inspired by the Miles Davis’ 1957 arrangement of this classic Kurt Weill - Ira Gershwin song. Think ‘score from a Woody Allen movie’ and that’s all you need to know.
Even then the duo were not thinking about recording a complete album but after the cruise Dave returned to Bob’s house to continue the creative process. The result was tunes such as the somewhat whimsical ‘The Naked Ballet’,” the classically inclined ‘Protea’ and the French tinged ‘Rue de Rivoli’.
Also from that session came a charming version of the classic ‘All the Way’ while when the two reconvened some time later the outcome was the intricate ‘Fountain D’Alice’ and a fresh look at ‘On the Sunny Side of the Street’, a bonus track only available on the physical edition of the album.
The one number that James and Koz wrote together and perhaps the song closest to their collective contemporary jazz roots is the appropriately titled ‘TWO’. It’s right up there with the best that ‘Just Us’ has to offer and just as good is the highly improvised Charlie Chaplin number ‘Smile’.
Spanning genres, moods and styles ‘Just Us’ is music for grown ups and comes highly recommended.