Dave Koz & Friends at Sea Cruise, Part 1: Sax Man and Pals Set Sail in Europe

by Kevin Wierzbicki

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If you've ever been to one of Dave Koz's Dave Koz & Friends shows, like maybe one of his annual holiday shows, you know that the concerts are full of consummate musical performance, mirth and surprises from stellar guest players. Imagine that fun multiplied tenfold and taking place on a cruise ship and you have the floating music festival known as Dave Koz & Friends at Sea!

The Dave Koz & Friends at Sea cruises took place in mid-June, 2025 aboard the Holland America Cruise Line ship "Rotterdam." There were two voyages sailing back-to-back with the first leaving from Rotterdam in the Netherlands and stopping at two ports in Norway and two ports in Iceland before ending in Reykjavik while the second cruise sailed the same route in reverse, ending in Rotterdam. We had the pleasure of sailing with Dave and his friends on the first cruise, and man those were some friends! Among the stars that joined Koz for the smooth jazz festival on the high seas were Rick Braun, Peter White, Mindi Abair, Jonathan Butler, Marcus Anderson, Maysa, Michael Lington, Adam Hawley, David Benoit, Eric Darius, Kim Scott, Richard Elliot, Take 6, Vincent Ingala and many others.

With the exception of when the ship was in port, concerts and other events took place all day long, from mid-morning until late at night. So there was never a dull moment; to the contrary there was a thrill waiting at any hour, with multiple shows taking place at the same time (shows were generally repeated on subsequent days so fans didn't have to worry about missing a particular artist's performance.) We had a blast hopping from venue to venue to catch shows and here's a look at some of our favorite moments from early in the cruise.

In a really nice touch, Koz hosted "A Toast to You" at the Lido Pool Stage, the event's big outdoor venue. Fans got to hoist a glass of bubbly while Koz introduced all of the players and the radio and online personalities who were also aboard. After that Richard Elliot put on a great show with a lot of guest artists, including Koz, as the ship pulled out of Rotterdam.

The Sail Away party was just one of many occurrences where Koz would face off with another sax player, resulting in some incredible duels and magnificent harmonizing. Each night there was a featured concert spotlighting some of the cruise's biggest stars and on sail away day the show, taking place in the big indoor venue called the World Stage, the smooth jazz music was provided by guitarist Adam Hawley, sax man Eric Darius with singer Rebecca Jade. The World Stage has a unique feature with wrap-around video screens and, since this was opening night, a program about Vikings, honoring the cruise's destinations of Norway and Iceland, was shown. The film featured amazing footage of the northern destinations and in a surprise ending, the "Viking" seen at the end of the video came to life on stage and it was Dave Koz in full Viking regalia including a horned helmet. The crowd of course went wild! Koz left the stage to change and would later appear with Hawley and Darius and Jade; the trio in the meantime treated the crowd to cuts like Darius' smash #1 hit "Too Good 2 Let Go" as well as his single "Grateful." Hawley and Darius also performed their big hit from 2016, "35th St." that comes from their album of the same name. Jade spotlighted a couple of her own songs and also added sultry vocals to other cuts.

Also on sail away day the "Ladies of Smooth Jazz" show took place at BB King's Nightclub, a venue where fans could watch from two different decks. That show with sax player Jazmin Ghent, keys player Kayla Waters and flutist Kim Scott featured a set of jazz with R&B flavorings and a highlight was Scott's original song "Alma" which she explained was inspired by her visit to Lisbon, Portugal. In a quieter set, the guitar duo of Roman Street put on a performance at the small outdoor venue at the Sea View Pool, playing cuts like the Peter Green-penned and Santana-associated "Black Magic Woman."

The second day of the cruise fell on a Sunday and was an "at sea" day as the "Rotterdam" sailed toward Norway. A lot of exciting things happened, including "Meet the Artist" autograph sessions featuring every performer and taking place at five venues throughout the ship. Each fan was given a special commemorative booklet with photos of each player that they could have signed but the artists also signed other items. A show that blew everyone away was Jonathan Butler's "Uplifted": Gospel at Sea concert. A raucous 90-minute show that featured lots of guest artists, Jonathan held "church" through a set that included songs like Maysa's original cut "Thank You for the Peace," "Brand New Day," "He Said He Would" and a sublime reading of Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desires" by guitarist Peter White and trumpet player Ilya Serov. The audience shouted "hallelujah, "amen" and "praise the Lord" throughout the "service," including during performances of "Say it With Love," an original from Mindi Abair, and a delicate reading of the Celine Dion/Andrea Bocelli hit "The Prayer" from Scott. Almost every performer shared a story of how their faith changed their life, and Butler shared an emotional moment when he, his wife Nadira on violin and Adam Hawley on guitar performed the gospel chestnut "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." All of the performers were backed by a full band and a seven-piece choir, all of whom were stars who had their own showcases later. The whole bunch closed the show with a take on the Edwin Hawkins Singers crossover hit "Oh Happy Day." The show couldn't have had a better title as indeed the crowd, nearly floating out of the venue at the end, were truly uplifted. Fortunately for those who missed the show, a repeat performance took place a couple of days later.

Sunday night's main concert, back in the World Stage venue, was a thrilling show featuring White, sax man Vincent Ingala and keys player Gregg Karukas who was a founding member of fabled group The Rippingtons. Their set included "Midnight in Manhattan," "I Love You Still" from White's new album, Ingala's "On the Move" and a couple of cuts featuring Karukas on keytar including "Cafe a Go Go" and "Blue Touch." The threesome also played a medley that included snippets of the James Bond theme where White looked for all the world like a spy in his suit and dark glasses, a bit of Bob Marley's "Get Up, Stand Up" that showcased the band's drummer and a hot take on the Deep Purple hit "Smoke on the Water." There was of course no actual smoke during the show but man the place was steaming!

In the next chapter of our four part recounting of our Dave Koz & Friends at Sea adventure we'll look at what the man himself, Dave Koz, was up to.

Find out about future Dave Koz cruises, tour dates and new releases here.

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