Summer Newsletter 2025 - London Iceland

Dave Koz introduces Gregg on the Iceland Cruise

Live video by Jerry Carvalho

Happy Independence Day. Whew, it has been quite a month of music and travel....or travel and music if you prefer. See at the the bottom for my fun 4th of July story......

First, we had a great GK Soul/Jazz Party Hammond organ show in May at The Grape in Ventura with Kevin Winard, Thom Rotella and guest Kevin Ricard on percussion. 

Before my trips, I was able to catch the opening night of my best buddy Ron Boustead and Billy Larkin's amazing musical, "Flashes of Light" at the Sierra Madre Playhouse.

After a couple of rehearsals in Burbank for the Dave Koz and Friends Cruise to Iceland, I left for London on May 27 and had a fun weekend of GK shows at Pizza Express in Soho. Peter White surprised everyone and joined me on Saturday night for some unrehearsed jamming. Thanks to Jimi King for hosting me. 

Then I went North to The Stables in Milton Keynes to play a long show with Peter with some of his new songs from his new CD and a few of mine. What a nice theater venue, established by British jazz icons John Dankworth and Cleo Laine.

That left a week off before embarking on the Koz Cruise, so Kathy flew into Heathrow and we spent tourist time in London and then Amsterdam. Lots of walking to take in as much as possible in a couple of days in each city. Westminster Abbey was so opulent and historic, except as soon as we got there we heard a very, very loud, constant, trumpet-like sound echo thru the whole church....then more tones, for 20 minutes.....very loud......and it turned out the guy was tuning the massive pipe organ. Then a Thames river cruise and Covent Garden, National Portrait Gallery.....more walking. 

Jimi took us to our flight to Amsterdam, the coolest city, and the best way to see it was a private ebike tour all around the canals and parks. Such unique architecture, I highly recommend it, a canal cruise is a must too.....We came prepared for heavy weather since you never know what it will be like in Iceland. Actually, the Norway/Iceland weather turned out to be very nice, a little gray, a little rain, but plenty of clear skies too, and temps were not too cold. The sun almost never set up there!!

Then we hit the open seas for "week one" with Dave and 2500 fans and over 100 musicians/artists.....certainly many more players and bands than we had in the first 3 years of the DK Cruise in 2011-2013 when I was Musical Director. It was such a joy to reconnect and hang with so many old friends from our early days in the clubs of LA and tours in the 80's and on......getting to see lots of shows and new artists was a bonus.

My shows were as varied as I could hope for;

  • Mainstage Theater with Peter and Vincent Ingala
  • 70's Fusion night
  • Great American Songbook/Jazz
  • Piano Bar-playing "Imagine" on solo piano with Matt Cusson and John Stoddart joining in singing verses, and last but not least
  • 2 - GK Soul/Jazz Party Hammond organ shows with Mark Jaimes, Jay Williams and BK Jackson and Adrian Crutchfield crushing it on saxes and guest singers.

Dave and the great crew have taken the event up many notches in the last 10 years; and I tell people all the time that this is not your typical cruise, it just has to be experienced to be believed, and that's why it sells out 2 years in advance! 

We explored a lot of the port towns and went to the major waterfalls and geological sites in Iceland. Beautiful place.

The 11 hour return flight to LA was very smooth, and it's nice to be home and chill for a while before the big 4th of July weekend. Stay safe and hope to see you at some shows this Summer.

Here are some upcoming shows:
July 11 - 1881 E. Washington Alta Dena, CA  GK on Hammond Organ, Miles Jensen-guitar, and Joel Taylor-drums

July 12 - Garden Grove, CA Private House Concert with Michael Paulo, Kansaki.......this was a silent auction offering from our Feb 23 benefit for fire victims

July 19 -  Paso Robles, CA Libretto - GK acoustic trio on the Steinway 9ft. concert grand with Kenny Wild and Joel Taylor

July 24 - Laguna, CA Laguna Festival of the Arts  - GK Soul/Jazz Organ Party  with Woody Mankowski-sax/vocals, Miles Jensen-guitar, Joel Taylor-drums


July 26 -  La Costa, CA   Omni La Costa Resort GK with Ilya Serrov, Michael Paulo and DW3  7:30PM

So here’s a Fourth of July story. Last year I went up to Idyllwild to stay for a few days with my best friends, the aforementioned  Ron and Ruth, at their house up in the mountains. We had a very nice chill time, and I planned to leave on the fourth after dinner, just after the sun was going down so I could beat traffic and get down the winding mountain road before dark without the sun blaring in my eyes.

So that all went well, and by the time I got down to the 10 freeway heading west, it was 9 o’clock, dark, and what did I see? For the next hour drive home I saw at least 60, if not 100 BIG fireworks displays - to the left and to the right, off in the distance from every municipality and city along the way between Riverside and Thousand Oaks. Amazing timing!

Gregg Karukas

Serenata Review by Kathy Parsons Mainlypiano.com

With Serenata, his first solo piano album in a long and illustrious career, Gregg Karukas dazzles, not with piano pyrotechnics, but with subtle nuance and a deep love for this music.

A mix of new and re-imagined original compositions along with “piano impressions” of Brazilian artists Milton Nacimento, Clube da Esquina and Dori Caymmi, Karukas clearly demonstrates that, in the right hands, great music (and great musicianship!) defies genres and categories to enrich the ears and hearts of anyone willing to take some time to listen. Calling the project “a labor of love that came out of the isolation of the last few months,” the album was initially inspired by a rediscovered cassette tape of his live performances from the 1990’s with Dori Caymmi and Ricardo Silveira at Le Cafe in Los Angeles. One evening, Karukas sat down at the piano and played some of the pieces from memory - a deeply emotional experience that set him off on a new adventure to create this wonderful collection of 15 solo piano gems.

A Grammy Award winner, Gregg Karukas’ 30+ year career as a keyboardist/ composer/ producer has included twelve solo albums, many #1 radio hits, touring with a variety of artists that include Sergio Mendes and Melissa Manchester, being a founding member of The Rippingtons, contributing to more than 100 albums, and sessions for many films and television shows. He has recorded and played on the world’s biggest stages with many of his Brazilian musical heroes, including Montreux Jazz with Caymmi, and multiple shows at the Hollywood Bowl with Ivan Lins, Oscar Castro Neves, Tom Jobim, Toots Thielemans, Mendes and Caymmi. Serenata brings this musical "love affair" full circle - “a crossover treat from the heart, for the heart” (Karukas’ words).

The album begins with “Travessia” by Fernando Brant and Milton Nascimento - a beautifully wistful and dreamy piece that sets the tone of the album. “Ponta de Areia,” also composed by Brant and Nascimento, conveys a warm, soothing energy in a relaxed and understated style. The title track, a Karukas original, has a sweet, simple melody that floats on the flowing left hand broken chords - a favorite! “Tudo O Que Você Podia Ser” by Lô Borges and Marcio Borges combines a jazzier, more rhythmic style with a beautifully poignant melody. Karukas’ “Better Days” is another favorite - simple, direct and from the heart. “Sound of Emotion,” (Karukas) feels like an intimate conversation without words - I love it! “Paisagem da Janela” by Fernando Brant and Lô Borges is a light and breezy bit of musical sunshine. Karukas’ tender, loving “Dori’s Song” is a heartfelt tribute to a dear friend. He also composed "Para Sempre (Until Forever)," a reflective and deeply emotional soul searching at the piano, perhaps late at night by the light of a candle - my favorite piece on the album. The last two tracks were also penned by Karukas. “Lament (Final Embrace)” is a heartbreaking goodbye that goes far beyond any words to describe it, and “Long Ago” brings the album to a very peaceful, serene close.

I sincerely hope that Serenata is just the first in a long series of solo piano albums by Gregg Karukas and predict it will be one of the best and most honored albums of 2021!

Album Links Amazon(referral)Apple/iTunes/Spotify

Contemporary Fusion Reviews - Dick Metcalf

Melodic solo keyboard magic Gregg Karukas – SERENATA:   I’ve spent a lot of time with the piano; playing it (both live and in-studio) as well as reviewing 100’s of other players, so I can tell you that solo pianist Gregg Karukas’ melodic solo keyboard is pure, unadulterated, magic!  Get an intimate look at his preview trailer for the album first…

When you SUBSCRIBE to Gregg’s YouTube channel, you will experience his magic on many other instruments as well (this is his first solo piano album ever).

The thing that truly sets Gregg’s piano apart from other pianists is his sensitivity for what the listener will need to hear; nowhere is that more evident than on his original composition, “Better Days“… his “pacing” is perfect, and every note is formed with the utmost care… DJ’s of all stripes will be plugging this into their playlists for days (and months & years) to come!

Another original composition that really impressed me is Gregg’s “Para Sempre” (Until Forever)… in his own words, “For me, the best music comes out of an inner feeling of either intense happiness or sadness”, and both moods are reflected in this emotional song.

Of the fifteen fascinating songs Gregg offers up for our piano pleasure, I found one of the shorter performances (2:59), “Lament” (Final Embrace) was my choice for personal favorite… he reaches down inside his own heart to touch yours with passion and intensity… I just LOVED this song!

I give Gregg a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED rating, with an “EQ” (energy quotient) score of 4.99.  

 

JW Vibe by Jonathan Widran

“A thoughtful, reflective and ultimately joyful work. After so many years of in-the-pocket Smooth jazz hit-making, it’s wonderful to experience Karukas’ truest heart on display. To quote one of those earlier titles, that’s truly the sound of emotion coming through loud and clear.”

 Gregg Karukas’ extraordinary success over the past 30-plus years as a #1 charting smooth jazz artist and one of the genre’s busiest sidemen make it easy to overlook the deeper elements of versatile composer/keyboardist’s expansive resume – including winning a Grammy in 2013 for his work with new age pianist Omar Akram and his many years of touring with Brazilian greats Sergio Mendes, Dori Caymmi and Ricardo Silvera in the 90’s.

 Both of those extracurriculars come into play on Serenata, a thoughtful, reflective and ultimately joyful work that marks Karukas’ first-ever solo piano album, his first release in over six years and first since losing his wife Yvonne to cancer. The unique concept – captured in the album subtitle “Piano Impressions of Milton Nascimento Clube Da Esquina and Dori Caymmi “ – grew out of a recent discovery of old cassettes of some of those Brazilian shows. Listening most attentively to his shows with Caymmi at the small L.A. club Le Café, where the singer often introduced Karukas as “my orchestra,” sparked a powerful emotional reaction.

The keyboardist also re-discovered the video of his 1992 wedding where Caymmi sang “O Cantador” – a gently wistful piece that is one of the emotional centerpieces on the generous 15 track collection. Karukas also thought back to memories of his early days driving to gigs in his hometown of Washington, DC, listening to Nascimento imports. Combining all of these inspirations with the isolation of the COVID-19 lockdown created an ideal palette for him to explore his deeper piano artistry and find the kind of healing and hope that only the music of the heart can bring. That’s the sparkling magic Karukas shares throughout from the elegant, seductive Nascimento-penned opening tracks “Travessia” and “Ponta de Aeria” to the equally subtle graces of “Club da Esquina” and Caymmi’s “Historia Antga” and the playful hypnotic romp “Paisagem de Janela.”

 In a good way, Serenata’s subtitle mentioning the Brazilian influences isn’t quite accurate because nearly half the tracks are delightful ultra-melodic Karukas originals that fit in perfectly among the works of the masters. These include solo piano reworkings of two gems from his mid-90’s smooth jazz classic Sound of Emotion (including, naturally, the soulful, tender-hearted tribute “Dori’s Song”) and moody originals whose titles (“Better Days,” “Lament (Final Embrace),” “Long Ago”) capture his process of acknowledging and letting go of the sorrows of the past and embracing the grand possibilities of the road ahead.

 After so many years of in the pocket smooth jazz hit making, it’s wonderful to experience Karukas’ truest heart on display. To quote one of those earlier titles, that’s truly the sound of emotion coming through loud and clear “A thoughtful, reflective and ultimately joyful work. After so many years of in-the-pocket Smooth jazz hit-making, it’s wonderful to experience Karukas’ truest heart on display. To quote one of those earlier titles, that’s truly the sound of emotion coming through loud and clear.”  Jonathan Widran. JW Vibe https://www.jwvibe.com/single-post/gregg-karukas-serenata

Serenata By Gregg Karukas

Written by Steve Sheppard

 There are moments in time when you really need to be lifted into a better frame of mind and sometimes, just sometimes, it will be music that will help you get there, this was the case for me this sombre Monday morning in March, when the refrains of the quite tranquil, yet deeply pleasing album entitled Serenata by Gregg Karukas lifted my mood and raised my spirits.

Gregg’s slice of piano heaven is a jam packed 15 track album of beautiful layered and textured offerings, that are all undeniably lush and beautiful. The opening piece is a fine example of that charm, as we can enjoy the first footsteps of the album with the warm and all-embracing opener Travessia.

My personal favourite from the release would be the title track Serenata, the lightness of performance and the melody together for me was a touch of magic from beyond the supposed limits of brilliance, and reminded me greatly of classic David Lanz at times.

With emotive and thoughtful offerings like Better Days or the colourful refrains of pieces like O Cantador, this album was always going to be a hit from start to finish; those who love to sit and bathe within the realms of a collection of a solo piano master class will love tracks like the touching and classy Historia Antiga, or perhaps the gentle and serene offering known as Lament (Final Embrace), a piece with a sombre, but reflective and emotional composition, one that will touch the musical heart with ease.

Serenata by Gregg Karukas is a fine collection of wondrous solo piano compositions, it is a musical tale told by one, to be felt, touched and listened to by many.

No less than 15 opportunities lay within the dimension of piano heaven, and each one of them can be sampled willingly many times over, this timeless manifestation of heartfelt moments of solo piano genius, have raised the bar in the ranks of this genre by a mile, and as such should be a huge hit for the artist should there be any justice left in this musical world of ours.

Serenata
By Gregg Karukas
Buy on Amazon

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You can also order from Amazon, but no autograph.

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