In 2018, John Schimpf from New Shirt Agency hired me to oversee the edit of a cruise that one of his clients put on. Once the edit was done, I let him know “Ya know, you ever need anyone to help film this… let me know!”. Well a cruise and a pandemic later, I finally got that call and was able to join John in filming the 2022 Dave Koz and Friends at Sea Cruise.

Being unfamiliar with Jazz and the accompanying culture, but loving to travel and film great stories, I boarded the boat and had the time of my life. Traveling all over the British Isles, filming the most incredible musicians I’ve ever had the pleasure of hearing, and working with some of the kindest, most honoring people on the planet… I of course immediately wanted to be signed up to do it all again the next year. There was a moment as I was flying the drone over Dover Castle and soaring over the cliffs, I just had to make sure this was actually real life. Well, the security guard reminded me it was real life when he informed me I could not fly there anymore… they were really nice about the whole thing.

So what John and I filmed and produced is what Dave Koz calls his “Thank You” video. What was supposed to be a 10-15min recap of the tripped, turned more into roughly a 20-minute-long mini-doc about cruisers vacation of a lifetime.

So to Dave, all the musicians of the DK and Friends 2022 cruise, as well as the DK fan base… I thank you for the most unforgettable experience.

Credits: Cinematographer, Drone Operatr and Editor