A flight delay, a jazz band and a viral moment: How Dave Koz and fellow musicians lifted spirits

Passengers on a flight from St. Louis to Seattle got an unexpected pick-me-up when jazz saxophonist Dave Koz and bandmates held an impromptu jam session in the aisle while the plane was stuck on the tarmac hundreds of miles from their final destination.

It happened Aug. 11, when Koz and fellow musicians on the Dave Koz & Friends Summer Horns Tour were headed to Seattle for two days of shows. What was supposed to be a direct flight was beset by delays, including having to divert to Boise, Idaho, after flight crew members timed out and needed to be relieved and the plane encountered a mechanical issue, Koz said Tuesday.

This wasn’t the first delay the band experienced since its tour started around mid-July, and it even had to cancel two shows because of travel-related issues, Koz said. But the delay last week was particularly deflating not just for the musicians but for everyone on the plane.

“You could just feel the energy. Everybody was so frustrated,” Koz said.

A flight attendant who saw the musicians bring their instruments on board asked if they’d be willing to play a song while they were stuck in Boise.

A video of them performing Stevie Wonder’s “You Haven’t Done Nothin’” — the closer to their show — went viral on social media. It shows Koz and fellow saxophone player Marcus Anderson grooving in the aisle with other horn players behind them and Jeff Bradshaw on trombone getting creative to play the large instrument between seats.

Passengers are seen smiling and swaying in their seats, with some recording the performance on their phones.

Anderson said it felt good to lift spirits, though Koz admitted being nervous that some passengers might not like “horns playing in people’s ears.”

Anderson likened the feeling afterward to that of a great workout at the gym. The musicians never thought about the possibility of going viral, he said. “It was just doing something good for the people.”

They performed just the one song, but they knew that was enough.

“It just was right, and it brought everybody together in a way that was very special,” Koz said. “I’ll remember that moment for the rest of my life.”