One of these years, Dave Koz may decide to retire from his annual Christmas concert tour, now in its 28th season. But not just yet.

“The end is in sight,” the popular smooth jazz saxophonist said in a recent interview with The Press Democrat. “I’ll try to make it to the 30th anniversary in a couple of years.”

What will he do then? “Probably have Christmas at home, which I haven’t done for a long time,” he said.

This year’s tour, which began Nov. 24 in Atlanta, will wrap up Dec. 23 at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa, a venue Koz considers something of a homecoming.

“The Luther Burbank Center is kind of home,” he said. “I love it because it’s not too big and it’s not too small. It feels intimate and very living-roomish.”

For Koz, the setting is secondary. Last summer, an impromptu jam session broke out on a delayed flight from St. Louis to Seattle, when Koz and his bandmates played a surprise concert for fellow passengers in the aisle.

“There was one wonderful flight attendant named Charlene who said, ‘Look, I saw you all bring your horns on the plane. They’re in the overhead compartment. Why don’t you take them out and play a little concert for us?’” Koz later recounted to NPR.

Santa Rosa will mark the final stop on this year’s tour, allowing Koz to drive home to Sausalito after the show. Though he lives in Los Angeles, Koz also maintains a retreat in the Bay Area, where he finds solitude for creative work.

This year’s holiday concert features longtime collaborator Jonathan Butler on guitar and vocals, along with vocalist Haley Reinhart, bassist and singer Casey Abrams and keyboardist Kayla Waters.

“Jon Butler is like my right and left arm, my brother,” Koz said. Butler has appeared on at least a dozen previous Christmas tours.

The 2025 edition of the “Dave Koz and Friends Christmas Tour” showcases beloved holiday classics like “O Holy Night, Ave Maria,” and gospel medleys of “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” “Angels We Have Heard on High,” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” along with feel-good songs such as the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love.” It also will feature a Hanukkah medley.

Of course, Koz’s appeal extends beyond his long-running Christmas tradition. The saxophonist has received nine Grammy nominations and released 12 No. 1 albums on Billboard’s Current Contemporary Jazz Albums chart.

“It’s always about how to make the show new and interesting, but at the same time, you can’t go too far,” Koz said. “Christmas is about tradition.”