dave tozer | press kit -...
TRANSCRIPT
Biography
Dave Tozer is a producer, songwriter and musician. He has worked with several R&B, Hip-Hop, Rock and Pop artists including John Legend, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Justin Timberlake, John Mayer, Natasha Bedingfield, Musiq Soulchild, Estelle, Jazmine Sullivan and Elliott Yamin.
Hailing from Bridgeton, New Jersey, Tozer taught himself guitar, bass and keyboard. After moving to Philadelphia in the late 1990s, Tozer honed his production skills at various Philadelphia-area studios and began working as a freelance musician playing everything from Hip-Hop and Rock to R&B and Pop. Through Max Blumenthal, a mutual friend, Tozer met University of Pennsylvania student John Stephens (later Grammy award-winning R&B star John Legend) and began a fruitful, professional relationship. In addition to developing creatively with Legend, Tozer produced his three independently released albums: John Stephens (2000), Live at Jimmy‘s Uptown (2001) and Live at SOB’s (2003).
In 2004, Tozer contributed to eight tracks on Legend‘s Grammy Award-winning major label debut Get Lifted and his writing skills garnered him a publishing deal with Viacom-owned Famous Music Publishing. 2005 proved to be an important year for Tozer with the massive success of Get Lifted, which earned eight Grammy nominations and reached multi-platinum status. Legend won three awards including Best New Artist and Best R&B Album. Tozer was a producer on Get Lifted and the track “Stay With You,” which Tozer co-wrote and produced, was also nominated for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance.
In 2005, soon after the success of Get Lifted, Tozer was crafting songs for artists such as Heather Headley and Natasha Bedingfield. He has also lent his instrumental abilities to Kanye West‘s Grammy-
Tozertunes Publishing | [email protected]
“Dave Tozer is a talented, tasteful writer and producer with a musical sensibility that is both distinct and classic. Some of my best work has been in collaboration with Dave, and I hope to work with him for many years in the future.”
John LegendRecording Artist
winning single “Diamonds From Sierra Leone,” and produced another Legend track for the Luther Vandross tribute album So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross. For Tozer, the year culminated in a deal with Sony Music as an in-house producer and a renewal of his Famous Music Publishing contract.
In 2006, Tozer worked on the track “Do U Wanna Ride” from Jay-Z's comeback album “Kingdom Come.” Tozer also reunited with his old friend Legend and produced three songs from his acclaimed second album “Once Again,” including the iTunes single “On Top Of The World.”
In 2007, Tozer continued to work with several different artists, including Mercury Records recording artist George Stanford. Along with contributing to the development of the Philadelphia-based artist, Tozer worked to get Stanford signed to Epic Records before he subsequently moved to Mercury Records. In addition to this, Tozer has also worked with Jazmine Sullivan (J Records), Free Sol (upcoming artist on Justin Timberlake's label Tennman Records) as well as Ashley Hartman from the hit television show The O.C.
In 2008, Tozer reunited with long time collaborator, John Legend to co-write and produce “This Time” on John Legend’s third album, Evolver. In 2009, Tozer worked with American Idol's Elliott Yamin to co-write and produce the record "Someday" on Yamin's second album, Fight for Love.
In 2010, Tozer wrote and produced “Find Me” with Musiq Soulchild and Jazmine Sullivan for Musiq’s upcoming album. He also went on to co-write and produce three songs from Free Sol’s forthcoming debut album to be released by Justin Timberlake’s imprint Tennman Records & Interscope Records.
Tozertunes Publishing | [email protected]
“He is a very talented, multi-faceted and prolific creator whose gifts span all major genres from urban to pop to rock.“
Ira JaffePresident & COO Famous Music Publishing
Selected Credits
Year
2010
2010
2010
2010
2009
2008
2008
2008
2006
Artist
Musiq Soulchild
Free Sol
Free Sol
Free Sol
Elliott Yamin
John Legend
George Stanford
Lizz Wright
Jay-Z
Song Title
Find Me ft. Jazmine Sullivan
Panic Attack
The Coolest
Restraining Order
Someday
This Time
Heartbeat
Speak Your Heart
Do U Wanna Ride
Album
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
Fight For Love
Evolver
Big Drop
The Orchard
Kingdom Come
Contribution
Producer, Songwriter, Musician
Producer, Songwriter, Musician
Producer, Songwriter, Musician
Producer, Songwriter, Musician
Producer, Songwriter, Musician
Producer, Songwriter, Musician
Producer, Songwriter, Mixer
Songwriter
Instrumentalist
Tozertunes Publishing | [email protected]
Year
2006
2006
2006
2005
2005
2004
2004
2004
2004
Artist
John Legend
John Legend
John Legend
Kanye West
John Legend
John Legend
John Legend
John Legend
John Legend
Song Title
Maxine’s Interlude
On Top of The World
Closer To You
Diamonds from Sierra Leone
Love Won’t Let Me Wait
Stay With You
I Can Change ft. Snoop Dogg
Let’s Get Lifted Again
It Don’t Have To Change ft. The Stephens Family
Album
Once Again
Once Again (iTunes Single)
Once Again (Bonus Track)
Late Registration
So Amazing: An All Star Tribute to Luther Vandross
Get Lifted
Get Lifted
Get Lifted
Get Lifted
Contribution
Producer, Songwriter, Musician
Producer, Songwriter, Musician
Producer, Songwriter, Musician
Instrumentalist
Producer, Musician, Mixer
Producer, Songwriter
Producer, Songwriter
Producer, Songwriter, Musician, Mixer
Songwriter
Tozertunes Publishing | [email protected]
Year
2004
2004
2004
2004
2004
2004
2003
2001
2000
Artist
John Legend
John Legend
John Legend
John Legend
John Legend
John Legend
John Legend
John Legend
John Legend
Song Title
Let’s Get Lifted
Live It Up
So High
Refuge (When It’s Cold Outside)
Johnny’s Gotta Go
Money Blown
Full Album
Full Album
Full Album
Album
Get Lifted
Get Lifted
Get Lifted
Get Lifted
Get Lifted (International Release)
Get Lifted (International Release)
Live at SOB’s
Live at Jimmy’s Uptown
John Stephens
Contribution
Instrumentalist
Instrumentalist
Instrumentalist
Instrumentalist
Producer, Songwriter, Musician, Mixer
Producer, Songwriter
Producer, Songwriter, Musician, Mixer
Producer, Songwriter, Musician, Mixer
Producer, Songwriter, Musician, Mixer
Tozertunes Publishing | [email protected]
Press & Praise
Tozertunes Publishing | [email protected]
Billboard MagazineMarch 2005
“It has been a pleasure to work with Dave over the past two years. He is an exceptional musician and songwriter that has broken through with new and fresh music in a tough environment. I look forward to making many more hits and breaking new artists with him in the future.”
Lisa Ellis Former Executive Vice PresidentSony Music Label Group
Tozertunes Publishing | [email protected]
Billboard MagazineFebruary 2006
“Get Lifted doesn’t only introduce a gripping new
voice to the R&B firmament, it brings the
genre something it often sadly lacks: songs so
strong that others would clamor to cover them. The tunes he penned
with his co-writers regularly
upstage the beats, and rarely do they rely on
production-generated atmosphere for
camouflage. Legend had help on the compositions, most often from producer
Dave Tozer. Legend‘s vocal conviction is
supported by his taste and skill at penning or
collaborating on compositions. As debuts
go, Get Lifted couldn’t be more promising.”
Jim FarberMusic Critic
New York Daily News
