Jazz Monthly.com Interview with Hyman katz

“Jazz Monthly Feature Interview” Hyman Katz

Smitty: Visiting JazzMonthly.com is one of the coolest cats in the business. His name certainly befits himself, and he’s got a great label and some wonderful people working with him, and I’m just stoked to have him join us here at JazzMonthly.com. With an incredible roster of musicians, they have been in the middle of so many great hits, terrific events and so many great things musically, and you’ll certainly recognize this great cat and this wonderful label that he represents. They are celebrating five years of doing what they do best. Please welcome the President of Rendezvous Entertainment, Mr. Hyman Katz. Hyman, how ya doin’, my friend?

Hyman Katz (HK): I’m doing great, Smitty. Thanks for such a lovely introduction.

Smitty: Oh, man, it’s my pleasure and that was straight from the pump, you know? (Both laugh.)

HK: God, you’re good at what you do.

Smitty: Thank you. Well, it is certainly a pleasure to talk with you, man, and to talk about the great things that you’ve done over so many years.

HK: I want to thank you for all the great things that you’ve been doing for this music and for the genre. Your passion is just so inspiring. I think the thanks really goes to you, buddy.

Smitty: Oh, man, thanks so much. I really appreciate that. That means a lot coming from you. Wow, so now you guys, first of all, there’s a great congratulations in order here. Rendezvous Entertainment….You cats are celebrating five years of putting it out there, and I mean really getting the music out there and you’ve consistently done that with a great deal of fervor and class. Congratulations, man.

HK: Thanks, Smitty. We’re all really proud.

Smitty: Absolutely. So now I remember you in particular—just putting the spotlight on you for a minute—I can remember meeting you when you were with….Unity.

HK: Yes, I was with Unity Entertainment, which was an independent, several years ago, that was responsible for Keiko Matsui, Paul Taylor, Soul Ballet, some other really exciting artists.

Smitty: Yeah, man, and that was a beautiful time as well. So talk to me about how this great union of Rendezvous evolved. How did it happen?

HK: Yeah, okay, great question. It really started with Dave Koz and I had a long friendship with Dave that actually predated our music years. Let’s see, it’s a long story. (Both laugh.) My mom worked for Dave’s dad and Dave’s father was a dermatologist.

Smitty: Ahh.

HK: And my mom worked in his office, was an office manager, and our families knew each other for years, and then everyone went their own ways and Dave’s mom and my mom remained really good friends—Audrey, and my mom is Lillian—and they tried to get us together basically. When I moved back to Los Angeles, my mom was like “You know, you should really look up Dave Koz, he’s into music, he’s a musician,” and Audrey was saying “You should look up Hyman Katz, he just graduated from Berklee and he’s in the music business,” and, yeah, this was when Dave was playing with Jeff Lorber, and so we finally reconnected and stayed in touch and became buddies again.

And when Dave was signed to Capitol, he was watching some of the things that Unity was doing with Keiko and we were achieving great sales success, and the idea eventually came up that the two of us should work together one day, and Dave wanted to start a label and eventually the time was right and we started working together, and then it was actually Dave who had the great idea to invite Frank Cody to join the partnership, knowing that Frank was going to be leaving Broadcast Architecture soon, and thought that Frank’s incredible musical knowledge and experience in media would be a fantastic third leg of this stool, this chair, and that was it.

Smitty: Wow. How cool was that.

HK: I was like “Yeah, I know Frank Cody. That would be awesome.” And we all met in Ojai to invite Frank to join us and we made the offer to Frank and he was like “I’m in,” so it was just a pretty magical weekend.

Smitty: Yeah. In fact, I remember when all of that was first announced and the buzz was there’s a new dream team.

HK: Yeah, right. (Both laugh.)

Smitty: Because all of you guys, when you really look back before forming this great union of Rendezvous, you all had great success in what you were doing, so to bring you all together was truly a dream team at the time and still is to this day.

HK: Yeah, it’s really special. It’s a unique blend of talents and we’ve all, through the years, learned from each other and it’s really special.

Smitty: Yeah. So what was the first project out the door?

HK: The first project we did was Golden Slumbers - A Father’s Lullaby.

Smitty: Yeah.

HK: And we did that as a production deal with Warner Brothers and Matt Pierson assigned it to Warner Brothers, and that was the first project and the idea behind that was to really—we identified this changing role that dads had in the caretaking of their kids, and at about the same time a lot of the artists that were in our extended family, like Peter White, Rick Braun and Norman Brown and David Benoit, were all dads and some of them new dads, and so we created this idea and it was our first release and it was actually nominated for a Grammy, which we were really proud about too.

Smitty: Yeah, I was gonna say that it really garnered a lot of attention because nothing like that had been done to that degree, which was a really cool thing.

HK: Yeah, thanks. It was a real labor of love and a real family project, and Jeff Koz, Dave’s brother, was a big force in that project, so it was really just a wonderful extended family affair, just great.

Smitty: Yeah, and now look at you, just moving forward. I mean, look at what you’ve accomplished. Do you ever at any time look back and say “Man, look at where we are” and “Wow, we’ve come a long way”?

HK: Yeah, yeah, I do. (Laughs.) It’s always, sure, it feels great and we have certainly grown and done some wonderful things, and there’s always the sense of there’s so much more to be done.

Smitty: Oh yeah, absolutely. And your roster, you’ve got one of the most dynamic rosters in the business right now. I mean, there’s Wayman [Tisdale], there’s Kirk [Whalum], my God, Patti Austin, Kyle Eastwood. I mean, you’ve got a heavy roster of great musicians. It’s almost like you’ve got 10, 12 gunslingers in one camp, you know?

HK: Yeah, they’re a force, every one of them, and Brian Simpson really broke through last year with his debut release here and he has a new album coming out this month, actually August, and it’s a nice mix of like some real powerhouses and some developing artists, and that was always our intent, was to have this wonderful mix of the up and coming along with the truly great established artists.

Smitty: Yeah, and one of the guys who is a favorite of mine is Michael Lington. I mean, he’s just done so much both on and off the stage, and he always has a quality product every time out.

HK: Thanks, man.

Smitty: Yeah, and a great guy to hang with too, you know?

HK: Mm-hmm, yes, he is. He’s like a man’s man, you know? With the cigars and the scotch. He’s a great guy.

Smitty: Yes, he is. Talk to me a little bit about when you’re dealing with putting new music out there, talk a little bit about just the ins and outs in the process of making sure that your products hits the street in the best fashion. Talk a little bit about that process.

HK: Okay. Specifically with developing artists, you’re talking about? New artists or with the whole ball of wax?

Smitty: Sure.

HK: Oh, okay. (Both laugh.) Yeah, sure. I think for us it starts with really understanding the intent of the project and the artist’s intent and finding ways to communicate and connecting that intent with the people who would share and appreciate that intent. So we use a lot of tools like most labels are doing, really using new media as platforms and trying to create extended mediums for the artists to communicate their message, so rather than it be solely relying on the song or the CD, we, for example, with Patti Austin we created these living liner notes that she recorded and voiced with the history of George Gershwin and the songs and the performances, and these were podcasts that were available and really showcased her ability as a storyteller and historian and really tapped into her breadth of musical knowledge. So just part of the job is to really find what’s unique and special about that project and how to get that message out there.

Smitty: Mm-hmm, yeah. Great strategy. Well, speaking of her, and I’m so glad you mentioned Patti, because when I got that project, after listening to it and reading the liner notes and everything, I will tell you initially, I was so captivated by the packaging, the album cover.

HK: Mm.

Smitty: And I remember saying to myself if there was ever a category for album cover of the year, it was so cool that everyone else should have just gone home and just gave it to you guys because that is the most striking album cover I think I’ve ever seen.

HK: Oh, thanks, man. We’re really proud of that one.

Smitty: Yeah, it’s so appropriate and it’s just so eye-catching, and not just the cover, but when you open it, I mean, just the whole thing about it is just, I think, it’s the best I’ve seen. It is fantastic.

HK: I totally appreciate that. We definitely spend a lot of time and thought about the packaging that we do and, again, making sure that it really communicates the intent of the artist.

Smitty: Yes, and, man, did she capture Gershwin with that project or what? I mean, she was so in to that. I mean, it totally fit her repertoire and you could tell that there was so much love that she put into that project.

HK: Yeah. Thank you, man. We love that project so much and we love Patti. There’s just no one like her. She’s fun and brilliant and there’s no one who really can perform a song like her. She’s mind-blowing.

Smitty: Yes indeed. And one of the things that I love about your roster of artists is that each and every one of them are very expressive about their artistry.

HK: Mm.

Smitty: In the media, as far as their projects are, and in their live performances. They’re very expressive and I think that is something that we should never lose as artists because that is the foundation that brings the music forward so that people can feel it.

HK: Absolutely.

Smitty: Yeah, I think it’s beautiful. You have a great mix of artists that are so astute at doing that.

HK: Mm-hmm. Yeah, we’re really blessed about that. They all really appreciate their fans and they’re all incredible communicators in ways that transcend their musicality. They all have very clear points of view about their lifestyles and their philosophies, and they’re able to express it in their music and in the way they talk to the audience in their Web sites and blogs. I mean, they’re all just really great communicators.

Smitty: Yes they are.

HK: And all hard working. Our label definitely works our artists. (Both laugh.) And we appreciate all of their good-naturedness about some of the hoops we put them through to get the word out, but that’s really what it takes and they all get it.

Smitty: Yeah, what comes to mind is Jonathan Butler, Wayman Tisdale, Kirk Whalum. All of these guys are hard workers and what they do, they give it their all and I think that’s a beautiful thing.

HK: Yeah, they really do.

Smitty: Yeah. So now you cats have done some great compilation CDs too and I think that’s so unique in that it’s one thing to just throw a bunch of songs together, but then it’s another thing to put the right songs on the right project. And you guys give them some great names too, you know?

HK: Thanks. It’s really Frank Cody’s brilliance. I mean, he has been a radio programmer and has an incredible sense of flow and sequencing, and I really have to give him a lot of props for his vision on that, and he’s just a brilliant programmer and he’s really taken these compilations to a level of artistry.

Smitty: Speaking of Frank and Dave, talk a little bit about your experience and what it’s been like these past five years of working with these guys, perhaps a brief introduction of each one of them, and then what it’s been like for you to work with them.

HK: Well, for one thing, it was—I mentioned there’s Frank Cody, who came from broadcasting and creating entertainment, responsible for Dr. Ruth and NBC’s “The Source” and the David Sanborn show for radio. I mean, he’s just an incredible pioneer in creating radio entertainment. And then created Broadcast Architecture—well, actually, put The WAVE on the station with Paul Goldstein and Chris Brody, but was really part of that think tank that created the format. So that’s part of Frank’s background: incredibly passionate, smart, musical knowledge. He just has an incredible musical knowledge. And then you have Dave Koz, who’s just a great businessman, a great ambassador for music in general, certainly for Smooth Jazz and Jazz and Pop Instrumental, and probably the most well loved, and deservedly so, individuals in entertainment. I mean, there’s just pretty much almost no one who doesn’t know Dave Koz, and if they know him, they love him.

Smitty: Yeah.

HK: And he’s just really smart and caring about the artists and about the projects and the music. So what that’s meant for me is it’s just been an incredibly rich environment to build a company and to mentor new employees, to create an environment where people’s ideas are valued and respected, and it’s been a joy, this wonderful friendship that’s evolved through the years, of the three of us, and we have a lot of fun outside of the office and just tremendous mutual respect for one another, and it makes life very fulfilling, to tell you the truth. It’s a real blessing.

Smitty: Nice. Well, I take my hat off to you cats because you’ve done something over the past five years that I think has been just a brilliant thing in that you have consistently produced great products, great projects, I mean, time after time, year after year. Everything coming out of your camp has just been fantastic and as you add musicians to your roster, they’ve always been stellar musicians, and I notice their continuance of development as they sign on with you guys and continue to do what they do.

HK: Mm, thanks for that. That means a lot to me.

Smitty: Yeah. Now, I want to talk about the latest that I have from you cats and that’s these great compilation CDs, speaking of that, Late Night Rendezvous and Smooth Ones.

HK: Mm-hmm?

Smitty: Yeah, and I must say, once again, the packaging is fantastic and the song selection, I mean, you had a million to choose from (laughs) but you’ve put some great ones together with these two projects. Talk a little bit about the history of these and how this all evolved.

HK: Sure. Well, we started a series of lounge CDs called the Rendezvous Lounge Volume I and Volume II. Those have been well received with respectable sales, and we always liked the idea of branding the company and the name Rendezvous by doing this compilation series, and thought that it was time to start creating some series that were outside the Chill area, and for the Smooth Ones, we basically realized that we had quite a few number ones on our label at radio and the idea seemed like a natural to celebrate our fifth year to do a CD that really showcased all of these number ones that the label generated, and to be honest, we didn’t have quite enough for a full ten songs and we went to our extended family for a couple of them, like Mindi Abair, who we oversee a show called “Chill With Mindi Abair,” so we considered her in the extended family, and then Dave has toured with Peter White and Rick Braun on the Dave Koz & Friends Christmas tours and so we went to them for some songs, and between the extended family and the current roster, we had an album of some great number one songs.

Smitty: Oh, cool. So you were putting the number ones together. Man, that’s fantastic. But you’ve got some great artists here. Wow. Kirk Whalum, Marc Antoine, Praful, I mean, just a wonderful mix of music.

HK: Yeah, I think it really shows the diversity of the label that we could have someone like Praful, who had a number one with “Sigh,” and Kyle Eastwood, who is a number one artist in France, and to the great Smooth Urban guys like Kirk and Wayman. So, yeah, it’s a really wonderful diversity of artists who all have accomplished a number one of some kind or the other. We had to stretch just a little bit with the France thing, but we love Kyle Eastwood and really wanted to get him out to—we wanted to just keep making sure his music gets out there in as many ways as possible. He’s just an awesome artist.

Smitty: Yes, he is. I remember we had him on the show here and I remember telling him when I first heard his record, it was one of those ones that was hard to stop playing it and, in fact, I told him I made a couple of trips around the block before I pulled in the driveway.

HK: Yeah, I’ve read that in your interview with him—yeah, that’s a great story.

Smitty: Yeah, it’s just a great project and he’s a fantastic guy too.

HK: Yeah.

Smitty: Yeah. Well, when I see that, I say “Well, you know, they’ve done it again.” (Laughs.) “Another great artist that they have there,” you know? So you guys have really been so consistent in what you do, which is a beautiful thing.

HK: Thanks.

Smitty: Yeah. And Late Night Rendezvous.

HK: Late Night Rendezvous, what we wanted to do with that is to showcase some of the deeper cuts on some of these projects, like there are some really beautiful songs that don’t get exposed through the usual channels and we found some just really beautiful deep tracks that bring to mind just a really intimate, sexy, romantic, Chill type of experience in the Late Night Rendezvous, so they’re really nice companion pieces, these great number one songs and then these really deep, more complex, really textured songs from the Late Night Rendezvous.

Smitty: That’s a nice way to celebrate five years when you think about all the work that had gone into putting these songs together over the years, these different projects, different artists, and you can bring that forward now and say “Hey, let’s stop and smell the roses and think about a lot of the things that we’ve accomplished and let’s put it out there.” I think it’s a beautiful way to do it.

HK: Yeah, thanks.

Smitty: Yeah, wonderful. So, now, what’s up for Rendezvous for the next five years? (Laughs.)

HK: The next five years? The heavy question. Well, I can tell you the next three months. (Both laugh.)

Smitty: I mean, what would you guys, looking forward, what would you like the next five years to be?

HK: Well, we’re really excited about doing more multimedia events and activities like the living liner notes and, I guess, what we’re exploring with Patti Austin, and different Internet shows, DVDs. We’re really excited about finding other ways to—like you said, our artists are so charismatic and their personalities are so larger than life that they’re sometimes not really contained on just a CD. So as the world is moving into new media and all kinds of technologies that are even yet to be explored in terms of how to connect people with artists, I’m really looking forward to pioneering some of those outlets.

Smitty: Yeah, I think that’s a great look into the future because technology is just advancing so fast and as a label and as consumers, you’ve gotta be ready for that.

HK: And we also think there’s an opportunity to find ways to bring adults, the older demographic, into the new media experience.

Smitty: Mm.

HK: And not leave us old geezers out.

Smitty: (Laughs.) Oh, thank you. I mean, I think that’s a great idea because you don’t want to leave anyone behind with this great music, so living on the cutting edge with what you guys are doing I think is a great strategy.

HK: Thanks.

Smitty: Yeah. Well, I must say, Hyman, I could go on for the next five hours about what you guys have accomplished and it’s a beautiful thing.

HK: God, would you please? (Both laugh.)

Smitty: Well, I will continue as long as you guys continue. How’s that?

HK: Well, your support really means a lot to us and every time I see like what you did on Kyle and Patti and all the guys, you’re just awesome. Your support is just so great and what you do for the other labels too, the other artists, everyone’s really lucky to have you.

Smitty: Well, thank you so much. That means a lot and that’s fuel for me to continue what I do.

HK: And likewise, likewise. I mean, sometimes it’s hard to remember in these times of what we’ve accomplished and hearing it from you is really inspiring. (Both laugh.) Because you forget, you know?

Smitty: Yeah.

HK: You forget, like “Oh, wow, it has been five years. Wow, there really have been some incredible projects that have come through and, yeah, they do look good,” you know? (Both laugh.) And you just kind of forget because there’s stress of the deadlines and shrinking sales and all of that. It’s like, yeah, stop for a moment and it’s very special.

Smitty: Absolutely, man. Well, it’s mutual and I would say to you and everyone at Rendezvous, keep doing your thing, keep your flava strong, and know this: the viewing public, the listening public, loves what you do, so keep doing your thing.

HK: We couldn’t do it without them, that’s for sure, and I’ll tell you who else we couldn’t do it without is our incredible team here from Ryan [Conlon] and Julie [Gorov] and Jeff [Chiang], Chandra [Vogelzang], and we’ve just got some of the most passionate team workers here and they’re smart and work hard and, really, we talk a lot about the partnership of Dave, Frank and myself, but the whole team is fantastic and our Chairman, who believed in us early on, Howard Diamond, and the Matos family, one of our investors, I mean, this is truly a collaborative company and there’s not a day that I don’t thank the Lord above for bringing us all together. (Both laugh.) And the artists, my gosh, what an incredible group of people that we are lucky to work with, just amazing.

Smitty: Well, I second that because from time to time I get to talk with Julie and Chandra and Janice [Dela Cruz] and all of them, and they’re just the best. They’re so prompt, they’re so quick, they’re so on it, and so smart, so I second that. I enjoy working with your entire staff and my hat’s off to all of you because I know how hard you work to do what you do.

HK: Thanks, man.

Smitty: All right.

HK: But you’re the best. What do I owe you for this? (Both laugh.)

Smitty: (Laughs) Oh, come on! Nothing at all. Thank you so much for what you do, Hyman, and once again, a serious congratulations on five years of great accomplishments.

HK: Thanks, Smitty, I’m gonna go drink some champagne now.

Smitty: Now you’re talkin’, you deserve it! (Both laugh.) All right, we’ve been talking with the President of Rendezvous Entertainment, the incredible Mr. Hyman Katz as they are celebrating five amazing years of stellar entertainment. Hyman, all the very best and here’s to another great five years.

HK: All right, Smitty, thank you.

Baldwin “Smitty” Smith