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John Beaudin - Hey Dave, how are you man?

Dave Koz - Oh, pretty good buddy! It's been a bit of a crazy day around here.

John - Is there anything but crazy, busy days for you my friend?

Dave - (laughing) Oh, I don't know about that. Well, you're right it's been a little bit nuts around here especially at the office of Rendezvous because we have a lot of things coming out right around now.

John - Tell me about the new Rendezvous releases?

Dave - We have our "Golden Slumbers - A Father Love" album coming out.

John - This one is a vocal album, right?

Dave - Yes and it has some pretty amazing talent on it like Michael McDonald, Smokey Robinson, John Secada, Richard Marx, Dave Mathews and Will Downing. It's twelve incredible performances by unbelievable performers and I think it will be very special for people who have kids and even people who don't have kids.

John - I know you and your brother Jeff were the driving force behind the first "Golden Slumbers" album. Is Jeff on this one?

Dave - Yes he is and in fact the original one that came out a few years ago was inspired by his and his wife's experience with their new daughter who is now 5 years old and how there was such a lack of good lullaby music. This one is not so much of a lullaby CD as a celebration of parenthood and it was a very easy sell to get all these stars to be involved because they'd rather have an opportunity to show another side of themselves than not. This is such a beautiful side of some of these artists. Probably the story that tugs mostly at my heart strings is the story around Kirk Whalum's song on the album. He and his wife had a child when they first got married who only lived for three days and to deal with his grief he wrote this song called "My Little Man" tucked it in a drawer and then never really thought about it. When I spoke to him about this project he said, "You're not going to believe this but there's been a song that's been tucked away that has been looking for the right time to come out." So here it was. It took over twenty years for the song to see the light of day but that just gives you an idea about how emotionally packed the CD is.

John - Well, most of that Smooth Jazz and A.C. audiences are busy, just plain going a hundred miles an hour sometimes so any tool to reconnect to your children isn't a bad thing.

Dave - Yes, to reconnect to what it's all about. Michael McDonald says it very well in our EPK (Electronic Press Kit). He says if this project encourages people to spend a little bit more time with their kids and have that equal sharing of music and the appreciation of music and parenthood then that would make him really happy. I think that's a great way of putting it because if we can inspire people to have family time because like you said we're all so busy, we're running around and everybody's rushing from one place to the next. I look at my nieces and after school they are jammed packed with activities so I ask when do people get a chance to play like we did when we were young.

John - I remember the last time you and I talked we touched on the fact that kids zoom through everything now including music like just listening to the hit off an album and it's not always their fault - it's a faster world now.

Dave - It certainly is and hopefully this will be a nice little blast from the past.

John - The last time we got Michael McDonald to do an interview on the site I wasn't available to do it so my former morning man Cliff Dumas did it and all Michael and Cliff talked about were their kids. (laughing)

Dave - (laughing) Oh, Michael McDonald is so funny when he talks about his kids, it cracks me up. He's one of my favorite people in the whole wide world. He wrote a song for his daughter a few years ago called "When Scarlet Smiles" and he didn't really finish it. He had a verse and part of a chorus so it was the same thing as Kirk Whalum. I told him about this project and he said, "You've given us the impetus to finish this song finally." So he did and it's a beautiful addition to the record.

John - That's pretty good energy behind a project.

Dave - It is and if you dig a little deeper with most musicians and most artists especially in this format because we don't have the same tools that other formats do like this huge interest in our music or who we are as people. There are no big magazine spreads unless your Chris Botti of course (laughing). He's been doing pretty well these days. So I think when you dig a little deeper there are these great stories with these people.

John - Dave, what else is coming up from Rendezvous Records?

Dave - We have a new artist by the name of Camiel who's a guitarist out of Europe and he's one of the new Chill artists that we have been introducing in the wake of Praful who came onto the scene last year and has been doing so great. He kind of introduced a new sound to Smooth Jazz. Other than Golden Slumbers which is coming out in April what we are very excited about is the new Jonathan Butler CD which comes out in May. This is a return to form; it's largely a guitar record. Here's a guy who has so many things that he can do so well but this record is about his reconnection with the acoustic guitar. It's such a celebratory jubilant record and I'm so excited about being involved with it. He's one of my favorite artists of all time.

John - I have this list of great guitarists that I like Earl Klugh, George Benson, Jonathan Butler, Norman Brown and Pat Metheny who I always check out. I'm really looking forward to it. Tell me more about the Jonathan Butler project.

Dave - Well, it's full with life and filled with love so we were very excited and honored to be in business with Jonathan and release his records. We have a big job in front of us because we want to impress him (laughing). This is one of those times where the music just speaks for itself.

John - Dave, Congratulations on being nominated for "International Artist of the Year" at the very first Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards.

Dave - Thanks very much John.

John - I heard the stories of you over and over again showing up at radio station to promote your album or just play live on air. You went out of your way to create relationships in this format.

Dave - One of the things I'm proud of is the community aspect of this format. I was just doing an interview a few minutes ago about a guy who's running a story on the Smooth Jazz cruises since there are so many of them happening this year and he was wondering why. I think the best answer on that is the same answer I'll give you about that is this is a community. The radio stations, the artists, the fans are all kind of in it together and I think it's unlike any other format. I don't see it happening in Rock or Pop or in Country where everybody is so much on the same page. We all have this symbiotic relationship and we all need each other to keep this format alive. It really is a niche format. We're largely an instrumental format living in a largely vocal world so we all have to band together. I think those personal relationships are a big part of it and it's not only with me I think most of the artists have those kinds of relationships at least the ones that have been around for a while. I think a lot of those artists had those kinds of relationships with the radio programmers and promoters who keep having us back to the venues and the fans too.

John - Well Rendezvous is zipping along pretty fast. It didn't take long for you, Hyman and Frank to get to a certain point of being well known within this genre.

Dave - We've been up and running for a little over four years and when we first started Rendezvous most people looked at us and said "What are you smoking?" (laughing) but the truth was this was one of the best times ever because the mass market big label phenomenon is such that it's not really great for artists like us.

John - Look what happened at Warner Brothers, they have Norman Brown and Boney James left.

Dave - Right and all of these artists are great. It's not their music is bad all of a sudden or that they don't have any fans. It's like Jonathan Butler is a perfect example, he's at the prime if his life his music is incredible and his fan base is incredible and their not going anywhere. The artists just need a home where they feel valued or where their voice is heard and that the label is like a family. The artists want to work for people who understand what it is that they do. I know it for sure I've been on a major label for fifteen years and I think I know what they're looking for and that for their voices to be heard and to be accepted for the kind of music that they make. They want to be nurtured and to give the artist the freedom what they really want to do to realize their dreams so that's the kind of environment we're trying to establish here. It's a work in progress and we're a small company but we have a lot of passion behind it.

John - I'm sorry to hear that you're too tightly booked and can't make it to the Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards. We'll get you next year.

Dave - Well, you remember the last time we talked I told you that I have a lot of family in Winnipeg although I wasn't born in Canada I feel Canadian if you know what I mean especially these days (laughing). Having the music that we make here finally heard on radio stations all across Canada is the greatest shot in the arm. My hope is very soon we will be doing a lot of touring to Canada and bringing the music live. If you're playing the music that means fans are hearing it and the next step is we will be coming up and doing shows in Canada. I want to wish you John and Mary Kirk congratulations on creating the Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards and I wish you all the best success. This is a major undertaking that will unite all the key players in the country. My best to everyone in Canada. Sorry I can't be there but here's hoping I can make it next year.

John - You have a hell of a lineup for your cruise, Patti Austin, Praful, Chris Botti, Marc Antoine and many more.

Dave - We're very excited maybe you should think about doing it John.

John - I may just do that. Dave, I know you have to run. Thanks for the time man!

Dave - Take care buddy.