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SJ.COM: Tell us a little about your career to date. TK: My involvement in jazz programming started overseas 1989. I was Music Director at DWBM in Manila, the Philippines. I was also a host and producer at MTV Asia in Hong Kong. I returned to the States in 1994 as Music Director at KWJZ in Seattle. From there I went to Dallas as MD/APD at KOAI "The Oasis". I've been programming the contemporary jazz channels at Sirius Satellite Radio since December of 2000. SJ.COM: Besides the obvious reasons, how is satellite radio different that terrestrial radio, especially concerning programming? TK: Sirius Radio is all about the music. My playlist isn't restricted to 300 songs. I'm not competing with my local AC station down the dial, I don't have to give up 15 minutes of every hour to commercials, and there's no pressure from ratings. ItŐs every programmer's dream and every listener's dream! ItŐs all about respect for the music and the listener. There's a lot of great music out there that people don't get exposed to. We can give our listeners more options; from new music, to emerging new artists, to great older tunes that have been 'tested out' of Smooth Jazz radio playlists across the country. SJ.COM: What advise would you give emerging artists? And are they free to send you their music? TK:
I would say to play live as much as possible. People always remember a
great show. All of our Program Directors try to support unsigned bands,
musicians and artists on smaller labels and emerging artists. But you
have to remember, there's a chance that your song will get played next
to a George Benson or a Grover Washington Jr. tune. So the production
and overall sound has to be on that same level. Our advantage at Sirius
Radio is that we can develop special programming and features around emerging
artists. All are welcome to send their material! SJ.COM: How do you see satellite radio and terrestrial radio co- existing? TK: Satellite and terrestrial radio will co-exist just as cable and network television have. People will always feel a connection to their local radio station. But when a listener gets sick of hearing the same songs over and over again, they can punch a button and have another hundred options. Hopefully satellite radio will push local radio to get a little more adventurous. We can see that happening to network television now. SJ.COM: How do you see Sirius and XM co-existing? TK: Just like AOL and MSN, DIRECTV and the Dish Network. SJ.COM: Do you ever feel like one of many at Sirius, since there are so many formats under one umbrella? TK: I see the variety of programming as more of an advantage. ItŐs great to be able to share ideas with rock, urban & country programmers. It forces you to think out of the box. It's a stimulating, fun environment to be working in. SJ.COM: In your opinion, what's the deal with new music? Are you happy with the direction that the format is heading and what would you personally like to hear more of from the new stuff? TK: Sometimes I feel as though musicians are trying to play it safe. It's tough to get your record played on the radio. That ends up creating this safe, homogenized sound, and lots of covers. It's so refreshing when a record comes across your desk that crosses that line. SJ.COM: What was the last record that came across your desk like that? TK: Down To The Bone was able to create an entire movement in the format with their infectious grooves. But that's rare in Smooth Jazz. Unfortunately, a lot of good, new music out there doesn't get played on Smooth Jazz radio. The latest Shakatak record had a great tune on it called "The Squizzle". The new Mike Phillips was good. Another Hidden Beach release that should have gotten smooth jazz airplay is "Unwrapped, Volume 1". It's amazing how a record like that could have sold as many copies as it did without radio airplay. It's also disappointing to me how a lot of great musicians who helped to pioneer this format have been neglected. Some programmers don't give smooth jazz listeners enough credit. We don't need to over think it. A good tune is a good tune. We don't need to spoon feed our listeners and worry about offending them with a bass line tha'Ős too funky, a sax solo that's too long, or ghost vocals. We need to expose them to music that they can be passionate about. SJ.COM: What was the last live show you caught? TK: I saw Take 6 and George Duke at the Beacon last weekend. SJ.COM: What's in your personal CD player (home or car)? TK: George Duke-Snapshot, Joshua Redman-Elastic, Maxwell-Urban Hang Suite, St. Germain-Tourist Soulive, Soulive-Turn It Out SJ.COM: Outside of radio, are you an enthusiast for anything else (wine, golf, movies, etc.)? TK: I like to travel & dining out. TERESA
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