Our Story

JAZZIZ Nightlife features fine indoor and outdoor dining, elegant lounging, daily live music on state-of-the-art sound stages, as well as outdoor music festivals featuring national recording artists.

Our story begins in 1983, when Michael Fagien, then a medical student at the University of Florida’s Medical School, founded JAZZIZ magazine. Fagien, who was financially assisted by Gatorade inventor Dr. Robert Cade, had long enjoyed listening to and writing about music. He also loved making mix tapes for friends. He’d bring all those interests to the fore with JAZZIZ, which became the first magazine to include a CD—essentially a mix tape for a far wider circle of friends—with every issue. That innovation would soon be adopted by a numerous computer, gaming and music magazines.

Throughout the remainder of the ’80s and into the early ’90s, the JAZZIZ team refined the magazine’s design and editorial approach, forging fruitful relationships with major players both inside and outside the music business. The magazine reached new audiences by sponsoring music festivals and other events, and through partnerships with various non-jazz enterprises. As a result, JAZZIZ grew into the world’s largest-circulation jazz magazine.

Through the years, Fagien has consulted for and embarked on successful ventures with top entertainment companies, from Universal to Time Warner. In 1995, he partnered with renowned jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour, label operator Mark Wexler and PolyGram Records to found the i.e. music. That record label, which produced A Twist of Jobim and other popular and critically lauded albums, was eventually sold to Universal. Among other achievements, in tandem with American Express Publishing and Food & Wine magazine, Fagien went on to launch Great Taste, a line of cookbooks bundled with music CDs.

In the late ’90s, not long before relocating from Gainesville to Boca Raton, Florida, Fagien began working with famed New Orleans restaurateur Dickie Brennan on an idea that would leverage Fagien’s expertise in media and music with Brennan’s expansive knowledge of the food industry. Basically the idea was to launch a JAZZIZ-themed restaurant and live music venue in the birthplace of jazz, New Orleans. Hearing about this concept, entertainment developer Michael Cordish contacted Fagien about transporting his idea to Seminole Paradise, Cordish’s entertainment complex in Hollywood, Florida. JAZZIZ Bistro—subsequently hailed as the “Best Place for Live Music in South Florida” by Boca Raton Magazine—soon opened for business. Eventually Cordish sold Seminole Paradise, a move that led JAZZIZ Bistro and several other tenants to vacate the property.

Since moving to South Florida, Fagien had kept a close eye on Mizner Park. He befriended Charlie Siemon—a staunch supporter of the Boca Raton arts scene—and the two began talking building a jazz club at Mizner. The ideal location became available in 2011. At that point, Fagien, along with his wife Zakiya and twin brother Steven, began assembling a dream team which included a seasoned general manager, talented chefs and restaurant personnel, a venerated booking agent, top-shelf sound engineers, and a plethora of additional skilled and trusted business associates (details of each below). The collective expertise of everyone involved led to the creation of the first JAZZIZ Nightlife.

JAZZIZ EXECUTIVE TEAM

Michael Fagien, M.D.
Founder and CEO, JAZZIZ Entertainment With the financial help of his partner Dr. Robert Cade (the inventor of Gatorade), Michael Fagien founded JAZZIZ Magazine in 1983, while he was in Medical School at the University of Florida. The business grew out Fagien’s passion to listen to, write and educate friends about jazz. JAZZIZ was the first magazine in the world to package a CD inside and his model became the gold standard used in computer, gaming and other music magazines and bundled software. Subsequently, the magazine grew into the largest jazz magazine in the world and the JAZZIZ imprimatur became a formidable jazz brand; licensed for fashion, food and beverage, travel, financial service products, spirits, music accessories, books, CDs, festivals and other music-products. Fagien forged relationships for the magazine and jazz as a key for advertising, media sponsorships, music festivals, fashion shows and in-flight entertainment while overseeing all creative, design and packaging efforts for JAZZIZ.

Through the years, Fagien has consulted for numerous entertainment companies, from Universal to Time Warner, and has formed successful ventures with each. In 1995, Fagien launched i.e., music (a record label created by Fagien, along with renowned jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour and label operator Mark Wexler in a joint venture with PolyGram,) which generated a best-selling album (A Twist of Jobim), earning  “Album of the Year” status and sold the  label to Universal.

Fagien was also the visionary force behind Great Taste (a partnership with American Express Publishing/Food & Wine Magazine), where he produced a line of cookbooks bundled with music CDs. Fagien’s close relationship with artists and industry veterans—especially in the jazz world—is unparalleled. In 2005, Fagien shaped and helped launch the first JAZZIZ-themed restaurant live venue concept, called JAZZIZ Bistro which was hailed the “Best Place for Live Music in South Florida”.

Fagien remains one of the publishers of JAZZIZ Magazine and on the Advisory Board of the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz (Chairman is Herbie Hancock). Outside of music, Fagien is a Radiologist and Nuclear Medicine physician, receiving his M.D. and board certification while at the University of Florida College of Medicine where he served as professor and Chief of Nuclear Medicine until 2000. He continues to serve as a Visiting Professor at the University of Florida and on the medical advisory board for General Electric.

Fagien brings thirty years of expertise in the music/entertainment and media industries and relationships with colleague industry icons and some of the most celebrated artists and musicians to JAZZIZ Entertainment.

Steven Fagien, M.D.
President, JAZZIZ Entertainment
Sharing the passion of music and jazz, Steven Fagien has joined his twin brother Michael and the team of JAZZIZ Entertainment.  Fagien has enjoyed the reputation of one of the premiere plastic surgeons specializing in cosmetic eyelid surgery with an international reputation for excellence.  He is currently in private surgical practice in Boca Raton, Florida. He earned his medical degree and completed his residency in ophthalmology from the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville, Florida, and completed a fellowship in ophthalmic plastic and reconstructive surgery at the University of Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary in Chicago, Illinois.  Fagien has lived and raised his family in Boca Raton, Florida since 1988 and has held prestigious positions at the Boca Raton Regional Hospital as chief of surgery and on the hospital’s foundation board and has continued to be actively involved in dozens of charitable organizations in the Boca Raton community.

In addition to his extensive organizational and volunteer involvement, Dr Fagien is a member of numerous professional organizations that span the specialties, including the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, and the American Society of Dermatological Surgeons. He is one of the world’s only surgeons who is a honorary member of all of the societies across multiple specialties.  His areas of expertise are in aesthetic eyelid plastic surgery, advanced applications of BOTOX® for facial aesthetic enhancement, and various forms of injectable soft tissue augmentation agents.

Fagien is a pioneer in the use of injectable soft tissue augmentation agents that have now become common practice in plastic surgery and dermatology.  He was the founder of Collagenesis, Inc, and co-developer of injectable autologous and allogeneic human tissue collagen matrices (Autologen® and Dermalogen®) and an allogeneic surgically implantable human collagen matrix (Dermaplant®). He also serves as a consultant and is a member of the medical advisory board to many of the world’s largest industry producers and distributors of injectable agents and plastic surgery products/devices as well as many multi-specialty advisory/consensus groups.

Fagien has edited, authored, or contributed to more than 350 articles, abstracts, book chapters, and texts (including his latest text; the fourth edition of Putterman’s Cosmetic Oculoplastic Surgery. Elsevier Publishers 2008) and has made more than 500 presentations nationally and internationally. He has been profiled in numerous publications, including Allure, W, Vogue,OK, Tattler, and More, as well as Best Doctors in America. Recently, Dr Fagien was named one of W magazine’s world’s best plastic surgeons specializing in eyelids and as one of the nation’s best eyelid plastic surgeons by More magazineand The New York Times.
 
Steven Fagien’s aptitude and flair for the arts both in music and plastic surgery and noble stature in the community make him a welcome addition to the JAZZIZ Entertainment team.

Bob Simpson
Operations, Growth and Development JAZZIZ Nightlife
Bob Simpson brings nearly 25 years of real estate, franchising and retail operations experience to JAZZIZ. Simpson has recently consulted for companies such as WineStyles, Salad Creations, Juiceblendz, Bubba Burgers, Radar’s Old School Sandwiches, The Tasting Station, KANA Coffee Roasters and Boca Tanning and some of the world’s most recognizable brands such from Subway to T-Mobile, Burger King to Church’s Chicken and other companies including FAM Capital Group (ATM’s), Ultimate Athletic Equipment (Ice Nets) and Penn Dutch Meats.

Simpson’s experience includes assisting with deal structuring, capital and funding sources, real estate approval, PR & Marketing enhancements, franchise lead generation, international retail operations, real estate strategy and deal negotiations; bringing both a national and international network of brokers, landlords and developers to his clients and has managed many of their International Council of Shopping Center (“ICSC”) and deal making responsibilities.  Simpson has performed site analysis, lease negotiations, rent reductions and Executive Committee approval for hundreds of sites as well as the disposition of numerous surplus properties.

Prior to founding his own Simpson Consulting Group, Simpson had a progressive 14-year career with The Sports Authority Inc, (NYSE:TSA) the nation’s largest sporting goods retailer.  As Director of Growth & Development, Simpson managed numerous corporate divisions including International Operations, Real Estate, Construction, Facilities and Corporate Communications.  As Director, his construction design staff value-engineered the company’s store prototype allowing new stores to realize profitability sooner.  As the Director of International Operations, Simpson oversaw the daily operations of all stores in Japan and Canada where his management of the Japanese and Canadian Divisions (with their unique cultural differences) highlighted his strong personnel and communication skills and as a result he was assigned as the Corporate Liaison to the Japanese Joint Venture executive management team, accompanying them on all of their business meetings in the U.S.  Throughout his tenure at TSA, Simpson initiated and oversaw successful implementation of company objectives in under-performing stores where he recruited, mentored and developed many members of the company's field management team and Simpson created the company’s secret shopper program to gauge customer service levels and was responsible for set-up and staff training for 90 stores opened during an expansion plan that saw the company quadruple in size.

Simpson has authored/co-authored numerous articles on real estate strategies, which articles have been published in industry magazines such as Retail Traffic, Shopping Center Business, Franchise Times and the Florida Real Estate Journal.  He has been a frequent featured speaker at numerous ICSC conferences as well as a real estate expert guest on Franchise Radio.  In 2007, Simpson’s client, WineStyles, was awarded the prestigious “Hot Retailer of the Year” award by the International Council of Shopping Centers and just recently was invited to be an “Ambassador” to the Burger King Corporation.  For JAZZIZ, Simpson helped refine the business strategy, negotiate the Mizner Park lease with General Growth Properties and going forward provides the know-how in operations and creating a successful venue in Boca Raton, replicable and scalable into a network of JAZZIZ venues around the world.

Zakiya Fagien, M.D.
Operations, Growth and Development JAZZIZ Studios
After training at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland, Zakiya Fagien took a sabbatical from the University of Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital – where she was training in OB-GYN – to join her husband Michael in the expansion of JAZZIZ initiatives which included beyond the live venues; reinventing JAZZIZ Magazine after 25 years, the creation of strategic partnerships with other music and media businesses and a direct-to-consumer operations reaching a goal to build the largest jazz customer database in the world. Clients have included such industry giants as Sony and Universal.

Zakiya has launched several real estate ventures including Boca Life Properties, HMI Medical Leasing Partners, a Florida-based medical leasing business and is a principal in one of the largest food distribution companies in the Caribbean.

Beyond her direct duties to operate JAZZIZ Studios, Zakiya Fagien brings her penchant for business analytics and media and persuasive style to work directly with the JAZZIZ management team to maximize efficiencies, profitability with aim to create synergies within the JAZZIZ companies and other music and media businesses.  

Marc Wigder
General Counsel, JAZZIZ Entertainment
Marc Wigder is a principal and acts as General Counsel to JAZZIZ. As a real estate attorney licensed in NY, NJ and FL with 15 years of experience in commercial real estate transactions with a focus on national and international project development, his clients have included real estate investors, developers, and private individuals.

Prior to 2009, Wigder was Corporate Counsel to a large South Florida developer for several years, where he participated on all legal and compliance aspects of the company’s real estate investment and development projects, which included conducting negotiations, drafting and/or reviewing all documentation concerning the Divisions’ national and international real estate Projects; advising senior management as to real estate, development and construction issues, multi-state registration of local, national, and international projects including the corporate

organization and the negotiation and drafting of all project documentation related to a Cruise Ship “Condominium” to be flagged by a five-star luxury hotel brand, bulk purchase agreements, marketing agreements, construction contracts and related issues, maintenance/repair contracts, landlord/tenant issues,  and shopping center and office building leases.

In addition to Wigder’s extensive legal experience, his family has been involved in New York real estate investment for over 50 years.  In the late 1990’s, Wigder completed an assemblage with over 62,000 square feet of buildable air rights on Manhattan’s valuable Upper West Side. In the 2000’s he purchased and sold several buildings in NY, culminating with an office building in Scarsdale, NY, which required total redevelopment, re-positioning and lease-up. Upon redevelopment, and leasing up of this property, Wigder was able to sell the building and obtain a substantial return on equity. This transaction was structured as a 1031 tax-deferred exchange and Wigder’s company purchased Florida property in the exchange.  In 2010, he acquired a distressed West Palm Beach medical office building which required extensive expansion, renovations, and tenant build-out. Upon completion of construction the building was then sold one-year later with a substantial return on equity.
Marc Wigder remains an active real estate investor with interests in several commercial and residential properties in New York and Florida.

Mike Kaufman
Director of Construction, JAZZIZ Entertainment
Michael Kaufman brings more than 30 years of construction experience to JAZZIZ. As president of Kaufman Lynn Construction, his firm has completed more than $750 million in projects over its 23-year history including, new construction and renovation of educational facilities, healthcare projects, restaurants, multifamily residential buildings, museums/cultural centers, office buildings, and faith-based facilities throughout Florida with a focus in South Florida and the Treasure Coast regions.
Recent notable projects include the $25 million Academic Support Center at Miami Dade College and the historic restoration of the Freedom Tower in Miami. High profile projects in our community include construction of the four corners of Mizner Park including the Boca Raton Museum of Art, the Count de Hoernle Amphitheater, the Cartoon Museum and the former Robb & Stuckey’s as well as numerous projects for Florida Atlantic University, the City of Boca Raton, Boca Raton Regional Hospital, the School District of Palm Beach County, Pine Crest School, and St. Andrews School.

As testament to his business acumen, Mike was awarded the Palm Beach County Small Business Leader of the Year Excalibur Award by the Sun Sentinel and a Lifetime Achievement Award and 2008 Ultimate CEO for Palm Beach County from the South Florida Business Journal. Under his leadership, Kaufman Lynn received the local Associated Buildersand Contractors (ABC) 2008 Excellence in Construction Award for its work on the $10.0 million Mizner Park Cartoon Museum Redevelopment Mixed-Use Project, a National Safety Award from the national ABC (one of seven in the nation) and the Business of the Year by the Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce as well as multiple General Contractor of the Year awards from the American Institute of Architects - Palm Beach and Miami chapters.

Kaufman serves on the Board of Directors of the Florida Atlantic University Foundation (a board member since 2005), the Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce, the Boca Raton Museum of Art and the FAU Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine Dean’s Advisory Board. He also donates his time and support to several industry, community and numerous nonprofit organizations.

Kaufman earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Building Construction from the University of Florida, College of Building Construction. Born in Bethpage, New York, Kaufman has called South Florida home for the past 39 years. For JAZZIZ Entertainment, Kaufman will remodel the restaurant, kitchen and bars and build-out the offices and recording studio spaces.

Michael Bilton
General Manager, JAZZIZ Nightlife
Michael Bilton has over 25 years of experience in restaurant operations, from construction and design to hospitality consulting. Bilton has worked with top name companies, culinary talents and designers in the industry and he has been featured in articles in Nation’s Restaurant News, Restaurant & Hospitality, Restaurant Business, Food Arts and other national trade and consumer publications. Originally from Chicago, Bilton worked for Carson’s Ribs of Chicago, Levy Restaurants, Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants and Bacin Group Restaurants in capacities ranging from general manager to director of operations. He was the creator of Ti Amo in Chicago, which was selected by Chicago Tribune restaurant critic Phil Vettel as the best restaurant in Chicago for 1993. Upon moving to South Florida in 1994, Bilton has had his hand on the pulse of the evolving restaurant market.

Some of the projects include the critically acclaimed 32 East in Delray Beach, which he conceptualized, opened and operated as managing partner and still maintains a close relationship to the restaurant today. Another project which he developed conceptually was Aura, also in Delray Beach. Aura was named City Link Magazine’s best new restaurant in Palm Beach County for 2003 along with numerous other accolades.  After years of applying his vast experience and wealth of industry knowledge to consult with restaurant operators and companies, offering a broad base of solutions and implementation of practical ideas to help individual operators, Bilton joins JAZZIZ Nightlife as GM charged with the task to hands-on manage all personnel of the restaurant, catering and bar operations applying his experience in the hospitality industry.

Justin Flit
Executive Chef, JAZZIZ Nightlife Food Services (Kitchen)
Rising star chef of the Miami culinary scene, Justin Flit began his restaurant industry journey at the age of thirteen. While attending college full-time at FAU, Justin worked at the Gold Coast Grill in Coral Springs, Florida as a line cook and was running the kitchen after his third year there. Though he credits chefs Thomas Keller, Michel Bras and Paul Bocuse as his main influences, early on, Justin’s learned from Kevin Toomy, who now serves as a Joint Venture Partner for the Roy's and Outback Steakhouse brands. From there, Justin went to work for Chef Oliver Saucy at Cafe Maxx in Pompano Beach where he realized that he wanted to advance his career and he made the decision to attend culinary school at The French Culinary Institute in New York City (the famed institute that graduated Bobby Flay and others). There, in addition to learning the classic French culinary techniques from world renowned French master chefs, he worked after hours for Daniel Boulud where he began to appreciate the importance of only using the best possible. 

Upon graduation, Justin accepted a position with Michael Mina’s restaurant group and helped Mina open a restaurant in San Francisco before moving back to Florida, accepting an Executive Sous Chef position at Bourbon Steak at Turnberry Isle in Aventura. JAZZIZ is proud to recruit Flit who will offer an unprecedented culinary experience and to leverage its media infrastructure to make him the next celebrity chef.  

Cliff Walker
Manager, JAZZIZ Studios Box Office
Before graduating from the University of Miami school of Music Business & Studio Music & Jazz, Cliff Walker was already known in the music talent agency world, establishing Walker Entertainment, Inc. in 1983. Since, Walker has booked thousands of nightclub, concert and private events in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. As a manager and talent agent, Walker has simultaneously worked with an impressive roster of local jazz artists including Nestor Torres, Ed Calle, Nicole Henry, Arturo Sandoval. For JAZZIZ, Walker will provide a steady stream of entertainment booking in the supper club, updstairs theater, amphitheater, an annual JAZZIZ Festival at Mizner, other South Florida events and closed circuit simulcasts at all JAZZIZ venues.

Joseph Salamida
Manager, JAZZIZ Studios, Recording Studio
Joe Salamida has always wanted to make a difference in the music world. After high school, Salamida, a musician, attended a business college, then enrolled in SAE Miami’s audio engineering program.  Having worked for JAZZIZ in the past, on a variety of music projects, Salamida ventured out on his own to form Vanquish Studio; one of the finest recording studios in the South. Vanquish has already attracted artists of the caliber of John Mayer and Sara Bareilles largely due to Salamida’s attention to details; acquiring the finest equipment and providing the highest level of service. The Vanquish Studio walls are already filled with accolades from industry leaders and Grammys Awards making Salamida the obvious choice to run JAZZIZ Studios’ recording studio. On top of Salamida’s skills JAZZIZ benefits from state-of-the-art equipment that will be used in the post-recording process, whereby recordings from JAZZIZ will be downloaded to Vanquish for final mastering, obviating the need for JAZZIZ Studios to duplicate Vanquish’s luxurious technology.

Tony Morales
Manager, JAZZIZ Studios, Networks (Broadcasting)
Tony Morales has worked in live sound production for more than 20 years. For the past ten years, Morales was head engineer for Clear Channel at 24 radio stations, concert and celebrity broadcasts and managed their productions from Orlando to the Florida Keys and the Bahamas; working with a wide variety of top name artists from Justin Bieber to Britney Spears, Enrique Inglesias, Maroon 5 and others. Morales will champion the broadcast initiatives for JAZZIZ ranging from live music broadcasts to creative music and food programming (shows) for major TV and radio network distribution.