Richard Aaron Katz was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and record producer born March 13, 1924, in Baltimore, Maryland. Katz studied at the Peabody Institute, the Manhattan School of Music, and Juilliard, and took piano lessons from Teddy Wilson. In the 1950s, he joined the house rhythm section at the Café Bohemia and performed in groups led by Ben Webster, Kenny Dorham, Oscar Pettiford, and Carmen McRae. From 1954 to 1955, he played in the J. J. Johnson and Kai Winding Quintet, and later performed on Benny Carter's album Further Definitions (1961). In 1966, Katz co-founded Milestone Records with Orrin Keepnews. His recordings as a leader or co-leader include Jazz Piano International (1957), Piano and Pen (1958), and A Shade of Difference (1968). Katz died of lung cancer in Manhattan, New York, on November 10, 2009.
