The Rippingtons
20thAnniversary Tour
Russ Freeman (Guitar)
Bill Heller (Keyboards)
Dave Karasony (Drums)
Paul Taylor (Sax)
Kim Stone (Bass)
Over the past two decades, Russ Freeman & The Rippingtons have taken the stage thousands of times throughout the world with just one goal in mind: celebrating the joy of life and music with their ever adoring fans. Marking an incredible milestone in the history of smooth jazz, the band turns 20 years old this year, and invites fans all around the world to celebrate with The Rippingtons 20th Anniversary, a remarkable new CD/DVD package that includes a CD of all new Ripps music and a DVD featuring a colorful retrospective as well as exciting videos from over the years.
Most bandleaders would satisfy themselves at such a juncture with a complacent look back and a greatest hits package, but Russ Freeman, true to his ever creative and innovative spirit as a composer and producer, had a more exciting idea: an all-star class reunion of sorts, gathering all Rippingtons recording and touring members past and present to alternate on ten brand new compositions and a sizzling medley featuring newly recorded snippets of nine classic Ripps cuts.
Complementing his own trademark mix of fiery electric and romantic classical guitars, Freeman's guest list is truly a smooth jazz fan's dream- saxophonists Jeff Kashiwa, Paul Taylor, Kirk Whalum, Dave Koz and Eric Marienthal; keyboardist Bill Heller; bassist Kim Stone; vocalists Patti Austin and Jeffrey Osborne; drummer Dave Karasony; and special guest Brian McKnight, who wrote, produced and sings lead vocals on the lush romance "Anything." As if that group wasn't enough to get Bill Mayer's famed jazz cat (which graces every Ripps album cover) dancing, The Rippingtons 20th Anniversary also reunites most of the lineup of L.A. musicians who performed on The Rippingtons' groundbreaking 1986 debut album, Moonlighting, which Jazziz Magazine once called the most influential contemporary jazz album of all time: saxophonists Brandon Fields and Dave Koz (who played the EWI on the original recording); pianists David Benoit and Gregg Karukas; bassist Jimmy Johnson; drummer Tony Morales and percussionist Steve Reid. The collection is dedicated with love to the late great singer Carl Anderson, who first tantalized Ripps fans with his brilliant vocalizing on 1989's Tourist in Paradise.
In his heartfelt liner notes for the project, Freeman writes that the breakup of the Beatles when he was nine had a direct impact years later on his role as the leader of the Rippingtons: "I vowed that if I ever started a band, it would never break up. In a way, that became the model for my vision of the Rippingtons. I felt that if a band could survive personnel changes, and evolve its sound naturally over time, it would have a better chance of survival. What I did not realize at the time was how prescient the idea was, and how it would withstand the test of time."
When The Ripps' 20th anniversary rolled around, Freeman explains, "the challenge was to decide how many older songs to revisit versus how much new material to include. It occurred to me that the most compelling idea would be to bring back all the performers from over the years to play new material, to show that we're still vibrant and creative and excited about the future. The medley of classic songs works because it's like a gentle wink back at where we've been, rather than full reworkings that might be compared to the originals.
"What a blast this all was, getting the guys back together," he adds. "Tony (Morales) hasn't played at all in ten years, but he was excited to be part of it. Jeff (Kashiwa) has worked a few Ripps dates recently, and the chemistry we had during his ten years with the band came right back. The sessions were fun and effortless, and everyone fell easily into the way they're known for playing both with us and on their own. I was reminded of why I wanted to work with all these musicians in the first place. But even beyond that, the greatest thing was just hanging out again, and I was happy to see that the rapport everyone had over the years hadn't diminished at all. I've always felt the key to The Ripps' success was the songs, and all I had to do was bring on the best players to help me realize my vision for them."
While he loves the process of creating and recording music in the studio, Freeman has always said that the best part of the phenomenon of The Rippingtons is getting out on the road and meeting the fans; the DVD.
