Gregg Karukas (born 1956) is a smooth jazz pianist from Bowie,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

who first gained notice in

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, then moved to

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in 1982. He backed

Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been played by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early li ...

before he co-founded the Rippingtons in 1986. He experimented with drums, guitar, trumpet, and keyboards as a child, but it was not until his teens that he pursued music professionally as a pianist, having played with the Bowie High School Starliners

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

. When he was sixteen, he owned one of the first

Minimoog The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...

synthesizers. Karukas spent five years with Tim Eyermann in the band East Coast Offering. After moving to Los Angeles, he worked with Shelby Flint, David Benoit, Richard Elliot, Grant Geissman, Dave Koz, Ronnie Laws, and

. He was a member of the Rippingtons when they recorded their first album, ''Moonlighting'', in November 1985. He has worked as a sideman with Larry Carlton, Jeffrey Osborne, George Duke, Rick Braun, Brenda Russell, Craig Chaquico, Boney James, and Peter White. Karukas has received multiple Best Keyboardist nominations at the Oasis and National Smooth Jazz Awards. He has collaborated with Brazilian composer Dori Caymmi and Ricardo Silveira. He produced, arranged, engineered, and co-wrote two albums with Omar Akram, whose ''Echoes of Love'' won the Grammy Award for Best New Age Album in 2013. He owns and distributes most of his music on his label, Nightowl Records .

Studio albums

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Karukas, Gregg 1956 births 20th-century American pianists American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists American people of Greek descent Living people Musicians from Baltimore Smooth jazz pianists The Rippingtons members Jazz musicians from Maryland 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians