Russ Freeman (born February 11, 1960) is a smooth jazz guitarist who is the founder and leader of The Rippingtons.

Life and career

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Freeman started on guitar when he was ten years old. His first teacher was a

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

in Nashville who knew his father. He followed his teacher around Nashville studios and after six years worked in a variety of sessions as a professional guitarist. Two years later, he moved to Los Angeles, where he found work playing for commercials and with vocalists Engelbert Humperdinck and Anne Murray. He cites

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the ...

and Larry Carlton as influences. For one year he attended the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...

. He recorded his first solo album, ''Nocturnal Playground''. In 1985, he founded the band The Rippingtons as an opportunity to record with a variety of musicians. The first version of the band included David Benoit
Gregg Karukas
Brandon Fields, Kenny G, and Dave Koz. By 1993, The Rippingtons had solidified into a sextet of Freeman, Jeff Kashiwa on saxophone, Dave Kochanski on keyboards, Kim Stone on bass guitar, Tony Morales on drums, and Steve Reid on percussion. In 1994 Freeman reunited with Benoit for '' The Benoit/Freeman Project''. Freeman and his manager, Andi Howard, formed Peak Records in 1994. In 1998 he collaborated with guitarist Craig Chaquico of

Starship A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 1 ...

for the album ''From the Redwoods to the Rockies''. A record producer and arranger, Freeman also plays bass guitar, keyboards, and drums. His music can be heard during The Weather Channel's '' Local on the 8s'' segments, and his song "Brave New World" is included in the 2008 compilation album, '' The Weather Channel Presents: Smooth Jazz II''. His wife, Yaredt Leon, has composed music for The Rippingtons' albums.

Awards

* University School of Nashville, Tennessee, Distinguished Alumni Award, 1995

Discography

As leader

* '' Nocturnal Playground'' (Brainchild, Alfa Records (Japan), 1986) * ''

Holiday A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...

'' (GRP, 1995) * '' Drive'' ( Peak, 2002) With The Rippingtons * '' Moonlighting'' (Passport, Alfa Moon (Japan; under its title ''Cruise Control — Moon Riding'', 1986) * '' Kilimanjaro'' (Passport, 1988) * '' Tourist in Paradise'' (GRP, 1989) * '' Welcome to the St. James' Club'' (GRP, 1990) * '' Curves Ahead'' (GRP, 1991) * '' Weekend in Monaco'' (GRP, 1992) * '' Live in L.A.'' (GRP, 1993) * ''

Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

'' (GRP, 1994) * ''

Brave New World ''Brave New World'' is a dystopian novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931, and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State, whose citizens are environmentally engineered into an intelligence-based social hier ...

'' (Peak, 1996) * '' Black Diamond'' (Windham Hill, 1997) * '' Topaz''(Windham Hill, 1999) * '' Life in the Tropics'' (Peak, 2000) * '' Live Across America'' (Peak, 2002) * '' Let It Ripp'' (Peak, 2003) * '' Wild Card'' (Peak, 2005) * ''

Modern Art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradit ...

'' (Peak, 2009) * '' Côte d'Azur'' (Peak, 2011) * '' Built to Last'' (Peak, 2012) * '' Fountain of Youth'' (eOne, 2014) * '' True Stories'' (Peak, 2016) * '' Open Road'' (eOne, 2019) With David Benoit * '' The Benoit/Freeman Project'' (GRP, 1994) * '' The Benoit/Freeman Project 2'' (Peak, 2004)

As sideman

With David Benoit * '' Freedom at Midnight'' (GRP, 1987) * '' Every Step of the Way'' (GRP, 1988) With others * Carl Anderson, ''Pieces of a Heart'' (GRP, 1990) * Carl Anderson, ''Fantasy Hotel'' (GRP, 1992) * Steve Bailey, ''Dichotomy'' (Justice, 1994) * Brian Bromberg, ''Basses Loaded'' (Intima, 1988) * Doug Cameron, ''Passion Suite'' (Spindletop, 1987) * Lorraine Feather, ''The Body Remembers'' (Bean Bag, 1996) * Brandon Fields, ''Other Places'' (Nova, 1990) * Gregg Karukas, ''GK'' (Trippin 'n' Rhythm, 2009) * Jeff Kashiwa, ''Peace of Mind'' (Native Language, 2004) * Michael Lington, ''A Foreign Affair Christmas'' (Copenhagen Music, 2019) * Barry Manilow, ''Barry Manilow'' (Arista, 1989) *

Eric Marienthal Eric Marienthal (born December 19, 1957) is a Grammy Award-nominated Los Angeles-based contemporary saxophonist best known for his work in the jazz, jazz fusion, smooth jazz, and pop genres. Early life Eric Marienthal was born on December 19, 1 ...

, ''Turn Up the Heat'' (Peak, 2001) * Eric Marienthal, ''Got You Covered!'' (Peak, 2005) * Jason Miles, ''To Grover with Love'' (ARTizen, 2006) * Alphonse Mouzon, ''On Top of the World'' (Tenacious, 1994) * Alphonse Mouzon, ''The Survivor'' (Tenacious, 1992) *

Phil Perry Philip Eugene Perry (born January 12, 1952) is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, musician and a former member of the soul group, The Montclairs, from 1971 to 1975. He was also known for performing the opening song to Disney� ...

, ''Pure Pleasure'' (GRP, 1994) * Phil Perry, ''Magic'' (Peak, 2001) * Nelson Rangell, ''In Every Moment'' (GRP, 1992) * Emily Remler, ''This Is Me'' (Justice, 1990) * Paul Taylor, ''Undercover'' (N-Coded, 2000) * Tim Weisberg, ''Outrageous Temptations'' (Cypress, 1989)

References

External links

The Rippingtons official website

''GuitarWorld'' interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Russ 1960 births Living people Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee American jazz guitarists Guitarists from Tennessee Jazz fusion guitarists Jazz-pop guitarists Smooth jazz guitarists 20th-century American guitarists The Rippingtons members Jazz musicians from Tennessee