The Rippingtons
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The Rippingtons are an American contemporary jazz group, mainly relating to the genres
smooth jazz Smooth jazz is commercially oriented crossover jazz music. Although often described as a "genre", it is a debatable and highly controversial subject in jazz music circles. As a radio format, however, smooth jazz radio became the successor to e ...
,
jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...
,
jazz pop Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...
, and crossover jazz. Formed in 1985 by guitarist and band leader Russ Freeman, their career has spanned more than three decades. With a revolving door of musicians, Freeman has been the only consistent member. Many of their songs have been featured in the "
Local on the 8s ''Local on the 8s'' (or the ''Local Forecast'') ( o ''Pronóstico Local'') is a program segment that airs on the American network The Weather Channel. It provides viewers with information on current and forecasted weather conditions for their re ...
" forecast segments on ''
The Weather Channel The Weather Channel (TWC) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by Weather Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Allen Media Group. The channel's headquarters are located in Atlanta, Georgia. Launched on May 2, 1982, the channel ...
''. The band's
mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...
is a grinning, sunglasses-wearing jazz cat, which appears in the artwork of all the band's releases and on their official website.


Current members

* Russ Freeman — guitar, keyboards and programming *Dave Karasony — drums *Bill Heller — piano
Rico Belled
— bass * Brandon Fields
saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...
Past members have included bassists Kim Stone, 1990–2008,
Steve Bailey Steve Bailey is an American bassist. He is the chair of the bass department at Berklee College of Music. Career Bailey began playing bass guitar at age 12 and started playing fretless bass after he ran over his fretted Stuart Spector with his ...
and Bill Lanphier; saxophone players Jeff Kashiwa, Paul Taylor,
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 ...
,
Kenny G Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956) is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer. His 1986 album ''Duotones'' brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selli ...
,
Kirk Whalum Kirk Whalum (born July 11, 1958) is an American R&B and smooth jazz saxophonist and songwriter. Whalum has recorded a series of commercially and critically acclaimed solo studio albums. Along with several film soundtracks, with music ranging fro ...
, and
Nelson Rangell Nelson Rangell (born March 26, 1960) is an American smooth jazz musician and composer from Castle Rock, Colorado. Although he is known for his work with the tenor, alto, and soprano saxophone, his primary instrument is the piccolo, which he beg ...
; pianists/keyboard players Dave Kochanski, David Benoit,
Gregg Karukas Gregg Karukas (born 1956) is a smooth jazz pianist from Bowie, Maryland who first gained notice in Washington, D.C., then moved to Los Angeles in 1982. He backed Melissa Manchester before he co-founded the Rippingtons in 1986. He experimented ...
, Tom McMorran and Mark Portmann; drummers Tony Morales, David Anderson,
Omar Hakim Omar Hakim (born February 12, 1959) is an American drummer, producer, arranger and composer. His session work covers jazz, jazz fusion, and pop music. He has worked with Weather Report, David Bowie, Foo Fighters, Chic, Sting, Madonna, Dire S ...
, and Dave Hooper; and percussionists Scott Breadman, Ray Yslas and
Steve Reid Steve Reid (January 29, 1944 – April 13, 2010) was an American jazz drummer who played with Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, James Brown, Fela Kuti, Kieran Hebden, and Sun Ra. He worked as a session drummer for Motown. Biography Born in ...
.


Timeline


Career


1980s

The band name was conceived by Russ Freeman after hearing friends play "and they were ripping", so Freeman thought of ''Rippingtons'' for a name. Freeman had previously released his solo debut album '' Nocturnal Playground'', which was released in April 1986. The band's recording career began in 1986 with the recording of the album ''
Moonlighting Moonlighting may refer to: * Side job, a job taken in addition to one's primary employment Entertainment * ''Moonlighting'' (film), a 1982 drama film by Jerzy Skolimowski * ''Moonlighting'' (TV series), 1985–1989 American television series, s ...
''. The album was well received by critics and consumers and featured the song "She Likes to Watch," which has gone on to become a staple of the band's live set and one of their signature tunes. In April 1988, the Rippingtons released ''
Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world, at above sea level and above its plateau base. It is also the highest volcano i ...
'' and began to tour more extensively. Mark Portmann, Steve Bailey (replacing Bill Lanphier), and Jeff Kashiwa joined the band, the band then released '' Tourist in Paradise'' in May 1989. The tour for this album featured the group's first visit to
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
with David Benoit, where they joined the special summer concert series in
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
produced by Japanese saxophonist Sadao Watanabe.


1990s

In August 1990, bassist Kim Stone joined the group replacing Steve Bailey; the album '' Welcome to the St. James' Club'' was released that month, and became the band's first CD to debut at #1 in the
Billboard Charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ' ...
. In 1991, Russ Freeman relocated to
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
and opened ''Cheyenne Mountain Ranch'' studios. The move influenced the group's next album, '' Curves Ahead'', which was released in August, and featured songs based on
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
,
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, and the ski atmosphere in Colorado. Standouts include "Aspen" and the title track. In August 1992, the group released '' Weekend in Monaco'', which, to date, has been one of their best selling albums. After its release the group toured
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
for the first time in June 1993. The U.S. leg of the tour was documented on the album '' Live in L.A.'', with the video recorded live at ''The Ventura Theatre'' in
Ventura, California Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura (Spanish for "Saint Bonaventure"), is a city in and the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States. It is a coastal city located northwest of Los Angeles. The population was 110,763 at the ...
on September 25, 1992, and the album recorded at ''The Greek Theatre'' in
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
on September 26, 1992. In 1994, Tom McMorran joined the band after Mark Portmann left, and in August of that year, the band released ''
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 ...
''. The following tour featured extensive dates in
East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...
, where the group played Tokyo,
Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
,
Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...
(Japan), and
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
including
Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
(Indonesia),
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
(Philippines) as well as
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
and
Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
. In 1995, David Kochanski joined the group, and the group made its presence known on the Internet. February 1996 saw the release of ''
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 ...
'', which featured covers of "
Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" is a 1979 disco song performed by American R&B duo McFadden & Whitehead, from their debut album '' McFadden & Whitehead'' (1979). They wrote and produced the song along with keyboard player Jerry Cohen. Background "A ...
," "
While My Guitar Gently Weeps "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album ''The Beatles (album), The Beatles'' (also known as the "White Album"). It was written by George Harrison, the band's lead guitarist, as ...
," and "Caravan of Love." The album was a stylistic departure for the band, and included more Urban Jazz than had appeared on previous releases.
Tony Morales
the original drummer, left the band after this release to pursue a career in web management. Morales put together the Rippingtons' first web site, which was nominated for an AOL award (Best Jazz Band Site). He later became the webmaster and manager of
Silicon Graphics International Silicon Graphics International Corp. (SGI; formerly Rackable Systems, Inc.) was an American manufacturer of computer hardware and software, including high-performance computing systems, x86-based servers for datacenter deployment, and visuali ...
'
web sites
for 10 years, and now has his own hosting and development busines
tonyhosting.com
In March 1997, the group released '' Black Diamond'', their first record on
Peak Records Peak Records is an American record label that was founded by The Rippingtons leader and guitarist Russ Freeman and Andi Howard in 1994. History *1994 Peak Records is co-founded by Russ Freeman and Andi Howard in GRP Records. *1997 Peak trans ...
in conjunction with
Windham Hill Records Windham Hill Records was an independent record label that specialized in instrumental acoustic music. It was founded by guitarist William Ackerman and Anne Robinson (née McGilvray) in 1976 and was popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The label was ...
. The album debuted at #1 on Billboard. In 1999, Dave Hooper and Ramon Yslas joined the Rippingtons, and Jeff Kashiwa was replaced by Paul Taylor. In May 1999, the group released ''
Topaz Topaz is a silicate mineral made of aluminium, aluminum and fluorine with the chemical formula aluminium, Alsilicon, Sioxygen, O(fluorine, F, hydroxide, OH). It is used as a gemstone in jewelry and other adornments. Common topaz in its natural ...
'', which featured Native American flute work by Robert Tree Cody. Topaz remains one of the group's most requested CDs.


2000s

In 2000, Russ Freeman relocated to South
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
, and the move was reflected thematically in '' Life in the Tropics''. This was the group's first album to be recorded digitally. In 2001, Scott Breadman, Bill Heller, Dave Karasony, and jazz saxophonist
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 ...
joined the group, and the following tour was documented on the live album '' Live Across America''. In 2003, the group released '' Let It Ripp'', featuring the title cut, which became a hit. In 2005, the group released '' Wild Card'', which plays on their ongoing Latin influences. The album features guest vocal spots by Latin music stars
Willy Chirino Willy Chirino (born April 5, 1947, in Consolación del Sur, Pinar del Río, Cuba) is a Cuban-American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Early life Following the communist revolution in Cuba, Chirino came to the United States ...
, Chante Moore, and Albita. In 2006, the group celebrated their 20th anniversary by releasing '' 20th Anniversary'', a two disc set which includes the main CD as well as a 20th Anniversary Retrospective DVD. On March 10, 2009, the Rippingtons made a return to the contemporary jazz scene with the release of the album ''
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 ...
''. A new bassist, Ricardo "Rico" Belled, participated in the recording of this album. ''Modern Art'' was nominated for a Grammy in the category "Best Pop Instrumental Album." In October 2009, the Rippingtons returned to Japan to perform four nights (eight gigs) at the Cotton Club in Tokyo. This was their first-time return to Japan in 18 years.


2010s

In 2011, the Rippingtons took listeners to the French coast with the thematic album, ''
Côte D'Azur The French Riviera, known in French as the (; , ; ), is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the Alpes-Maritimes department, extending fr ...
.'' The album features French, Latin, Gypsy and Euro rhythms. Saxophonist Jeff Kashiwa is featured on the album (he returned for the second album in a row.) The group released ''Built To Last'' on August 28, 2012, featuring
Zakk Wylde Zachary Phillip Wylde (born Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt; January 14, 1967) is an American rock musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and as the founder, lead guitarist, lead singer, songwriter and producer of the heav ...
, a full orchestra, and elements of jazz, rock, pop and country. This album was the first for the Rippingtons under its new partnership with
E1 Music MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch"), formerly known as Koch Records and Entertainment One (eOne) Music/Records, is an American independent record label and music management company based in New York City. It was formed in 1987 as a music div ...
.


Discography


Studio albums


Live albums


Compilations


References


External links


Official website

The Rippingtons at Discogs


{{DEFAULTSORT:Rippingtons, The Smooth jazz ensembles Windham Hill Records artists GRP Records artists American jazz fusion ensembles Musical groups established in 1985