New York's favorite summer jazz series continues with… *THE RIPPINGTONS* One of the most popular groups in contemporary jazz, the Rippingtons were formed (and have been led ever since) by guitarist/keyboardist Russ Freeman. Freeman was born February 11, 1960, in Nashville, studied at Cal Arts and UCLA, and recorded _Nocturnal Playground_ as a leader in 1985 for the Brainchild label, a one-man project. In 1987, he was approached to record for the Japanese Alfa label and came up with the Rippingtons name for the all-star group he used on the disc (_Moonlighting_), an ensemble featuring David Benoit, Kenny G., and Brandon Fields. Their album was released domestically by Passport and became a hit. Freeman soon formed a regular touring band (usually including saxophonist Jeff Kashiwa, bassist Kim Stone, drummer Tony Morales, and percussionist Steve Reid), cut a second disc for Passport, and the group recorded regularly for GRP. Russ Freeman writes all of the music for the Rippingtons, much of which falls in the pop/R&B genre. In the late '90s, the group moved over to the Windham Hill label, recording such albums as _Black Diamond_ (1997), _Topaz_ (1999), _Live! Across America_, and _Life in the Tropics_ (both in 2000). For 2003's _Let It Ripp_, the band relied heavily on their horn section to carry the weight of the album. The Latin-flavored _Wild Card_ followed in 2005. 2009-06-23T12:12:01-04:00 false #<Genre:0x2a9b96cd80> 1 Smooth Cruise - The Rippingtons 14 Featuring Russ Freeman! true 2009-06-23T12:09:00-04:00 Smooth Cruise - The Rippingtons false 2009-09-24T17:50:46-04:00