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January 14th, 2007 Edition #430 Previously 
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| With
the release of Kilimanjaro in 1988, demand for live dates set the stage
for The Rippingtons to hit the road and begin touring with a set line-up.
The rest is, as they say, history as what had began as a studio project
evolved into one of the most popular ensembles of the late 80s and into
the top selling smooth jazz band of the 90s. Over the years personnel
continued to come and go; band membership has included several high profile
players - Mark Portmann, Jeff Kashiwa, Paul Taylor, and Eric Marienthal
- the latter two had already established successful solo careers before
their stint with The Ripps. These elements of change, Freeman's propensity
to feature top name guests, and various influences from the regions where
Freeman has resided, have all allowed The Rippingtons' sound to stay vibrant
and fresh thruout the life of the band. It's fair to say the ensemble has weathered numerous changes. In fact, apart from the 'jazz cat' logo, (created by Bill Mayer) Freeman remains the only constant. The year 2006 marked the 20th anniversary of the first Russ Freeman fronted project and to commemorate this milestone, Freeman invited many past members in creating The Rippingtons 20th Anniversary album, a deluxe cd/dvd package. Familiar names such as Kashiwa, Reid, and Morales once again take a turn in what remains as one of the most popular acts in the genre. Also contributing are many of the original crew, among them David Benoit, Gregg Karukas and Brandon Fields. It's now with pleasure that we help The Rippingtons in celebrating by spotlighting 20th Anniversary on our program! |
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| Fresh Trax: Part One | |
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Waterfall - Jim Brickman: Classically trained Cleveland native Jim Brickman began his career writing jingles while a college student, but by 1994, he had turned to recording romantic pop songs and in this respect, he has been extremely successful. Within a dozen years, Brickman has achieved six Gold and Platinum selling albums, three #1 and twelve Top 10 radio hits. He earned a Grammy nomination (2003), and among other accolades, he won Songwriter of the Year (SESAC) as well as a Canadian Country Music Award for Best Vocal/ Instrumental Collaboration. Equally successful in other artistic endeavours, Brickman has hosted a successful weekly syndicated radio show, Your Weekend with Jim Brickman, (just what I need, high profile competition) for several years and written two best-selling books of essays while his albums consistently debut at #1 on Billboard's New Age chart. Releasing records at a rate of better than one a year, Escape is Brickman's first release of original solo material in several years. From that effort, we have the opening track ! CD: Escape Label: SLG Music Site: Jim Brickman ; At SLG |
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Sunset
(La Puesta del Sol) - David Longoria: David Longoria was trained classically before discovering jazz and the infinite improvisational possibilities it afforded. He's excelled as a soloist, while performing with orchestras and bands around the world. In addition, he's worked with many top artists from virtually every genre of music; the names of Sting and George Michael appear on that list. Described as unique and compelling, Longoria's music is blend of styles and reflects Latin as well as jazz roots. From the advance sampler for Baila, his debut, we have Sunset or La Puesta Del Sol, featuring Marc Antoine on guitar! EP: Sunset Label: Del Oro Music Site: David Longoria ; Del Oro |
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| Fresh Trax: Part Two | |
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You're
Beautiful - Kenny G: Following the success of At Last …The Duets Album a couple of years ago, Kenny G issued a seasonal compilation; he now releases another album of standards, somewhere around his 18th album overall at least as far as we could determine from the G-Man's site. On this cd, the G-Dude returns to a purely instrumental treatment of what have been identified, correctly or not, as some of the most romantic melodies of all time. Love him or hate him, G's phrasing and sound are instantly recognizable. And for those who do enjoy the warmth and honesty in Kenny's style of delivery, we present the opening track on the disc! CD: I'm In The Mood For Love (The Most Romantic Melodies of All Time) Label: Arista Records Site: Kenny G |
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The
Hypnotic - Rhonda Smith: With about a twenty-year career in music, Rhonda Smith released her solo debut in 2000, while, for close to a decade, she's played bass for and toured with Prince. Smith was born into a musical family and hails from Halifax, Nova Scotia. When she was a child, the clan relocated to the jazz-influenced and vibrant milieu of Montreal where she learned how to play bass along with the baritone horn, keyboards, and guitar. She began touring Canada with rock groups while studying jazz performance at McGill University, later winning a Juno Award (Canada's equivalent to a Grammy) for Best Contemporary Jazz Album for her work with The Merlin Factor. A chance meeting with Sheila E. at a German music convention, lead to an audition with His Royal Badness who hired her on the spot. In addition to her work with Prince, Ms Smith has performed with Chaka Khan, Beyonce, Patti Austin, Lee Ritenour, Little Richard, and Najee among many others. Now with RS2, her sophomore release, Smith takes another important step in breaking thru as a solo artist in her own right. From that release, we have The Hypnotic with Joey Sommerville on trumpet and keys! CD: RS2 Label: 215 Records Site: Rhonda Smith |
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Did
You Hear That? - Ken Navarro: |
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| After Hours ~ Exclusive to our Web Site : | ||||||||||
| This edition features selections past & present from Doc Powell. We've taken a liberal sampling of Powell music, a total of seven tracks, and we'll be featuring that as part of an extended Then & Now feature; that's coming up about 15 minutes in. Otherwise, new and never-been-played-on-the-show music is in the spotlight; today that's from Boney James and Lee Ritenour, while from the second tribute to Luther Vandross, we have a track by Wayman Tisdale. Also appearing is Kyle Eastwood while brand new to our show are the sounds of Kymaera and Bill McGee. Matter of fact we're starting with another newcomer; from Michael Vince and his self-titled extended play we have a tune that bears the name of our feature!! | ||||||||||
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Doc Powell:
Doc Powell was
only six when he first picked up a guitar and began teaching himself
how to play. In his teens, he was recording and performing professionally
while later he attended the University of Charleston in West Virginia,
to further his musical knowledge. Powell was barely in his 20s when
he landed his first high profile gig, as Wilson Pickett's musical
director. The experience with Pickett proved a valuable training ground
and led to Powell hooking up with Luther Vandross in about 1982, while
Luther was still early in his career. That affiliation spanned a dozen
or so years and stretched thru to the mid-90s, a period during which
Powell's guitar became an integral part of the Vandross sound; The
Doctor also doubled as Luther's musical director and performed on
many of Luther's most successful albums.
A couple of years later, Doc enjoyed his biggest commercial success with Laid Back voted the #2 jazz record for all of 1996, by year's end. Although subsequent projects haven't quite matched that success, the recent issue of Powell's self-titled cd, now his tenth overall, gave us pause to reflect upon and review some of the many highlights in a fabulous career. It's now our pleasure to share those with you. We pick up the story with the aforementioned Sade's Song followed by the title track from Laid Back, then in order, Raindrops, Cruisin', and another title track, this time from 97th and Columbus. Finally, there's Push and Me, Myself & Rio to cap off a great seven-track set featuring the one and only Doctor in Smooth Jazz, Doc Powell ! Site: Doc Powell | ||||||||||
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