The Rippingtons’ Life in the Tropics: The Original 2000 Press Release

From the ContemporaryJazz.com Archives

On October 10, 2000, The Rippingtons featuring Russ Freeman released Life in the Tropics, another chapter in the group’s remarkable career. To celebrate the album’s 26th anniversary, we’re revisiting the original promotional press release distributed to ContemporaryJazz.com at the time of its release.

The following is reproduced as originally distributed in 2000.

At the Oasis Smooth Jazz Awards held in Dallas in January 2000, Russ Freeman joined Bob James and Herb Alpert as a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. A true icon of the genre, Freeman as leader, songwriter and producer of The Rippingtons has given smooth jazz some of its most classic melodies and an amazing catalog of #1 Contemporary Jazz chart hits. While the Rippingtons continue to be one of smooth jazz’s most commercially successful bands, Freeman continues pushing the stylistic envelope to new and dynamic limits each time out–allowing his audience to partake in and share his passions along the way. 1997’s Black Diamond reflected his newfound love of skiing, while 1999’s Topaz was a heartfelt tribute to the majesty and spirit of The American Southwest. The Rippingtons have always devoted a tune here and there to Latin music, and Freeman’s recent move from Colorado to Boca Raton, Florida–40 minutes from Miami–found him rediscovering his intense passion for that genre’s exciting horn sections and unlimited percussive possibilities. More than just another great Ripps recording, Life in the Tropics – the first Peak Records release under a new distribution deal with Concord Records – is a festive celebration of that irrepressible Latin vibe. Not surprisingly, it’s also the band’s most spontaneous sounding studio date ever.

“Over this past year, our new rhythm section of (longtime bassist) Kim Stone, (drummer) Dave Hooper and (percussionist) Ramon Yslas has grown so tight that I felt confident coming into the studio without a set agenda, presenting my tunes to them and listening as they tried new ideas in developing the tunes,” says Freeman. “Avenida Del Mar” began as only a sketch and it was exciting to oversee the process as we built it up. I used to have specific ideas for each player, but this time I let them wing it a little. The key is to get performances from the band that reflect how well everyone is working together. A lot of these tunes were recorded completely live in the studio.” 

Freeman says he fell in love with Latin music on an early Rippingtons tour to the Caribbean years ago, and he is excited to finally have the opportunity to devote an entire album to its intoxicating energies. “Over the years, we’ve mixed more and more Latin sounds into our live shows, and we’ve noticed an amazing reaction by our audience,” he says. “Ramon is from Mexico and he lends an authentic cadence to the music. Living near Miami has exposed me to a lot more Latin music than I’d heard before, but I didn’t plan the album around that concept. I let things develop more naturally.” 

While Freeman’s vision and productions have always created the core sound of the Rippingtons, over the years he has had the great fortune to ensemble with some of smooth jazz’s elite – David Benoit, Gregg Karukas, Dave Koz, Brandon Fields, Mark Portmann, Paul Taylor and Kenny G. It’s always an adventure to see who will stop in, and this time Freeman, his rhythm section and touring keyboardist Dave Kochanski are joined by Koz, Taylor, Eric Marienthal, Peter White, pianist Bill Heller and keyboard great Bob James. Popular R&B vocalist Howard Hewett lends his soulful eloquence to the seductive and passionate ballad “I Found Heaven”. 

Life in the Tropics begins with the lively, loping funk of “Club Paradiso”, a tune that blends a thick, throbbing ambience with the snappy sax-guitar interaction of Marienthal and Freeman. Freeman and Peter White harmonize their classical guitars brilliantly on the joyous, balmy “Caribbean Breeze” while Freeman digs deep into his rich electric guitar vocabulary for his crackling lines on the punchy “Cruisin’ Down Ocean Drive”; the song also features a sparkling, jazzy conversation between Marienthal’s soprano and Heller’s salsa-fied piano. The dreamy, gently grooving flavors of “Be Cool” seem tailor-made for Dave Koz’s laid back soulful style. No Latin influenced project would be complete without some feisty horn splashes, and the Jerry Hey-Gary Grant-Bill Reichenbach brass section creates the perfect accents behind the exciting and exotic grooving of “Rhythm of Your Life,” with lead vocals sung by Lourdes Villa. The sensuous mid-tempo ballad “Love Child” is unique in that it features the alternating saxes of Marienthal (tenor) and Taylor (alto), creating a powerful emotional dialogue and harmony line. The Hewett vocal “I Found Heaven” is sandwiched between two blistering electric guitar jams that find Freeman soaring to Santana-like heights. “Avenida Del Mar” combines the explosive fire of his distorted electric rock guitar melody, the bouncy playfulness of Heller’s piano and the party of horns; “South Beach Mambo” captures the classic vibe of Santana’s “Smooth” with its zesty blend of Freeman’s tight electric, Stone’s rolling bass grooves and a happy vocal chorus. The title cut features Marienthal’s sax and Bob James’ poignant synth harmonies along with Freeman’s muted electric guitar, grooving gently over a trip-hoppy ambience. The closer, “Island Aphrodisiac” is a breezy acoustic guitar ballad enhanced by Freeman’s Andy Narell-like synth steel pans and a drifting trumpet solo by Ramon Flores.

Russ Freeman and The Rippingtons have not only set musical standards in smooth jazz, but their creative and commercial success perfectly parallels the growth of the genre over the past fifteen years. Freeman and his revolving cast of musicians have helped define and redefine the genre during that time. A native of Nashville who came to Los Angeles at 18 to study music at Cal Arts and later UCLA, Freeman had just released his solo debut Nocturnal Playground (1985) when he envisioned Moonlighting as a one time project for all his L.A. studio pals to play on. Jazziz Magazine would later declare this 1986 masterpiece as the most influential contemporary jazz recording of all time. Twelve years later, their Peak/Windham Hill debut Black Diamond hit #1 on the Billboard contemporary jazz chart its first week, unseating none other than Kenny G – who, just pre-stardom, played sax on that first project. Freeman kept the core band of Steve Reid, Brandon Fields and Tony Morales together for 1988’s equally popular Kilimanjaro. Soon the band became a big live attraction which lived up to its whimsical namesake–as in “That band rips!” That live experience was chronicled on 1993’s Live in L.A., and a new live recording is expected in the spring of 2001.

The Rippingtons signed with GRP in 1989 and enjoyed an extraordinary and prolific run throughout most of the 90s with their albums Tourist in Paradise (1989), Welcome To the St James Club (1990), Curves Ahead (1991), Weekend in Monaco (1992), Sahara (1994), and the fanciful ode to the emergence of cyberspace, Brave New World (1996). These latter two marked the first releases on Freeman’s own imprint label, Peak Records. Helmed by Freeman and his longtime manager Andi Howard, the label is now its own entity, and has recently signed Eric Marienthal, Denver smooth jazz supergroup Dotsero (Freeman produced their label debut, West of Westchester), and vocalist Miki Howard. Additional Peak Records artists include Paul Taylor and singer Phil Perry, both of whom have chart-topping records on Peak through other distribution prior to Peak’s new association with Concord.

During his GRP days, Freeman recorded two very popular outside projects, 1993’s The Benoit/Freeman Project (which reunited him with original Ripps pianist David Benoit) and 1995’s popular seasonal offering, Holiday. He also produced albums for saxman Nelson Rangell, singer Carl Anderson and Japanese fusion band T Square. When Peak Records moved to Windham Hill Jazz in 1997, The Rippingtons had two of their biggest hits with Black Diamond and Topaz. During this time, Freeman also recorded the successful duet album From the Redwoods to the Rockies with guitarist Craig Chaquico. 

It’s interesting to survey the places Russ Freeman and the Rippingtons have taken smooth jazz listeners over the past few years… cyberspace, the slopes of Colorado, the pueblos of New Mexico and now South Beach and Miami for an unforgettable vacation that will inspire dreams of Life in the Tropics. “I strive to keep growing and searching for new ideas to inspire me,” says Freeman. “I never want to repeat myself, but rather than come up with some master plan, it’s easier to not steer the boat for a while and let things just happen. As long as I’m willing to try new things and have a little fun along the way, the music will still sound fresh.”