Rippingtons "Kilimanjaro"

Rippingtons "Kilimanjaro"

album cover

Rippingtons
Kilimanjaro
The Story
"Kilimanjaro" was guitarist Russ Freeman and the Rippingtons all instrumental follow up to their successful debut "Moonlighting". The CD was upbeat, well-written, featured a good bit of Freeman's electric playing, and offered two of the Rippington's all-time favorite tracks, the opener "Morrocco", and "Dreams Of The Sirens" (a dynamic tracks which included an exciting electric solo). The group's second CD estabished a pattern for the albums to come - eight to ten tracks of solid smooth fusion, plenty of Freeman guitars, sax melody lines, world music influences, occasional scat (wordless) vocals, the odd vocal track (although "Kilimanjaro" is all instrumental), 'jazz cat' illustrations - and one CD release every year, if possible. They toured the country and established a large following with their show perfornances and the strength of their first two albums.
The Music
04:50 Morocco Instrumental
04:41 Northern Lights Instrumental
05:38 Dreams Of The Sirens Instrumental
05:59 Katrina's Dance Instrumental
04:47 Kilimanjaro Instrumental
04:08 Backstabbers Instrumental
04:09 Los Cabos Instrumental
04:15 Love Notes Instrumental
05:30 Oceansong Instrumental
The Artists
Russ Freeman Electric and Classical Guitars, Guitar Synthesizer, Keyboard Programming, Keyboards, Linn 9000 Programming, Acoustic Guitars, , Production, Arrangements, Mixing
Vinnie Colaiuta Drums
Tony Morales Drums, Addtional Cymbals
Jimmy Johnson Bass
Dave Koz Alto Sax
Steve Reid Percussion, Soundscape
Bill Lanphier Bass
David Garfield Synthesizer Solo, Keyboards, Acoustic Piano Solo
Jimmy Halsip Bass
Brandon Fields Alto Sax, Flute, Tenor Sax
Brad Gilderman Engineering, Mixing
Micajah Ryan Engineering
Alan Hirschberg Additional Engineering
Bill Mayer Cover Illustration
Ann Summa Back Cover Photography
Murray Brenman Design
Dean Whitney Executive Production
Recorded November 5 to December 22, 1987 at Take One Studios, Burbank, CA.