Windham Hill Records
1999
Topaz
About This Album
Whether traveling musically to places like Aruba or Kenya, or spending a playful weekend in Monaco as he did in 1992, Russ Freeman has mastered the art of the exotic, smooth-jazz sojourn. Rather than getting a passport this time, he and the new Rippingtons lineup (with guest Paul Taylor replacing longtime saxman Jeff Kashiwa) take a trip just down the road from Freeman's Colorado spread, to the New Mexico arts community of Taos. Long a brilliant classical guitarist, Freeman upped the ante with a memorable flamenco jaunt on the Rippingtons' last album Black Diamond. Here, inspired by the Spanish vibe of his adopted environment, he more fully explores those traditions in an accessible pop context. On the opening track "Taos," he follows a gently loping flamenco pattern with a powerful electric guitar-driven hook, reminding us that he is, indeed, one of smooth jazz's best melody writers and producers. "Under a Spanish Moon" begins with a rumbling flamenco intro by Tom Gannaway, then becomes a lively, atmosphere-heavy, Latin-flavored romp -- led by Freeman's swaying acoustic melody, enhanced by a sparkling Dave Kochanski piano solo -- along a dusty desert trail.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,4 and 6)

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