Listening to keyboardist Bill Heller’s funky, poppy, dynamic and soulful new single “Ripp Tide,” whose title is a wink to his many years performing and recording with Russ Freeman and the Rippingtons, I thought back to an amusing moment from early in my life as a contemporary jazz enthusiast.
A fellow reviewer once pointedly joked that I know everything about jazz – as long as it’s after 1987. He may have meant it pejoratively, but he was right in the sense that this was the year my senses alighted to the excitement and magic this instrumental music that has defined my life and driven my career since.
No band captured my attention in those days quite like The Rippingtons, the group founded by guitarist/composer/producer Russ Freeman whose many lineups over the past decades have seen some of the greatest artists in the genre. Though keyboardist Bill Heller has not to this point enjoyed the solo success of onetime members David Benoit, Gregg Karukas, Kenny G, Dave Koz, Paul Taylor, Jeff Kashiwa and Eric Marienthal, he’s been one of the Ripps’ longest tenured stalwarts – starting his recording career with them on 1999’s Topaz and featuring on all but two classic albums since while being a foundational part of their touring experience.
Heller is one of those phenomenally diverse rhythmic, melodic and improvisational musicians whose status as a first call studio, stage and special event performer among the elite of pop, jazz, R&B and other genres has kept him from an ongoing pursuit of a solo career. Yet his solo discography to date has been phenomenal, starting with Finding the Way (2014) and continuing with Passage (2021), a Yellowjackets/Bob James influenced tour de force featuring all-star guests Jonathan Butler, Steve Jordan, Will Lee, Marc Antoine Ken Navarro, Andy Snitzer and former Rippingtons saxophonists Jeff Kashiwa and Brandon Fields. Also of note is his infectious 2023 single “All Because of You” featuring vocalist Dennis Collins.
With the release of “Ripp Tide,” Heller slightly pushes aside his artsier contemporary jazz leanings of the past to embrace and make his emphatic mark on smooth urban jazz. With his exuberant, sparkling and melodic keyboard melody and feisty grooves leading the way, the furiously fun and powerfully played, high energy romp artfully blends his trademark dynamic adventurousness and exciting dazzle with radio friendly coolness.
Just as Heller played with the genre’s best and brightest lights as a Rippington, “Ripp Tide” finds him vibing intuitively with longtime Hall & Oates drummer Brian Dunne, who has also played with everyone from Ariana Grande to Jeff Lorber and Bob James), bassist Dave Anderson, whose credits include Chieli Minucci & Special EFX, Smokey Robinson and Michael McDonald; and guitarist Russ DeSalvo, who began his career with Carlos Santana and Narada Michael Walden and later worked with Celine Dion, Lionel Richie, Marc Anthony and others.
True to its title, “Ripp Tide” offers a roaring good time and something delightful to de-stress listeners and carry their senses away. It’s truly one of smooth jazz’s most essential and engaging singles of the year.
An important aside: just as The Rippingtons have enjoyed tying their aesthetic fortunes to visual artist Bill Mayer’s theme-adaptable jazz cat, much of Heller’s artwork, including that of his upcoming, sailing and water themed album Coastal Blue, is created by artist Eric Waugh.
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