Diamond in the Smooth

What’s the best perk that comes from success in the smooth jazz field?

Russ Freeman, leader of the Rippingtons, one of the most popular and influential groups in the genre, doesn’t even have to think twice before answering the question.

“Living in Colorado and skiing to my heart’s content,” he says.

In town for a JVC Jazz at the Bowl concert Sunday night (on a program that also includes Dave Koz, Hiroshima and Zawinul Syndicate), Freeman, 37, can hardly wait to get back to his recently completed 5,000-square-foot cedar house in the mountains near Colorado Springs. To complete his nordic dream, he has acquired a ski lodge in Colorado’s Keystone winter sports area.

The Nashville-born guitarist’s fascination with skiing is an intrinsic part of the Rippingtons’ new album, “Black Diamond,” scheduled for release in mid-September. Sunday night at the Bowl, the group will premiere a few of the CD’s tracks, many of them--”Black Diamond” (described by Freeman as the symbol “to classify a mountain so difficult it should only be run by an expert”), “Deep Powder,” “Big Sky” and “North Peak”--stimulated by Freeman’s fascination with the sport he refers to as “the new love of my life.”

The Rippingtons’ performance also celebrates their 10th anniversary. Organized initially by Freeman for an all-star Japanese album featuring pianist David Benoit and saxophonists Brandon Fields and Kenny G, the group was an unexpected hit. The album, “Moonlighting,” became one of the first breakthroughs of the then rapidly emerging smooth/contemporary jazz genre. (The group’s unusual name traces to Freeman’s whimsical reference to obtaining players who could play “rippingly.”)

“Our timing was just right,” explains Freeman. “We came on the scene at exactly the point when the instrumental music segment of radio was opening up, and we seemed to have exactly the right product.”

But Freeman rejects any thought of a master plan on his part. Shaking his head in amazement, he simply adds, “I wish I could be that smart. Actually, we really got lucky.”

Luck is as luck does, however, and Freeman was smart enough to see the possibilities. Forming a touring band, he took the Rippingtons on the road to build upon the group’s already receptive audiences and kicked off a super-active recording schedule.

“Black Diamond” is the group’s 10th release in the past 10 years, and the first under a new contract. Appropriately (given Freeman’s taste for skiing), the band is now recording on the Peak Records/Windham Hill label. Most of the material in those albums was composed by Freeman.

“It was a lot of music,” he says. “But of course it doesn’t seem that way when you’re doing it. And I had great players to work with, which allowed me to write specific lines with individual guys in mind, knowing what they could do with the material I gave them.”

In the process, Freeman has not only composed the music for the Rippingtons’ albums, he also has produced and functioned as the group’s primary soloist (in addition to saxophonist Jeff Kashiwa).

“Doing the producing,” he says, “has led me to think compositionally in a broader sense, too. When I do a piece, I almost never see it as just a theme, but with all the production bells and whistles that we add.”

It is typical of Freeman’s careful concern for detail, as well as his awareness of the demands of the marketplace, that “Black Diamond” is filled with a wide range of music. The skiing associations aside, the album also includes some gentle acoustic playing from Freeman, a love ballad, a Latin-tinged number and some showcase jazz playing from guest trumpeter Arturo Sandoval (on the track “Angelfire,” in which percussionist Pete Escovedo also makes an appearance).

“I guess the Rippingtons sound is there,” Freeman says. “At least I hope it is. Because I’m not aware of doing anything special to make it happen. But no matter what we do, our fans tell us that they can immediately recognize our sound. So we must be doing something right, even if we don’t know exactly what it is.”

Another thing the Rippingtons are doing right is continuing their work with the National Assn. for Music Therapy. For several years, Freeman and his band members have been contributing their services to groups that care for the physically and mentally disabled.

“We go into these centers, or these hospitals, with our acoustic instruments and try to get the patients to join in. It’s amazing, the level of participation that happens. Some kids are blind, some are handicapped, some are mentally disabled. But when we start playing music, there’s a distinctive tuning in to what’s going on.

“Then when we hand out these percussion instruments and get a rhythm started, it’s amazing that they begin to communicate. It’s like they’re no longer troubled by their handicap. It’s a very freeing environment.”

It’s a busy career for Freeman, who was recently married to his second wife, but he has no complaints. The Rippingtons spend as much as three months a year on the road, touring the United States, Europe, Japan and the Far East, where the band has particularly devoted listeners.

“It’s great being out there, connecting with our audiences and playing the music,” he says. “But it’s also great to get back, knowing that my skis are ready, and the mountain is waiting.”

Sound like a happy man? You bet.

“On a scale of 1 to 10,” Freeman says, “I’d say I’m at about a 10-plus.”

BE THERE

Russ Freeman and the Rippingtons, the 13th annual JVC Jazz at the Bowl, Sunday, 6 p.m. With Dave Koz, Hiroshima and Zawinul Syndicate, $7.50 to $60, Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., (213) 480-3232.