THE RIPPINGTONS TO PERFORM IN CUBA

Peak Recording Artists The Rippingtons Featuring Russ Freeman, With Special Guest Saxophonist Eric Marienthal and the Paul Taylor Band, to perform at the U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba Labor Day Weekend, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2005. They will be performing for an estimated 9,000 people stationed at the U. S. Naval Base with their families, representing all five of the armed forces -- Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. Also performing are recording artists Peter White, Alex Bugnon, and the Junior Sax Pack (Marcus Miller and Eric Darius). The festival begins at 4 PM. This is the second consecutive year The Rippingtons have performed at the Guantanamo Bay Jazz Festival. Credited as one of the pioneering groups of the contemporary jazz genre, they have dominated the smooth jazz landscape with their hit recordings since the late 1980s, including their most recent CD Wild Card, which debuted on Billboard's contemporary jazz chart at #1. Moonlighting, the landmark album, which launched the original Rippingtons formed by Russ with some of his buddies, including David Benoit, Kenny G and Dave Koz, was named by Jazziz Magazine as the most influential jazz recording of all time. Since its inception, The Rippingtons have released sixteen recordings. Freeman has also recorded two solo projects and three collaborations. Guest saxophonist for this performance with The Rippingtons will be Eric Marienthal, whose new CD Got You Covered, is scheduled for release September 20. Considered the sexy saxman of smooth/urban jazz, saxophonist Paul Taylor's current CD Nightlife has been in the Top 10 on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz Chart since its release. "Nightlife" follows the sensation of Paul's 2003 Top 10 Billboard Contemporary Jazz album Steppin' Out. Paul's phenomenal year saw the title track of his CD became the third biggest genre airplay cut of the year, a tour with the all-star Groovin' for Grover line-up, and his performance and acting debut on the top ABC-TV daytime drama "One Life To Live." He also celebrates his tenth year as a solo recording artist, his sixth solo recording overall, and his fourth for the Peak Records label.