Bill Heller of the Rippingtons
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This ia an interview of Bill Heller of the Rippingtons. The new album is entitled "Open Road."
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This is the official bio:
Bill Heller, best known as the keyboard player for the legendary contemporary jazz group the Rippingtons, grew up in a very musical household on Long Island, NY. His Dad was a conductor (NYC Subway), and his Mom orchestrated all the activities around the house! From an early age, he and his two brothers were
surrounded by family get-togethers filled with music. It wasn\'t long before he got into the act, playing accordion!
Bill attended Fredonia State University, and received a degree in Music Education.
Bill met Russ Freeman (leader of the Rippingtons) while recording at his studio in Colorado. Russ asked him to play on a few tracks that he was producing for his and Craig Chaquico\'s "Redwoods to the Rockies".
His first Rippingtons recording was \\u201cTopaz\\u201d, back in 1998, and he began performing live with the band in March of 2001. Since then, Bill has co-produced all of Craig\\u2019s CDs, of which a few songs made it to the #1 position on the smooth jazz charts!
Bill released his first effort as a solo artist Find the Way in 2014. The project contains 12 titles, all written and produced by Bill. This recording features performances by Jeff Kashiwa and Eric Marienthal,
and three different rhythm sections. From the Rippingtons Dave Karasony-drums and Rico Belled-bass, Joel Rosenblatt-drums (Spyro Gyra, Blood Sweat & Tears, Bill Evans, Michel Camillo) and
Dave Anderson-bass (Bill Evans, Art Garfunkel, Blood Sweat & Tears, Bob Baldwin), Frank Belluci-drums (Bucky Pizzarelli, Oz Noy, Rachel Z) and Jim Cammack-bass (Ahmad Jamal), also
Carl Fischer-trumpet (Billy Joel, Maynard Ferguson), and Luis Bonilla-trombone (Diana Ross, Marc Anthony, Vanguard Jazz Orchestra).
For the last ten years Bill has served as the Musical Director for the Long Island Hall of Fame awards shows.
He provided arrangements and incidental music for these shows. The bands he assembled accompanied such acts as Daryl McDaniels of RUN-DMC, Kurtis Blow, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Gary US Bonds, Felix Cavaliere, The Lovin Spoonful, Charlie Daniels, Eddie Money, Steve Vai, Vince Giordano, and more. Some of the legends inducted at these shows have included Clive Davis, Ron Delsner, Lou Reed, Eddie Palmieri, Charles Koppelman, and Steven Van Zandt.
Bill has produced recordings for jazz guitarists Steve Briody and Matt Marshak.
He has also performed on Broadway for the shows Movin\\u2019 Out and Hot Feet!