articles, interviews, sheet music

A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives. – Jackie Robinson

Acknowledgments

about me

I published this website January 7, 2025. I continue adding to it.
I recorded Ron Dewar at more than 125 gigs from 1978 – 1981 when I was an undergrad at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, including many I played on. I also recorded a few in Chicago in the early 1980s. Most of the recordings here are from my collection. I digitized them in the mid-1990s, burned them to CDs and gave Ron a set.
I played baritone saxophone in the U of I Jazz Band #1 under the direction of John Garvey, 1977 – 1980, and in Chicago, 1981 – 2001 with Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Clark Terry, Boz Scaggs, The Four Tops, Celia Cruz, Dizzy Gillespie, Temptations, Joe Williams, Gladys Knight, Hugh McCracken, Lou Rawls, Willie Dixon, Gerry Mulligan, Rita Moreno, Milt Hinton, Doc Severinsen, and with local bands La Confidencia, Chicago Catz and Jazz Members Big Band.
I played on hundreds of radio & TV commercials, on Jump ‘n’ the Saddle’s single, The Curly’s Shuffle, and on Ahmad Jamal’s album, Pittsburgh. The highlights of my career were playing gigs with saxophonists Steve Eisen, Edward Petersen and Richie Fudoli, touring with Dr. John, 1989 – 1991, and playing in the Garvey Band next to Ron Dewar, September 1978 – June 1979.
— Brian Ripp

Please contact me at info@rondewarjazz.com

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