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News

coming soon to a DAC near you:

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CDs and MP3s now available from CDBaby and Amazon and iTunes

"The Pursuit Of Comfort"   

Also, "The Sprinter", an extra track from the Pursuit Of Comfort sessions is now available as a free download!

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from Wine and Jazz Magazine - Vintage 2 Track 4

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Short and sweet review of the album by SmoothVibes.com writer Peter Boehi:

"This album by multi-instrumentalist Rico Belled was a pleasant surprise to me with its acoustic live feeling, grooviness and great songs ranging from latin to funk, performed by some top-class artists - one of them is Jeff Kashiwa. A gem."

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Here's a very nice review of "The Pursuit Of Comfort"

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There's a really nice review of "Modern Art" on  www.smooth-jazz.de

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Comments or questions? Drop me a line at:

 

Music   Videos   Photos   Gigs   Résumé   Gear   Links   Order    Words

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Old News

Two cool gigs with Jeff Robinson in 2012:   

January 12th at the Basement Lounge in Long Beach

January 29th at Nola's in Downtown L.A.

Word is, we're getting the old band back together! Dave Karasony on drums, Rodney Lee on piano

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"Mag ik dat zeggen? JA!   Dat mag ik zeggen...."

LinkedIn calls me

"....... in the Executive Leadership function in the Music industry

from Greater Los Angeles Area."         Too FUNNY!

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Monday December 12th, 9:30PM, come down to the Baked Potato in Studio City, CA for my last gig of the year! John Ziegler and Jamie Kime will be hosting, with Chris Roy on Bass and none other than Ron Bruner, Sr on Drums!

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Thanks everyone for a solid 2011! Thanks to the people who kept me working, the fine folks who bought my CD, my awesome friends who keep me straight, the unfortunate Occupiers to at least spark some discussion, OPEC for quenching our thirst and In-N-Out for feeding us for a bargain when we most need it!

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On November 27th come on down to "The Gate to the Mediterranean" in Encino, CA for brunch from 11AM-3PM. Jeff Robinson and I will be playing a set starting at 12!

 

In her review of the Whistler Jazz Festival Carol Weber wrote:

"The Rippingtons took to the Whistler Olympic Plaza stage with a roar, but it was perhaps their astounding Dutch bass player Rico Belled who stepped forward with the ultimate bass-slapping, foot-stomping throw-down harkening the best of Mark King, Stanley Clarke, and Marcus Miller. Belled would do it again later that night on keys, switching it up with a downbeat/up-tempo bit of sonic foreplay at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler-Mallard Lounge nightly jazz jam."

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On September 6th & 20th, come down to the Universal Bar & Grill @ 4093 Lankershim, North Hollywood, for an evening with the

"Pantomime Villains"

w/ Eddie Sanabria, Jorge Villanueva and Johnny G and I on Keytars!

All kinds of music, originals and covers, Kelly Ann tending bar.....

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I want to say thanks to Overtones Cables for their awesome product. I've been using them exclusively for every gig I've done in he last year and they are indestructible and sounds great! Highly recommmended!

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Tonight, September 5th, at the Baked Potato:

Monday Night Jammz

with:

Danny Carey from Tool

Jamie Kime from Zappa Plays Zappa

Chris Roy from Nancy Sinatra

John Ziegler from Volto

and yours truly!

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Thanks to Mouse Johnson, who was kind enough to film the 4/20 gig at the Baked Potato, I was able to upload a nice funky extended video version of the Marcus Miller tune "Splatch", off Miles Davis' album. Jimmy Earl is a bad boy!

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Markus Kayser - Solar Sinter Project from Markus Kayser on Vimeo.

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Come celebrate Cinco de Mayo with the Ronnie Gutierrez band this coming Thursday at Cafe Cordiale in Sherman Oaks!

Awesome Salsa, Merengue, Cumbia and Latin Jazz!

No cover, sets at 9:30PM and 11PM

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Wednesday April 20th, 2011 - 9:30PM and 11:30PM

The Baked Potato

The Rico Act

Jeff Kashiwa - Sax      Jonathan Dresel - Drums

Ronnie Gutierrez - Percussion    Jimmy Earl - Bass   

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Just added another video from the gig at the Baked Potato on January 4th with Eric Marienthal, Travis Carlton, Jonathan Dresel, Ronnie Gutierrez and Scott Parker.

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Guitarist Stef van Es asked Travis and me to play with him at Cafe September in Den Haag on February 2nd at 22:00h. Last gig before we go back to L.A.!!!

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Tuesday January 4th, 2011 - 9:30PM and 11:30PM

The Baked Potato

 The "It's Never Too Late For A PartyRecord Release Party

Eric Marienthal - Sax      Jonathan Dresel - Drums

Ronnie Gutierrez - Percussion    Travis Carlton - Bass    Scott Parker - Guitar

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"Die orange Mütze verrät Rico Belled's Herkunft. Ursprünglich in den Niederlanden geboren, hat Rico sein Glück in Amerika gesucht und gefunden. Don Randi and the house band, Leslie Paula’s “Latin Soul Band” und schlußendlich The Rippingtons sind die Stationen des Bassisten und Keyboardisten.
Sein Bass ist bereits auf vielen Alben zu finden, die ich besprochen habe. Keiko Matsui, Marc Antoine, Chris Standring, Perla Batalla, Leslie Paula, Sound Assembly, Dino Soldo, Scott Grimes und Jeff Robinson sind unter anderem die Künstler, mit denen er gespielt oder auf deren Alben er seine Signatur hinterlassen hat.
Höchste Zeit, das Rico sich einmal dem breiten Publikum mit einem Soloalbum vorstellt. The Pursuit Of Comfort (2010) ist kein basslastiges Album, vielmehr ein innovatives Contemporary Jazz Album mit einer großen Prise feinstem Latin Jazz."

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Remember when I still had some hair on top of my head? 1992 baby!

Thanks to Phil Peoples at WDCV-FM 88.3 for spinning the record!

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Remember when I was only 4 feet tall? ACTUAL picture with Shilts and Holly....

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This Saturday, September 18th, I'm happy to be guesting with up-and-coming jam band Quactus  at E String in Henderson, NV just outside of Las Vegas. Their new album "A Sense Of We" is making waves in the scene and this should be a really cool show!

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The Rippingtons Summer Tour is in full swing. We had the most awesome crowd at Glenora Wine Cellars in Dundee, NY. They sat through a SERIOUS rain storm, which amazingly stopped right as we started to play, and went absolutely nuts!

Also, I want to say thanks to everyone who's picked up my CD. Your support allows me to do another one soon, and keep checking this site: in September I'll be putting up a free bonus track which didn't make the record.....

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Chris Standring's new album "Blue Bolero" is getting great reviews everywhere! Here's a fantastic one at smoothvibes.com.

Update: Bossa Blue is #1 this week! Congratulations to Chris!

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John from Overtones Cables sent me a couple of cables today and I have to say: they are awesome! Light, well made, flexible and great sounding. These are staying in my gig bag from now on!

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Sunday April 4th 2010

come down to the Oyster House on Moorpark at Whitsett in Studio City, for a great night of music with

The Rico Act

featuring: Yogi  on Guitar  Travis Carlton on Bass  Jonathan Dresel on Drums

performing authentic     Party Jazz!

Great hang, stiff drinks, great bartenders, no cover! Music starts at 10PM, come early for a good dinner.....

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@Booker T: Congratulations! Best name for an album in MANY years!

@Pink: You go girl; daring, musical, spectacular. Best in show!

@Will.i.am: If yours is THE future, I'm moving to a deserted island!

@Lady Gaga: can't believe I'm saying this, but that was really good! A little scary, but truly good!

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Well, the year is over for the Rippingtons. What an amazing year it was! The fans were just awesome everywhere, Japan was too cool for words and Eric Marienthal joining us for the last 3 gigs was the icing on the cake! Looking forward to seeing you somewhere next year......

Amazing news: Modern Art got nominated for a Grammy for "Best Instrumental Pop Album"! And even better, the whole band gets to go to the Grammy's!

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Mindi Abair is writing for her new record, and she was kind enough to invite me for a writing session with Rodney Lee, Jamie Tate and Jay Gore. We had a great time, everybody had great ideas and we ended up with a couple of tunes that were quite good! Look for Mindi's new album sometime next year...

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Well, somebody didn't like our show! Check out this review if you want a good laugh! This lady compares us to a "Perfect Strangers" episode! Why any reviewer would actually knock people for enjoying a show is beyond me.....

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Sunday November 8th 2009, come down to the Oyster House on Moorpark at Whitsett in Studio City, for a great night of music with

The Rico Act

featuring: Brad Rabuchin on Guitar & Ronnie Gutierrez on Percussion

We'll be playing all kinds of stuff from Standards to Latin Jazz to Funk to Floyd to ???

Great hang, stiff drinks, great bartenders, no cover! Music starts at 10PM, come early for a good dinner.....

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The shows at the Cotton Club in Tokyo were just a blast. Yuko was definitely the hostess with the mostest and the fans were awesome! I must have walked 30 miles in 4 days exploring the city; Bill and I had a terrific Sushi lunch in the Shinbashi district and a delicious Ten Toji Don somewhere by Tokyo Station. I really hope we get to go back next year!

From left to right: Travis Carlton, Rico, Bill Heller, Jeff Kashiwa and Larry Carlton

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10-14-2009 What an amazing place Tokyo is. We got in yesterday afternoon and went to see Larry Carlton and Robben Ford at the Blue Note. Travis Carlton was playing bass and kicked some serious ass!

I walked around the neighborhood this morning; like a lot of other american bands we're staying at the Hotel Okura, which is close to the Roppongi district. I'm really looking forward to playing tonight...

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Sunday September 27th 2009, come down to the Oyster House on Moorpark at Whitsett in Studio City, for a great night of music with

The Rico Act

featuring: Randy Landas on Bass Ronnie Gutierrez on Percussion and special guest Scheila Gonzalez on Sax

We'll be playing all kinds of stuff from Standards to Latin Jazz to Funk to Floyd to ???

Great hang, stiff drinks, great bartenders, no cover! Music starts at 10PM, come early for a good dinner.....

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Looks like Dino Soldo is about to release his new record! It'll actually feature Leonard Cohen and a few other fine musicians, and I can't wait to hear it....

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What a great summer we've had so far with the Ripps! Great weather at all the festivals, awesome crowds, good people all around. After the gig in Monroe, MI, Russ and I were asked to sign this wonderful watercolor painting that someone had painted. I can't express how honored and blessed I feel. It's signed "Tidwell" and if anybody out there knows how to get a hold of him, please let me know so I can thank him again!

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Toshio Horiba from Xotic was kind enough to let me borrow one of their "Robotalk 2" envelope follower pedals. Gotta say: it's pretty great! Dual independent channels, very tweakable, great sound!

He also showed me their new XJ1T-5 bass which was excellent. Don't be surprised if you see me playing one at a Rippingtons show near you soon !

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Patrick van de Wiele wrote a nice review of "Steady Fready's Ready" on KeysandChords.com

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On the road with Leonard Cohen, Dino Soldo has been working on a new album.  He was kind of enough to have me play bass on a few tunes and the stuff sounds great! He's such a talented composer and musician.

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August 15th 2009, come down to the Oyster House on Moorpark at Whitsett in Studio City, for a great night of music with

The Rico Act

featuring: Randy Landas on Bass Ronnie Gutierrez on Percussion and special guest Jeff Kashiwa on Sax

We'll be playing all kinds of stuff from Standards to Latin Jazz to Funk to Floyd to ???

Looks like Venesa will grace us with a song too!

Great hang, stiff drinks, great bartenders, no cover! Music starts at 10PM, come early for a good dinner.....

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The Sax Pack (Jeff Kashiwa, Kim Waters and Steve Cole) invited me to join them on a gig in Dundee, NY July 19th. I'm really looking forward to jamming with these guys!

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Sunday June 14th 2009, 9:30PM

The Oyster House

 

12446 Moorpark St., Studio City, CA 91604

818-761-8686

XR7

No Cover!

featuring:
Jeff Robinson, Ronnie Gutierrez and special guests!

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Modern Art has been released! It features Jeff Kashiwa, Rick Braun, Greg Karukas and Bill Heller on accordion.

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Monday April 27th 2009, come down to the Oyster House on Moorpark at Whitsett in Studio City, for a great night of music with

The Rico Act

featuring: Jerry Watts on Bass Ronnie Gutierrez on Drums

Great hang, stiff drinks, great bartenders, no cover! Music starts at 10PM, come early for a good dinner.....

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If you like Steely Dan, come on down to Genghis Cohen on Fairfax Monday the 16th at 10PM to see the Norwegian Fords. Great tunes, Sergio Gonzalez on drums, what else do you need!

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February 9th 2009, come down to the Oyster House on Moorpark at Whitsett in Studio City, for a great night of music with

The Rico Act

featuring: Stan Sargeant on Bass Ronnie Gutierrez on Drums

Great hang, stiff drinks, great bartenders, no cover! Music starts at 10PM, come early for a good dinner.....

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Fred Horn's record is done! It features Chris Standring, Adolfo Acosta from Tower of Power, Marc van Wageningen and a slew of other cats. The first single should be going to Smooth Jazz radio soon....

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12-29-2008

R.I.P. Freddie Hubbard

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Happy New Year everybody! Looks like next year will be a good one. Watch out for the new Ripps record dropping March 10th, and a new Scott Grimes album sometime at the end of 2009!

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I'm honored to say I have joined the Rippingtons. There have been some great bass players in this band before me (Kim Stone, Steve Bailey, Jimmy Johnson) and I look forward to trying to fill these big shoes! We did a new record this summer to be released March 10th 2009 and we leave for the East Coast on October 29th. Hope to see you at one of the gigs!

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Jazzreview.com did a great review of the Soul Express gig we did in Las Vegas at the Santa Fe Station.

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12-26-2007 - I put up some new pix!

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All About Jazz did a great review of Chris Standring's "Love & Paragraphs" album.

"Love & Paragraphs", the last single, stayed at #2 for 7 weeks on the Smooth Jazz Charts! He was kind enough to let me play bass on it.

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Dave Karasony and I did a cool Outback Steakhouse jingle currently on the air. I you hear a totally a groovy disco tune singing about a "Bloomin' Birthday", that's us!

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Monday April 7th, 2008  10PM

The Oyster House

 

12446 Moorpark St., Studio City, CA 91604

818-761-8686

XR7

No Cover!

featuring:
Jeff Robinson, Scheila Gonzalez special guests!

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Frank Petrilli asked me to play bass in a new band called Frank & Friends

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Monday February 25th, 2008  10PM

The Oyster House

 

12446 Moorpark St., Studio City, CA 91604

818-761-8686

XR7

No Cover!

featuring:
Brad Rabuchin, Lance Jones special guests!

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Monday January 21st, 2008  10PM

The Oyster House

 

12446 Moorpark St., Studio City, CA 91604

818-761-8686

XR7

No Cover!

featuring:
Lance Jones, Tibetan Monks and other special guests!

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Saturday December 22nd, 2007  10PM

The Oyster House

 

12446 Moorpark St., Studio City, CA 91604

818-761-8686

XR7

No Cover!

featuring:
Robbie Wyckoff, Ross Bolton, Dave Karasony

 

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Monday October 22nd, 2007   10PM-1AM

The Oyster House

 

12446 Moorpark St., Studio City, CA 91604

818-761-8686

XR7

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Sunday September 16th, 2007  8PM and 10PM

La Ve Lee

 

12514 Ventura Blvd, Studio City, CA

818-980-8158

XR7

No Cover!

featuring:
Eric Valentine, Jeff Robinson
, Rodney Lee

 (Ana Robles, Franz Rufus Hasselblad are rumored to be sitting in!!)

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Monday September 10th, 2007   10PM-1AM

The Oyster House

 

12446 Moorpark St., Studio City, CA 91604

818-761-8686

XR7

featuring:
Jeff Robinson
, Rodney Lee and guests!

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Tonight - September 4th, 2007 10PM!

@ the Temple Bar in Santa Monica

The Satellite Orchestra

with Eric Valentine, Rodney Lee, Rico Belled

(and a couple of computers!)

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Monday July 30th, 2007   10PM-1AM

The Oyster House

 

12446 Moorpark St., Studio City, CA 91604

818-761-8686

XR7

featuring:
Jeff Robinson
, Dave Karasony and some very special guests!

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Monday June 18th, 2007   10PM-1AM

The Oyster House

 

12446 Moorpark St., Studio City, CA 91604

818-761-8686

XR7

featuring:
Jeff Robinson
, Scheila Gonzalez and some very special guests!

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Thursday April 5th, 2007

The Baked Potato

XR7

Rodney Lee on Keys, Jonathan Dresel on Drums, Scheila Gonzalez on Sax, and a few very special guests!

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Wednesday November 29th, 2006

The Baked Potato

XR7

Rodney Lee on Keys, Jonathan Dresel on Drums, Toshi Yanagi on Guitar, Mike Faue on Percussion and special guests!

 

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October brings us the annual Jazztrax festival on Catalina Island. The line-up is quite amazing this year! I'll be doing the "All Star tribute to the music of Paul Hardcastle and the Jazzmasters" with Chris Standring, Shilts and Gregg Karukas on October 8th and 15th.

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Thursday September 7th, I'm playing with a great band at

 Cafe Cordiale. Dino Soldo is in charge, Will Kennedy's on

Drums and the amazing Mitchel Forman on Keys! We do

shows at 9:30PM and 11PM and as always there will be no cover.

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