In 2006 the Rippingtons, the iconic jazz-fusion quintet founded by guitarist Russ Freeman, marked its 20th anniversary with the band releasing a greatest-hits CD/DVD and launching a world tour that lasted almost two years.

"When I started the band I never considered that we would even last two years or three years and every year that we were in existence I thought would be our last," says Freeman, who appears with the band Saturday at the New Daisy Theater. "Now that we've made it to this point I feel more confident. It's a real affirmation of your fans that they find value in you, and our fans in particular are very loyal."

Freeman originally hails from the unlikely jazz hotbed of Nashville.

"I guess a lot of people equate it with country music but way back in the '70s when I grew up ... the musicians were very, very diverse, and they exposed me to so many great kinds of music, one of them being jazz," Freeman says of his Music City youth. "It's funny, if you really listen, I have so much of the vocabulary and flavor of country in my playing. It's part of the DNA of my guitar playing."

By the mid-'80s Freeman was studying and playing in California. He had already released one jazz record under his own name, when a Japanese label approached him about forming an all-star group for a recording project. Freeman recruited fellow young lions David Benoit, Brandon Fields, and Kenny G. for the record that would become the landmark Moonlighting album.

Perhaps more importantly, the project also set Freeman on the path that would dominate his playing career, one that steered him away from a solo career and its promises of individual fame toward more rewarding collaborations with the Rippingtons' revolving cast of players.

"I had a decision to make when we made this Moonlighting CD: Do I want focus on having a band or do I want to focus on being a solo artist?" Freeman says. "The thing that intrigued me about having a band was that it would be a vehicle for me to be a writer and a producer. That's what's kept my interest for 22 years. Imagine having a custom-made band to play your compositions with the best musicians you can find."

With the 20th anniversary festivities at last behind them, the Rippingtons are ready to write the next chapter of the band's history, starting with the release last spring of the band's 14th studio LP, Modern Art. Whereas recent Rippingtons' efforts like 2005's Wild Card have explored a new Latin influence in the band's music -- a by-product of Freeman's relocation to Florida and his marriage to acclaimed Venezuelan songwriter Yaredt Leon -- Modern Art represents something of a return to the group's roots in R&B.

The change in direction is a reflection, Freeman says, of the players in the group, which today includes drummer Dave Karasony, pianist Bill Heller, new bass player Ricardo "Rico" Belled, and saxophonist Jeff Kashiwa, who recently returned to the group after a 10-year absence.

"The band has a very high energy and I try to write with the strengths of all the guys involved in mind. As a result, my writing process has changed over the years. I used to realize the songs more fully when I started. Now I'm more open to the interpretations of the players involved."

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The Rippingtons

The Rippingtons featuring Russ Freeman, Saturday at the New Daisy Theater, 330 Beale St. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets: $30 and $35, available at the box office, by phone at (866) 468-7630, online at newdaisy.com, and Re-Plays, Spin Street Records, and Freewheelin' Franks.

For more information, call (901) 525-8981.

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