About – Lite Rock Jazz

About Alan Ripa

IT START WITH

An Endless Passion for Music
For Discovery, for life and for people

Alan Ripa – Composer | Performer | Producer

Alan Ripa began his musical journey at the age of 12, quickly showcasing prodigious talent. Within just six months of piano lessons, he landed his first professional engagement performing at a prestigious resort.

Throughout high school and into his early college years, Alan expanded his musical repertoire, performing in local bands while also playing tenor saxophone and clarinet. His early versatility laid the foundation for a diverse and dynamic career.

Alan’s professional breakthrough came with the opportunity to join the backup band for the legendary Ike & Tina Turner. Touring the Southwest, he honed his craft performing R&B in renowned clubs and venues. During this period, Alan also had the distinction of sharing the stage with iconic acts such as The Coasters, The Drifters, and Sam the Sham. He went on to record two singles with Jewels Atkins, lead singer of The Coasters.

In the 1980s, Alan collaborated with Buck Ram, founder and manager of the world-famous vocal group The Platters. While not a performing member, he contributed to their productions, handling sound and lighting for live shows and collaborating on independent music projects with various members of the group.

After two years on the road, Alan chose to deepen his formal education by enrolling at Arizona State University, where he studied music composition and production. During this time, he composed original music, produced radio jingles, and co-produced television commercials to support his studies.

Embracing the emerging New Age genre in the 1980s, Alan released his debut album Back to Romance. As New Age evolved into Smooth Jazz, he followed up with the acclaimed album Modern Woman Renaissance Man (MWRM). This release received nationwide airplay on Smooth Jazz radio stations and was picked up by major music programming companies including AEI, 3M, and Muzak.

Alan’s music has achieved remarkable reach — featured on over 26 international airlines and even aboard Air Force One. He has been a featured artist on in-flight programs for American, Delta, and United Airlines.

Alan Ripa’s career reflects a lifelong dedication to musical excellence, innovation, and artistry that continues to resonate with audiences around the world.

In addition to his work in contemporary and jazz genres, Alan performed with the Scottsdale Symphony and co-wrote original compositions for the Phoenix Symphony. His talents also extended to film, with a piano performance featured in a Disney movie—further broadening the scope of his musical achievements.

In 1994, just as Alan was preparing to record his third album, a devastating car accident left him unable to play the piano. The injury was so severe that he lost the strength to press even a single key. What followed was a long and difficult recovery.

By 1997, Alan’s abilities began to return, albeit slowly. After three years of intensive rehabilitation, he regained the strength to play the piano for only about 10 minutes at a time before his hands gave out. Frustrated by the pace of recovery but driven by determination, Alan resolved to record a third album—using innovative technology to work around his physical limitations.

He recorded each piano part one song per day, capturing only what he could physically perform. These recordings were then digitized and fed into a computer-controlled piano, allowing additional musicians to layer their parts onto Alan’s foundational piano tracks.

Alan brought these recordings to the iconic Mad Hatter Recording Studios in Los Angeles, founded by legendary pianist Chick Corea. There, top session musicians added instrumentation to complete the songs. It was during this period that Alan began working with acclaimed guitarist Mike Miller. Their collaboration was so creatively successful that Alan planned a follow-up album within a year.

However, life took a different path—and it would be 23 years before the two reunited to create music once again.

Now, Alan and Mike are back in the studio, working with an elite roster of “A-list” musicians on a new collection of Alan’s original works called “The Alan Ripa Orchestral Project” Currently, 8 out of 10 songs are in production, with completed releases including: