Gregg Karukas

Gregg Karukas hails originally from the D.C. - Maryland area where he was one of the top fusion and studio players in town. He moved to L.A. in 1983, not with the idea of getting his own record deal, but with the desire to expand his multi-keyboard style by playing with as many other artists as possible. He quickly became in demand for his tasteful accompaniment skills and advanced command of synthesizers long before the computer music revolution happened.
Thanks to early recommendations by Yellowjackets keyboardist Russell Ferrante, Gregg played his first concert with Shelby Flint after only 12 days on the West Coast. Gregg soon found himself part of the blossoming local contemporary music scene, playing with such notables as Richard Elliot, Grant Geissman, Ronnie Laws, Melissa Manchester, Brandon Fields, Patti Austin, Brenda Russell, and David Benoit

Gregg had just completed a 1 & 1/2 year stint with Melissa Manchester ( with Richard Elliot on sax ) when he formed his own band to be the among first groups to play at Bon Appetit and Le Cafe, the now defunct L.A. Contemporary Jazz clubs which spawned most of L.A.'s Contemporary/Smooth Jazz artists. Gregg wrote and recorded "The Nightowl" during this time.

Dave Koz, and Gary Meek ( Jeff Lorber, Airto and Flora ) were the first young undiscovered sax talents to join the band and contribute to Gregg's melodic, soulful style as the L.A. club scene blossomed. When Russ Freeman called Gregg to begin the Rippingtons journey to national success, Gregg recommended Dave Koz to play EWI on the Moonlighting record and the rest, as they say, is history......

In 1987 he released his first solo album THE NIGHTOWL, which quickly became a Quiet Storm radio staple. That same year he became the original keyboardist with the Rippingtons, recording the classic MOONLIGHTING project with Kenny G. and David Benoit. Karukas has also worked with a number of Brazilian musicians, including stints with Ricardo Silveira, Sergio Mendes, and Grammy nominated recordings with Dori Caymmi. Known for his tasteful synthesizer accompaniment, Gregg is frequently called to provide lush backdrop / orchestrations on many occassions including 1992's Jazz at the Hollywood Bowl "Brazil Project" concert featuring Toots Thielemans, and Brazilian legends Dori Caymmi, Ivan Lins, and Antonio Carlos Jobim.

The L.A. music scene provides many opportunities for Karukas to showcase his talents. As a producer / arranger, Gregg has produced four albums for guitarist Phil Sheeran, as well as projects with Shelby Flint, Tony Darren, and the Pointer Sisters. He has an ongoing songwriting career with songs recorded by George Benson, Deniece Williams, Kenia, Pauline Wilson, and many others. He has also played and programmed synthesizers for many films such as "Stand and Deliver", "Money for Nothing", "Mr. Wrong", and "Major Payne"; Disney cartoon themes, and television shows including "Cheers", "Santa Barbara", "Life Goes On", and "Hope and Gloria".
As a young musician who had natural ability and a good ear, Karukas spent his early years close to the jukebox in his father's roadside tavern absorbing the hits of the sixties - from The Beatles to Motown. While Karukas played organ in rock and soul bands as a teenager, his interest in playing jazz was sparked after hearing Dave Brubeck's "Take Five," and Stan Getz's "Jazz Samba". In his quest for jazz knowledge, Karukas turned to the recordings of Miles Davis, Ahmad Jamal, Les McCann, Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock, as well as mainstream jazz players like Clifford Brown and Lee Morgan. One of his biggest influences was the master jazz pianist Bill Evans.
At age 17, Karukas began a 5 year stint with DC's top jazz group East Coast Offering and went on to form Natural Bridge (with a young Michael Manring just out of high school on bass) composing much of the band's more fusion oriented music while still listening to singer-songwriters such as Stevie Wonder, Laura Nyro, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, and Jackson Browne. Gregg rediscovered Brazilian music through Wayne Shorter's "Native Dancer" record with Milton Nascimento. Soon thereafter, the chef at a D. C. jazz club ( Harold's Rogue and Jar ) who had lived in Brazil, loaned Gregg his entire record collection and that was the new beginning of Gregg's long love affair with the rich music of South America

Gregg lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife Yvonne and their 2 sons, 3 &1/2 year old Alex, and new baby Stephen ( born Oct 29, 1997 ). When not on tour, Gregg spends most of his time in his adjacent 32 track digital studio. As far as future projects are concerned, Karukas will stay busy producing other artists, and wants to keep expanding his acoustic sound. Last winter saw the wider release of his critically acclaimed JAZZ TRIO project "Home For The Holidays" (Fahrenheit), which also features singer-songwriter Shelby Flint.