Lee Ritenour

Lee Ritenour
Ritenour at the Stockholm Jazz Festival, 2009
Background information
Birth name	Lee Mack Ritenour
Born	(1952-01-11) January 11, 1952 Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres	Jazz, jazz-funk, jazz fusion, smooth jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer, producer
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	1968–present
Labels	Epic, Elektra, GRP, PolyGram, Decca, Peak, Concord
Associated acts	Dave Grusin, Fourplay
Website	www.leeritenour.com

Lee Mack Ritenour (born January 11, 1952) is an American jazz guitarist. He's been described as a "flawless" "musical chameleon" by Allmusic. Ritenour has won one Grammy with a sum of sixteen nominations.^[1][2][3]

Biography

Ritenour was born on January 11, 1952 in Los Angeles, California. At the age of eight he started playing guitar and four years later decided on a career in music. When he was 16 he played on his first recording session with the Mamas & the Papas. He developed a love for jazz and was influenced by guitarist Wes Montgomery. At the age of 17 he worked with Lena Horne and Tony Bennett. He studied classical guitar at the University of Southern California.^[2]

1976–1988

The Lee Ritenour Gibson L5 Signature archtop guitar

Ritenour's solo career began with the album First Course (1976), a good example of the jazz-funk sound of the 1970s, followed by Captain Fingers, The Captain's Journey (1978), and Feel the Night (1979).

In 1979, he "was brought in to beef up one of Pink Floyd's The Wall ' heaviest rock numbers, "Run Like Hell".^[4] He played "uncredited rhythm guitar" on "One of My Turns".^[5][6] As the 1980s began, Ritenour began to add stronger elements of pop to his music, beginning with Rit (1981). "Is It You" with vocals by Eric Tagg reached No. 15 on the Billboard pop chart and No. 27 on the Soul chart.^[7] The track peaked at number fifteen on Hot Adult Contemporary chart.^[8] He continued with the pop-oriented music for Rit/2 (1982) and Banded Together (1984), while releasing a Direct-Disk instrumental album in 1983 called On the Line. He also provided rhythm guitar on Tom Browne's album Funkin' for Jamaica. He recorded Harlequin (1985) with Dave Grusin and vocals by Ivan Lins. His next album, Earth Run, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance. The album's title track was also Grammy nominated in the category of Best Instrumental Composition.^[3][9] Portrait (GRP, 1987) included guest performances by The Yellowjackets, Djavan, and Kenny G.^[10]

In 1988, his Brazilian influence came to the forefront on Festival, an album featuring his work on nylon-string guitar. He changed direction with his straight-ahead jazz album Stolen Moments which he recorded with saxophonist Ernie Watts, pianist Alan Broadbent, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Harvey Mason. During the same year, he composed the theme song for the Canadian TV series Ramona.

1990–present

In 1991 Ritenour and keyboardist Bob James formed the group Fourplay. He left the group in 1998 and was replaced by Larry Carlton. He released the career retrospective Overtime in 2005. Smoke n' Mirrors came out the next year with the debut of his thirteen-year-old son, Wesley, on drums.

Celebrating his fifty years as a guitarist in 2010, Ritenour released 6 String Theory, a title that refers to six musical areas covered by the use of guitar.^[11]

Ritneour has been a judge for the Independent Music Awards.^{[12][13][14][15]}

Awards

Discography

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lee Ritenour.

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Lee Ritenour

• Lee Ritenour official site
• Lee Ritenour Interview NAMM Oral History Program (2014)