Lee Ritenour

Lee Mack Ritenour (born January 11, 1952) is an American jazz guitarist who has been active since the late 1960s.[1][2][3]

Lee Ritenour
Ritenour at the Stockholm Jazz Festival, 2009
Background information
Birth nameLee Mack Ritenour
Born (1952-01-11) January 11, 1952
Los Angeles, California, United States
GenresJazz, jazz-funk, jazz fusion, smooth jazz
Occupation(s)Musician, composer, producer
InstrumentsGuitar
Years active1968–present
LabelsEpic, Elektra, GRP, PolyGram, Decca, Peak, Concord, Discovery
Associated actsDave Grusin, Fourplay
Websitewww.leeritenour.com

Biography

Ritenour was born on January 11, 1952 in Los Angeles, California, United States. 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.[4] 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's heaviest rock numbers, "Run Like Hell".[5] He played "uncredited rhythm guitar" on "One of My Turns".[6][7] As the 1980s began, Ritenour began to add stronger elements of pop to his music, beginning with Rit (1981). Rit became his only release to chart in Australia, peaking at number 98.[8] "Is It You" with vocals by Eric Tagg reached No. 15 on the Billboard pop chart and No. 27 on the Soul chart.[9] The track peaked at number fifteen on Hot Adult Contemporary chart.[10] 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.[4] 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][11] Portrait (GRP, 1987) included guest performances by The Yellowjackets, Djavan, and Kenny G.[12]

In 1988, his Brazilian influence came to the forefront on Festival, an album featuring his work on nylon-string guitar.[4] 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.[4] He left the group in 1997 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.[13]

Ritenour has been a judge for the Independent Music Awards.[14][15][16][17]

Awards

Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Ritenour has received one award out of sixteen nominations.[3]

Year Category Nominated work Result
1978 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition "The Captain's Journey" Nominated
1981 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance RIT Nominated
1985 Grammy Award for Best Arrangement on an Instrumental "Early A.M. Attitude" Won
Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group or Soloist) Harlequin Nominated
Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s) "Harlequin" Nominated
1986 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Vocal or Instrumental Earth Run Nominated
Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition "Earth Run" Nominated
1990 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance Stolen Moments Nominated
1993 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Performance (Instrumental) Between the Sheets Nominated
Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo "4 on 6" Nominated
Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Individual or Group Wes Bound Nominated
1994 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement with Accompanying Vocals "Ability to Swing" Nominated
1995 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Performance Elixir Nominated
Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Performance Larry and Lee Nominated
1997 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Performance Alive in L.A. Nominated
1997 Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album Two Worlds Nominated
  • Album of the Year, Jazziz magazine (2010)
  • Best International Instrumentalist, Echo Jazz Award (2011)

Discography

Albums
Date Title Label
1976 First Course Epic
1977 Gentle Thoughts JVC
1977 Captain Fingers Epic
1977 Sugar Loaf Express JVC
1978 Friendship Jasrac
1978 The Captain's Journey Elektra
1979 Rio GRP
1979 Feel the Night Discovery
1979 Friendship Elektra
1981 Rit Discovery
1982 Rit 2 Discovery
1983 On the Line GRP
1984 Banded Together Discovery
1985 Harlequin, with Dave Grusin GRP
1986 Earth Run GRP
1987 Portrait GRP
1988 Festival GRP
1989 Color Rit GRP
1990 Stolen Moments GRP
1993 Wes Bound GRP
1995 Larry & Lee, with Larry Carlton GRP
1997 Alive in L.A. GRP
1998 This Is Love I.E. Music
2000 Two Worlds Decca
2002 Rit's House GRP
2003 World Of Brazil GRP
2005 Overtime Peak
2006 Smoke 'n' Mirrors Peak
2008 Amparo, with Dave Grusin Decca
2010 6 String Theory Concord
2012 Rhythm Sessions Concord
2015 A Twist of Rit Concord
2020 Dreamcatcher Mascot Label Group

Charted singles
Date Title Position Chart (US)
1981 Countdown Captain Fingers 43 Dance[18]
Is It You 15 Hot 100[18]
1982 Cross My Heart 69
1993 Waiting in Vain (ft. Maxi Priest) 54 R&B[18]
2007 Smoke 'n' Mirrors 27 Smooth Jazz[18]
Forget Me Nots 14
2010 Shape of My Heart (Lee Ritenour, Steve Lukather & Andy McKee) 19
Put the Top Down (Dave Koz ft. Lee Ritenour) 1
2012 Roadtrip (Michael Lington ft. Lee Ritenour) 3
2013 The Village 3
L.A. by Bike 15
2015 A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That 5

With Fourplay

With L.A. Workshop

Other credits

As sideman

References
  1. "Biography". Lee Ritenour. January 24, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
  2. "Lee Ritenour". Allmusic.com.
  3. "Lee Ritenour". Grammy.com.
  4. Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. p. 1018. ISBN 978-1-85227-745-1.
  5. Blake, Mark (2008). Comfortably Numb. Da Capo Press. pp. 270–. ISBN 978-1-56858-383-9. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  6. Mabbett, Andy (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd. Omnibus Press. pp. 80–. ISBN 978-0-7119-4301-8. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  7. "Inside the Mind of Pink Floyd: David Gilmour". Guitar. September 1995. Archived from the original on December 18, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  8. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 253. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 494.
  10. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001. Record Research. p. 205.
  11. "Earth Run". AllMusic. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
  12. "Lee Ritenour: Portrait". allmusic.com.
  13. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 2, 2010. Retrieved July 8, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. "Judges". Independent Music Awards. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  15. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 26, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. "11th Annual IMA Judges". Independent Music Awards. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  17. "She & Him, The Black Keys, Mark Hoppus, Aimee Mann and Bettye LaVette Join Judging Panel for the 9th Annual Independent Music Awards". Top40-charts.com. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  18. "Lee Ritenour Chart History". Billboard.
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