Lee Ritenour Explained

Lee Ritenour
Landscape:yes
Background:non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth Name:Lee Mack Ritenour
Birth Date:11 January 1952
Birth Place:Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Instrument:Guitar
Years Active:1968–present
Associated Acts:Dave Grusin, Fourplay

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

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.[3] At the age of 17 he worked with Lena Horne and Tony Bennett. He studied classical guitar at the University of Southern California.

1976–1988

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 Walls 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). Rit became his only release to chart in Australia, peaking at number 98.[7] "Is It You" with vocals by Eric Tagg reached No. 15 on the Billboard pop chart and No. 27 on the Soul chart.[8] The track peaked at number fifteen on Hot Adult Contemporary chart.[9] 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.[3] 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.[10] Portrait (GRP, 1987) included guest performances by the Yellowjackets, Djavan, and Kenny G.[11]

In 1988, his Brazilian influence came to the forefront on Festival, an album featuring his work on nylon-string guitar.[3] 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.[3] 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.[12]

Ritenour has been a judge for the Independent Music Awards.[13] [14] [15] [16]

Lead vocalists

Lee Ritenour's first few solo albums consisted entirely of instrumentals. Beginning with Captain Fingers (1977), Ritenour used vocalists on many of his songs:

Awards

Grammy Awards

Ritenour has received one Grammy award out of sixteen nominations.[17]

YearCategoryNominated workResult
1978Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition"The Captain's Journey"
1981Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental PerformanceRIT
1985Grammy Award for Best Arrangement on an Instrumental"Early A.M. Attitude"
Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group or Soloist)Harlequin
Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s)"Harlequin"
1986Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Vocal or InstrumentalEarth Run
Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition"Earth Run"
1990Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion PerformanceStolen Moments
1993Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Performance (Instrumental)Between the Sheets
Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo"4 on 6"
Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Individual or GroupWes Bound
1994Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement with Accompanying Vocals"Ability to Swing"
1995Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz PerformanceElixir
Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz PerformanceLarry and Lee
1997Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz PerformanceAlive in L.A.
1997Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover AlbumTwo Worlds

Discography

Albums

TitlePeak chart positionsLabelYear
released
US
[18] 		US
Jazz
[19]
First Course——Epic1976
Captain Fingers178—Epic 1977
Gentle Thoughts——JVC1977
Sugar Loaf Express——JVC1977
Friendship——JVC1978
The Captain's Journey78—Elektra1978
Rio163—JVC1979
Feel the Night136—Elektra1979
Friendship——Elektra 1979
Rit26—Elektra1981
Rit/299—Elektra1982
On the Line——Elektra Musician1983
Banded Together145—Elektra1984
Harlequin, with Dave Grusin192—GRP 1985
Earth Run——GRP 1986
Portrait——GRP1987
Festival156—GRP1988
Color Rit——GRP1989
Stolen Moments——GRP1990
Collection——GRP1991
Wes Bound—19GRP1993
Larry & Lee, with Larry Carlton—4GRP1995
Alive in L.A.—18GRP1997
This Is Love—4I.E. Music1998
Two Worlds, with Dave Grusin——Decca2000
Rit's House—5Verve2002
World of Brazil——GRP2003
Overtime—24Peak2005
Smoke 'n' Mirrors—10Peak2006
Amparo, with Dave Grusin——Decca2008
6 String Theory——Concord2010
Rhythm Sessions—3Concord2012
A Twist of Rit—3Concord2015
Dreamcatcher——The Players Club2020
Brasil——Candid2024

Charted singles

DateTitlePositionChart (US)
1981"Countdown Captain Fingers"43Dance[20]
"Is It You"15Hot 100
1982"Cross My Heart"69
1993"Waiting in Vain" (ft. Maxi Priest)54R&B
2007"Smoke 'n' Mirrors"27Smooth Jazz
"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

As a member

Fourplay

L.A. Workshop

GRP All-Star Big Band

Other credits

As sideman

With Alessi Brothers

With Patti Austin

With Carole Bayer Sager

With George Benson

With The Brothers Johnson

With Natalie Cole

With Brass Fever

With Aretha Franklin

With Art Garfunkel

With Margie Joseph

With Bill LaBounty

With Melissa Manchester

With Alphonse Mouzon

With Leo Sayer

With Carly Simon

With Frank Sinatra

With Barbra Streisand

With others

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Biography . Lee Ritenour . January 24, 2013 . 2014-06-25.
  2. Web site: Lee Ritenour. Allmusic.com.
  3. Book: The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Colin Larkin. Colin Larkin (writer). Virgin Books. 1997. Concise. 978-1-85227-745-1. 1018.
  4. Book: Blake, Mark. Comfortably Numb. 11 December 2017. 2008. Da Capo Press . 978-1-56858-383-9 . 270–.
  5. Book: Mabbett, Andy. The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd . 11 December 2017. 1995. Omnibus Press . 978-0-7119-4301-8 . 80–.
  6. Web site: Inside the Mind of Pink Floyd: David Gilmour . Guitar . September 1995 . 2010-07-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121230064526/http://www.pinkfloydfan.net/t1480-david-gilmour-inside-mind-pink.html . December 30, 2012 . dead .
  7. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 253.
  8. Book: Whitburn, Joel. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. 2004. Record Research. 494.
  9. Book: Whitburn, Joel. Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001. 2002. Record Research. 205. The videos for "Is It You" and "Mr. Briefcase" were both amongst the first videos played on MTV on August 1, 1981.
  10. Web site: Earth Run. AllMusic. 13 December 2017.
  11. Web site: Lee Ritenour: Portrait. allmusic.com.
  12. Web site: Lee Ritenour Discusses His "6 String Theory". 2010-07-08. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100702161616/http://guitarinternational.com/wpmu/2010/06/29/ritenour. July 2, 2010.
  13. Web site: Judges . Independent Music Awards . 2016-08-27.
  14. Web site: The Independent Music Awards Announces Judges for 9th Annual IMAs | MicControl . 2009-05-28 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090626231446/http://miccontrolblog.com/2009/05/27/the-independent-music-awards-announces-judges-for-9th-annual-imas/ . June 26, 2009 . mdy .
  15. Web site: 11th Annual IMA Judges . Independent Music Awards . 2016-08-27.
  16. Web site: 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. 2016-08-27.
  17. Web site: Lee Ritenour. Grammy.com.
  18. Lee Ritenour Chart History: Billboard 200. Billboard. January 12, 2022.
  19. Lee Ritenour Chart History: Jazz Albums. Billboard. January 12, 2022.
  20. Lee Ritenour Chart History. Billboard.

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