Lee Ritenour

Lee Mack Ritenour ( RIT-now-ər; born January 11, 1952) is an American jazz and jazz fusion guitarist who has been active since the late 1960s.

Biography

Ritenour was born in 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.

1976–1988

Ritenour's solo career began with the album First Course (1976), a good example of the jazz fusion sound of the late 1970s, followed by Captain Fingers (1977), The Captain's Journey (1978).

In 1979, he "was brought in to beef up" one of Pink Floyd's heaviest rock numbers, "Run Like Hell". He played "uncredited rhythm guitar" on "One of My Turns".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. "Is It You" with vocals by Eric Tagg reached No. 15 on the Billboard pop chart and No. 27 on the Soul chart. The track peaked at number fifteen on the Hot Adult Contemporary chart. 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. Portrait (GRP, 1987) included guest performances by the Yellowjackets, Djavan, and Kenny G.

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 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 the guitar.

Ritenour has been a judge for the Independent Music Awards.

In 2018, Ritenour lost his Malibu home and personal recording studio in the Woolsey Fire in California.

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:

Djavan

Bill Champlin

Eric Tagg

Patti Austin

Ivan Lins

Phil Perry

João Bosco

Kate Markowitz

Maxi Priest

Lisa Fischer

Michael McDonald

Awards