Lee Ritenour


Lee Mack Ritenour is an American jazz guitarist who has been active since the late 1960s.

Biography

Ritenour was born on January 11, 1951 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. 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, a good example of the jazz-funk sound of the 1970s, followed by Captain Fingers, The Captain's Journey, and Feel the Night.
In 1979, he "was brought in to beef up" one of Pink Floyd's The Wall ' 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. "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 Hot Adult Contemporary chart. He continued with the pop-oriented music for Rit/2 and Banded Together, 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 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 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 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.
Ritenour has been a judge for the Independent Music Awards.

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.
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"
1985Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance Harlequin
1985Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal"Harlequin"
1986Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Vocal or InstrumentalEarth Run
1986Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition"Earth Run"
1990Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion PerformanceStolen Moments
1993Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Performance Between the Sheets
1993Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo"4 on 6"
1993Grammy 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
1995Grammy 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

Albums

Charted singles

With Fourplay