Lee Mack Ritenour ( RIT-now-ər; born January 11, 1952) is an American jazz, jazz fusion guitarist who has been active since the late 1960s.
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. In the mid-to-late 1970s, Ritenour purchased a 1958 Fender Stratocaster that became one of his primary recording guitars. Between the early 1980s and 1987, it was modified with a 3-ply pickguard, Alembic Strat-o-blaster preamp, an added string tree, a Floyd Rose tremolo with locking nut, and EMG S pickups.
1976–1988
Ritenour's solo career began with the album First Course (1976), followed by Captain Fingers (1977), The Captain's Journey (1978).
In 1979, he "was brought in to beef up" one of Pink Floyd's The Wall's guitar parts, "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 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 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
Grammy Awards
Ritenour has received one Grammy award out of sixteen nominations.
Album of the Year, Jazziz magazine (2010) - 6 String Theory.
Best International Instrumentalist, Echo Jazz Award (2011)
Discography
Albums
Charted singles
As a member
Friendship
With Abraham Laboriel, Alex Acuña, Don Grusin, Ernie Watts and Steve Forman
Friendship (Elektra, 1979)
L.A. Workshop
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (Denon, 1988)
Norwegian Wood, Vol. 2 (Denon, 1994)
Fourplay
Fourplay (Warner Bros., 1991)
Between the Sheets (Warner Bros., 1993)
Elixir (Warner Bros., 1995)
Best of Fourplay (Warner Bros., 1997)
GRP All-Star Big Band
GRP All-Star Big Band (GRP, 1992)
Other credits
1977 "Strawberry Letter 23" from the album Right On Time by Brothers Johnson
1987 Joyride - track 6 "Midi Citi" - (En Pointe)
1985 American Flyers (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) with Greg Mathieson - GRP