For Lee Ritenour, there aren’t many ‘firsts’ left to achieve. During his dazzling five-decade career, the fabled LA guitarist has taken his music to the outer limits, alighting on every genre and occupying every position in the rock ‘n’ roll firmament.
He’s been an enfant terrible of ’70s fusion, a crossover star of the ’80s pop chart, an honorary exponent of Brazilian jazz, and the fingers behind ’90s supergroup, Fourplay. Ritenour’s accolades include: 45 albums,16 Grammy nominations, Alumnus of the year at USC, Los Angeles’ Jazz Society Honoree (2019), plus thousands of sessions with legends such as Frank Sinatra, Pink Floyd, B.B. King, Tony Bennett, among others. And yet, when he checks the rear-view mirror, the 68-year-old acknowledges he’s never made a record like Dreamcatcher.
“People have been telling me for years: ‘Rit, you gotta make a solo guitar record’. In the past, I’ve always been the band guy, the ensemble guy, the collaborative-guitar-player guy. So this was the one project I hadn’t done. And this year, I knew it was time.” Weaving tapestries of instrumental guitar and conjuring eclectic moods, the 12 tracks of Dreamcatcher rank amongst the most melodic and tinglingly beautiful in Ritenour’s catalogue.
But there’s a power and purpose here, too, hinting at the darker circumstances that sparked this new record. “Our house and my studio in Malibu, California burnt down in 2018,” he recalls. “About 100 of my guitars went up in the fire, plus 40 amps, lots of music, the history of my whole career, pretty much. A week after the fire, I went to the hospital, which I’d never had to do before, for surgery to replace an aortic valve. So those incidents and the support from my family and friends absolutely went into this music. Making this record was a life-saver for me.”
As such, “Tokyo Connection, Budokan” salutes the harmonic sensibilities of the great producer, pianist, and long-time comrade, Dave Grusin. But it couldn’t be further from “Charleston”, whose mellow slink is laced with bittersweet thoughts on the ebb and flow of US race relations.
01. Number 8
02. Stone Of Quebec
03. Morning Glory
04. Monkey See Monkey Do
05. Don’t Be Blue
06. He Tells Himself He’s Happy
07. Antonio’s Song
08. Countdown
09. Mountain Dance
10. The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter
11. Heaven Can Wait
12. Three Days Of The Condor
13. Theme From ‘The Champ’: What Matters Most
14. Summer Sketches
15. Anthem Internationale
Acoustic Guitar – Lee Ritenour
Bass – Anthony Jackson
Drums – Steve Gadd
Electric Guitar – Eric Gale, Lee Ritenour
Flugelhorn – Tiger Okoshi
Flute – George Young
Keyboards – Dave Grusin, Don Grusin
Percussion – Rubens Bassini
Saxophone – George Young
Trumpet – Tiger Okoshi
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