I have recently discovered jazz fusion guitarist Lee Ritenour again after listening to some of his work back in the 1990s during a phase when the only music I'd listen to was contemporary jazz. It is his 1981 recording, "Rit" which has the edginess of a pop record of that era but also contains Ritenour's technical virtuosity as a guitarist, particularly his deft slide guitar work, accompanied by well delivered pop/jazz/R&B vocals by his collaborators Eric Tagg and Bill Champlin. The drums are handled by legendary percussionist Harvey Mason either live or synthesized, and there are keyboards on the record and great, snappy Fender Jazz Bass bass lines.
To some, "smooth jazz" may seem trivial. Like elevator or shopping mall music. But it became popular in the '80s and '90s and for my money, the musicians have the technical ability to make their recordings sound good. Ritenour is one of those. Ritenour, along with Harvey Mason and David Foster produced the record. Highlights include "Mr. Briefcase", "(Just) Tell Me Pretty Lies", "No Sympathy" and "Good Question" which is a synthesizer and open E tuned bluesy slide guitar tour de force. Although, Ritenour's slide playing is raw, it also has a polished element about it. OK, so pure blues players or Duane Allman devotees may think, "eh, it's just a phoned in attempt at playing slide." Well, this slide guitar aficionado thinks otherwise. Check out the record. It is on the reissue label, Collectables.
"Rit" track listing:
1. Mr. Briefcase
2. (Just) Tell Me Pretty Lies
3. No Sympathy
4. Is It You?
5. Dreamwalk
6. Countdown (Captain Fingers)
7. Good Question
8. (You Caught Me) Smilin'
9. On The Slow Glide
10. No Sympathy (reprise)
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