Lee Mack Ritenour ( ; born January 11, 1952) is an American jazz, jazz fusion guitarist who has been active since the late 1960s. 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
thumb|The Lee Ritenour Gibson L5 Signature archtop guitar
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 Walls 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. 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.
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.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Category
! Nominated work
! Result
|-
|1978
|Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition
|"The Captain's Journey"
|
|-
|1981
|Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance
|RIT
|
|-
|rowspan="3"|1985
|Grammy Award for Best Arrangement on an Instrumental
|"Early A.M. Attitude"
|
|-
|Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group or Soloist)
|Harlequin
|
|-
|Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s)
|"Harlequin"
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|1986
|Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Vocal or Instrumental
||Earth Run
|
|-
|Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition
||"Earth Run"
|
|-
|1990
|Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance
||Stolen Moments
|
|-
|rowspan="3"|1993
|Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Performance (Instrumental)
|Between the Sheets
|
|-
|Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo
|"4 on 6"
|
|-
|Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Individual or Group
|Wes Bound
|
|-
|1994
|Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement with Accompanying Vocals
|"Ability to Swing"
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|1995
|Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Performance
|Elixir
|
|-
|Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Performance
|Larry and Lee
|
|-
|1997
|Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Performance
|Alive in L.A.
|
|-
|1997
|Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album
|Two Worlds
|
|}
- Album of the Year, Jazziz magazine (2010) - 6 String Theory.
- Best International Instrumentalist, Echo Jazz Award (2011)
Discography
Albums
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Title
! scope="col" colspan="2"| Peak chart positions
! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Label
! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year<br/> released
|-
! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| US<br />
! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| US<br />Jazz<br />
|-
| First Course
| style="text-align:center"| —
| style="text-align:center"| —
| Epic
| 1976
|-
| Captain Fingers
| style="text-align:center" | 178
| style="text-align:center" | —
| Epic
| 1977
|-
| Gentle Thoughts
| style="text-align:center"| —
| style="text-align:center"| —
| JVC
| 1977
|-
| Sugar Loaf Express
| style="text-align:center"| —
| style="text-align:center"| —
| JVC
| 1977
|-
| Friendship
| style="text-align:center"| —
| style="text-align:center"| —
| JVC
| 1978
|-
| The Captain's Journey
| style="text-align:center"| 78
| style="text-align:center"| —
| Elektra
| 1978
|-
| Rio
| style="text-align:center"| 163
| style="text-align:center"| —
| JVC
| 1979
|-
| Feel the Night
| style="text-align:center"| 136
| style="text-align:center"| —
| Elektra
| 1979
|-
| Rit
| style="text-align:center"| 26
| style="text-align:center"| —
| Elektra
| 1981
|-
| Rit/2
| style="text-align:center"| 99
| style="text-align:center"| —
| Elektra
| 1982
|-
| On the Line
| style="text-align:center"| —
| style="text-align:center"| —
| Elektra Musician
| 1983
|-
| Banded Together
| style="text-align:center"| 145
| style="text-align:center"| —
| Elektra
| 1984
|-
| Harlequin, with Dave Grusin
| style="text-align:center"| 192
| style="text-align:center"| —
| GRP
| 1985
|-
| Earth Run
| style="text-align:center"| —
| style="text-align:center"| —
| GRP
| 1986
|-
| Portrait
| style="text-align:center"| —
| style="text-align:center"| —
| GRP
| 1987
|-
| Festival
| style="text-align:center"| 156
| style="text-align:center"| —
| GRP
| 1988
|-
| Color Rit
| style="text-align:center"| —
| style="text-align:center"| —
| GRP
| 1989
|-
| Stolen Moments
| style="text-align:center"| —
| style="text-align:center"| —
| GRP
| 1990
|-
| Collection
| style="text-align:center"| —
| style="text-align:center"| —
| GRP
| 1991
|-
| Wes Bound
| style="text-align:center"| —
| style="text-align:center"| 19
| GRP
| 1993
|-
| Larry & Lee, with Larry Carlton
| style="text-align:center"| —
| style="text-align:center"| 4
| GRP
| 1995
|-
| Alive in L.A.
| style="text-align:center"| —
| style="text-align:center"| 18
| GRP
| 1997
|-
| This Is Love
| style="text-align:center"| —
| style="text-align:center"| 4
| I.E. Music
| 1998
|-
| Two Worlds, with Dave Grusin
| style="text-align:center"| —
| style="text-align:center"| —
| Decca
| 2000
|-
| Rit's House
| style="text-align:center"| —
| style="text-align:center"| 5
| Verve
| 2002
|-
| World of Brazil
| style="text-align:center"| —
| style="text-align:center"| —
| GRP
| 2003
|-
| Overtime
| style="text-align:center"| —
| style="text-align:center"| 24
| Peak
| 2005
|-
| Smoke 'n' Mirrors
| style="text-align:center"| —
| style="text-align:center"| 10
| Peak
| 2006
|-
| Amparo, with Dave Grusin
| style="text-align:center"| —
| style="text-align:center"| —
| Decca
| 2008
|-
| 6 String Theory
| style="text-align:center"| —
| style="text-align:center"| —
| Concord
| 2010
|-
| Rhythm Sessions
| style="text-align:center"| —
| style="text-align:center"| 3
| Concord
| 2012
|-
| A Twist of Rit
| style="text-align:center"| —
| style="text-align:center"| 3
| Concord
| 2015
|-
| Dreamcatcher
| style="text-align:center"| —
| style="text-align:center"| —
| The Players Club
| 2020
|-
| Brasil
| style="text-align:center"| —
| style="text-align:center"| —
| Candid
| 2024
|}
Charted singles
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Date
! Title
! Position
! Chart (US)
|-
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:left;"| 1981
| style="text-align:left;"| "Countdown Captain Fingers"
| 43
| style="text-align:left;"| Dance
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "Is It You"
| 15
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:left;"| Hot 100