Expert Testimony Given by guitarist Lee Ritenour

During the 1970s, guitarist Lee Ritenour became widely known as a session player and throughout the 1970s and 1980s, he was a key figure in shaping the sound of popular music coming out of Los Angeles.

Ritenour played his first session at 16 and worked on some 3,000 recording sessions with top artists and producers and on movie and TV soundtracks. In 1975, he began making his own instrumental records and to date has released more than 40 albums as a leader. During the 1980s, Ritenour completed the transition from studio player to touring artist and has appeared at jazz festivals, clubs, and concert halls around the world ever since. In 1991, together with keyboardist Bob James, Ritenour established the contemporary jazz quartet Fourplay. Then, seven years later, he left to focus on leading his own band. Ritenour’s brand of instrumental music includes influences of funk, rock, straight-ahead jazz, Brazilian music, and more and is a staple on the smooth-jazz charts.

In 2010, Ritenour brought together Yamaha Corporation, Berklee, Concord Records, Monster Cable, and D’Addario Strings to established the 6 String Theory Guitar Competition to discover new talent. Contestants audition via unedited YouTube videos to compete for musical equipment, scholarships, and the chance to play with Ritenour on his recordings. This summer the 2012 contest will award $600,000 worth of equipment and scholarships to music camps and to Berklee. In a conversation before his appearance at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston in the spring, Ritenour shared thoughts on his career and his efforts to nurture young musicians.

 

Are there any sessions that stand out among the many you have played on?

That’s a hard question, because there were so many great and hilarious sessions. I worked with top producers like Phil Ramone, Quincy Jones, Bob Ezrin, and Orrin Keepnews when they were in their prime and learned a lot about studio production by working with them. Being in the studio with Quincy working on the Brothers Johnson sessions was great because Quincy always wanted the best from everyone. I also learned a lot working on film scores with Dave Grusin.

 

With the changes in the music industry, do you think young players can still develop careers as studio musicians?

I think they can. Though it’s not the heyday for studio musicians as it was when I was doing it, in some ways there is as much work. But it’s different. Today, the more versatile players in Los Angeles also do a lot of composing and arranging. Most have some kind of home studio and deliver completed tracks for TV shows, commercials, and film libraries. The studio musician has become the track maker now. I know a lot of young players who do this work but also get called for straight-up sessions too.

If someone wants to earn a living as a sideman in New York, L.A., or Nashville, it’s best to be very versatile. By that I mean: Know a lot of kinds of music but also know how to compose, arrange, and program music. Another key is knowing how to hustle. You can’t be shy; you need to be a people person. People like to work with people that they like.

 

How did you make the transition from studio musician to recording artist and bandleader?

The studio work led to my first recording contracts as an artist. I had started working back in the days when there were no machines and live musicians were needed for everything. I did an album with drummer Alphonse Mouzon. Rock guitarist Tommy Bolin was supposed to play the solos on the record, but when he couldn’t, the producer and Alphonse asked [fellow guitarist] Jay Graydon and me to do them. Based on my work on that album, I was offered a contract with Epic Records. I moved to Electra Records two years later and had commercial success there with my songs “Is It You?” and “Mr. Briefcase.” I had started out as an instrumentalist, and then these songs with singer Eric Tagg were all over the radio. The promotional videos for the songs aired on the first day that MTV began broadcasting. I started getting a lot of offers.

I was also playing every Tuesday night at the Baked Potato club in Los Angeles. People would line up hours before our first set at 10:00 P.M. That club was where people could hear West Coast musicians blending jazz, r&b, and rock. We were a little more melodic and funky than the East Coast musicians, who were a bit more progressive. Everyone was experimenting, it was a great period. Before he was signed to a label, Al Jarreau would come to the club to sit in and sing with us. Lots of artists dropped in, including Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and Jeff Beck.

 

How did you develop an international audience?

Toshi Endo was a producer for the [Japanese] JVC label. He came to hear me play at the Baked Potato and asked if I wanted to record a direct-to-disc audiophile album for JVC. My U.S. record label didn’t see any conflict with me having a specialty recording out in Japan, so I agreed to do it. The performances and mixing for those direct-to-disc recordings had to be done live without stopping, editing, or overdubbing. We were cutting direct to the master disc for a vinyl album and had to record a whole side of an album without stopping.

The first one we made was called Gentle Thoughts and sold for $50 a copy [for a total of] 90,000 copies in 1977 in Japan. The first time I toured in Japan with my own band, girls were waiting for us at the airport with banners. It was crazy! One of the songs from that album became the first pop instrumental to become a number-one hit there. To this day, I have a strong following in Japan. But I'm playing all over the world these days. I went to Europe three times last year and to South Africa as well. I’ll be in Europe later this spring and again in the summer.

 

Do you recommend that young musicians cultivate their writing skills?

I encourage everyone to write. There are so many people playing each instrument that you really need your own voice to stand out. That’s not an easy thing to do. One way to develop your own style is to compose. When you write a tune that you really like, you’ll find hints of your style in there. When I come home after being on the road and need to start writing for a record, it’s really hard to get started. That’s when writing is an exercise. I have to force myself to write something even if it isn’t that good. But after I do that, the good stuff starts to come.

Before I start writing for a project, I often go on long bike rides and listen to all kinds of music to get inspired. Some of the music will have nothing to do with what I’m going to write for the record. Then I start writing little ideas and recording them on my iPhone or iPad. Then I listen to them on bike rides and make mental notes about what portions might have the potential to become a tune. There are all kinds of ways to get going.

 

Can you talk about your 6 String Theory contest?

Since 2010, I’ve been involved in nurturing young talent through the 6 String Theory Guitar Competition. The idea for it grew out of my 6 String Theory album. To mark 50 years since I started playing guitar, I decided to make a record that featured guitar legends of different styles. I got George Benson, Steve Lukather, John Scofield, B.B. King, Keb’ Mo’, Slash, Vince Gill, Taj Mahal, Pat Martino, Neal Schon, Mike Stern, Jonny Lang and others to play on it. I was inspired watching YouTube where everyone puts up videos and decided to use YouTube to find someone brand new to feature on the album too.

I had to use all my talents to put this project together. I couldn’t have done this when I was younger. I got sponsorship from Yamaha, Monster Cable, Concord Records, and D’Addario & Company. Berklee offered to award scholarships for the winners.

This is our third year, and the project has really blossomed. The guitar contest will go as it has in the past two years. Guitarists can enter the contest in the jazz, rock, blues, acoustic, classical/flamenco, and country styles. We pick 36 semifinalists that will win scholarships to the National Guitar Workshop. The top six go to the Crown of the Continent Guitar Foundation Workshop and Festival in Montana for the finals. Berklee will make their final choices and award scholarships.

 

Are you hopeful that new careers will be launched by this competition?

Absolutely. Classical guitarist Shon Boublil won the contest in 2010. He played on a track of my 6 String Theory album and won a four-year scholarship to Berklee. He’s in his second year there.

We expanded the competition this time to include a rhythm section contest for pianists, bassists, and drummers. The winners will be featured on a track on a new recording with me and will be eligible for Berklee scholarships. Maybe one day we will include horn players. The summer guitar camps are expensive. Ultimately the contest gives 36 players scholarships to the National Guitar Workshop, of that group six go on to the Crown of the Continent Guitar Workshop, and then Berklee awards scholarships for college. These are all great opportunities. Some contestants will get endorsement deals with the music products companies, and the winning guitarist gets exposure by playing on my record. All of this has been a fun way for me to give back a bit.

 

For information on the competition, visit www.sixstringtheory.com.