Lee Ritenour THE VERY BEST OF LEE

Personnel: Lee Ritenour (arranger, keyboards, synthesizer, acoustic & electric guitars, bass, electronic percussion); Joao Bosco (vocals, acoustic guitar); Ivan Lins (vocals); Dan Higgins (alto & tenor saxophones, alto flute, bass clarinet); Ernie Watts (tenor saxophone); Gary Grant (trumpet, flugelhorn); Steve Kujala (flute, alto flute); Larry Williams (flute, synthesizer); Israel Baker (violin); Simon Oswell (viola); Fred Seykora (cello); Alan Pasqua (piano, Fender Rhodes piano, Hammond B-3 organ); Bob James, Dave Grusin (piano, keyboards); Ronnie Foster (Hammond B-3 organ); Russell Ferrante (keyboards); Marcus Miller (bass); Harvey Mason (drums, electronic percussion); Omar Hakim (drums); Paulinho Da Costa (percussion).
Producers: Dave Grusin, Lee Ritenour, Don Murray.
Compilation producers: Lee Ritenour, Bryan Koniarz.
Recorded between 1984 & 2001. Includes liner notes by Chuck Berg.
Personnel: Lee Ritenour (guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, synthesizer, electronic percussion); Regina Werneck, Marietta Waters, Ivan Lins, Joao Bosco, Carol Rogers (vocals); Anthony Jackson (guitar, 6-string bass); John Wittenberg, Dorothy Wade, Eun Sun Lee, Murray Adler, Juliann French, Robert Brousseau, Israel Baker, Bonnie Douglas, Clayton Haslop, Paul Shure, Gordon Marron Strings (violin); Carol Mukagawa, Steve Gordon, Simon Oswell, Harry Shirinian (viola); Paula Hochhalter, Jodi Burnett, Fred Seykoura, Ray Kramer (cello); Randy Kerber (strings, horns); Dan Higgins (flute, alto flute, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); Steve Kujala (flute, alto flute); Larry Williams (flute, keyboards, synthesizer); Ernie Watts (tenor saxophone); Gary Grant, Jerry Hey (trumpet, flugelhorn); William Frank "Bill" Reichenbach Jr. (trombone, bass trombone); Alan Pasqua (piano, Fender Rhodes piano); Dave Grusin, Bob James (piano, keyboards); David Witham, Barnaby Finch (keyboards); Jochem van der Saag (synthesizer, programming); Harvey Mason, Sr. (drums, electronic percussion); Marcus Miller, Omar Hakim, Sonny Emory, Bob Wilson , Carlos Vega (drums); Carlinhos Brown (djembe, pandeiro); Alex Acu?a, Paulinho Da Costa, Cassio Duarte (percussion); Melvin Davis (bass programming); Gracinha Leporace (background vocals).
Recording information: A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA (??/1984-02/2001); Ash Grove, Santa Monica, CA (??/1984-02/2001); Capitol Studios, Hollywood, CA (??/1984-02/2001); Castle Oaks Studios, Calabasas, CA (??/1984-02/2001); Enterprise, Studios, Burbank, CA (??/1984-02/2001); Sound on Sound, New York, NY (??/1984-02/2001); Starlight Studios, Malibu, CA (??/1984-02/2001); Sunset Sound, Hollwood, CA (??/1984-02/2001); The Power Station, New York, NY (??/1984-02/2001); Underworld Studios, Northridge, CA (??/1984-02/2001).
Arrangers: Dave Grusin; Jochem van der Saag; Lee Ritenour .
Smooth jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour gets the "best-of" treatment on this GRP compilation. While longtime fans will most likely already have these tracks, curious listeners may find it a nice place to start. Featuring a cross section of tracks Ritenour recorded during the '90s and early '00s, including "A Little Bumpin'," "Harlequin," and "Wes Bound," the only disappointment is that no new or unreleased cuts were included. However, Ritenour is a consummate jazz-pop melodicist and is still well represented, despite the inadequacies of this collection. ~ Matt Collar

• Format: CD
• Genre: Jazz