About to embark on a European tour, legendary guitarist Lee Ritenour filled Catalina’s with a set that included material from his latest album A Twist Of Rit, which also summarized the attitude of the evening, as the leader mixed up the evening with songs from his past, his inspirations and from family members with swinging results.
Teamed up with his celebrated keyboard buddy John Beasley as well as Ben Shepherd/b and his own drum-playing son Wes (named after his guitar p laying inspiration), Ritenour immediately showcased on the opening “The Village” the reason for his popularity and influence. His velvety tone, relentless melodious rhythm and incessant sense of lyricism worked not only on lithe numbers like these, they fit in well with Shepherd’s and Beasley’s rollicking groove on the adventurous “Stone Flower.”
Dedicated to the six stringer’s mother, “Pearl” consisted of caressed strings as son Wes delivered nimble cymbal work, while his thumb strumming on “ Stolen Moments” teamed up with the bluesy and abstractly truthful solos by Beasley and Shepherd as hip militaristic drums sizzled underneath.
The rhythm team served up a blue plate funky back beat on “ Ooh Yeah” before papa Lee switched guitars, stepped on a few pedals and mixed his searing Les Paul with Beasley’s spacey synth affects and Shepherds throbbing bass for a fusion fest on “Wild Rice.” 75 minutes and 4 guitar changes later, as he closed with patented bluesy octaves on the soulful “Wes Bound,” Ritenour reflected every hue of the jazz guitar prism, all the while keeping the colors as personal as his fingerprint. The mix of the past, present and future in terms of music and family was a good reason for a reunion on a multitude of levels.
Upcoming shows at Catalina’s include Dave Weckl 01/28-30, Arturo Sandoval 02/05-06 and Steve Huffsteter 02/07. Steve Tyrell has two engagements in February!