Lee Ritenour in Oakland

Lee Ritenour is an American jazz guitarist and composer, born in Los Angeles in 1952. He is known for jazz fusion and smooth jazz recordings including the albums Captain Fingers and Rit, the song “Is It You?”, and Harlequin, his collaboration with Dave Grusin. He also co-founded the quartet Fourplay with Bob James, Nathan East and Harvey Mason. The 2005 concert film Overtime brought Dave Grusin, Patrice Rushen, Ernie Watts and Harvey Mason into an ensemble led by Lee Ritenour; its program included “Captain Fingers” and “Rio Funk.” He and Grusin later performed at the 2011 Montreux Jazz Festival, and the concert was released as Live at Montreux 2011. He has presented this repertoire in jazz clubs including the Blue Note in New York and Blue Note Tokyo.