Guitarist Lee Ritenour had just switched from Epic to Elektra when he cut Captain's Journey in 1978. It was a followup to the successful crossover work Captain Fingers and used a similar strategy: tight, hook-laden arrangements, polished production, and minimal solo space. What individual things it has are dominated by Ritenour, a supremely talented guitarist who doesn't display that much of it with these arrangements.
Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown is a 1989 album commemorating the 40th anniversary of the comic strip Peanuts and released by GRP Records. The album contains versions of music and songs from the TV specials, as well as some original compositions, performed by various jazz artists, such as David Benoit, Dave Grusin, Lee Ritenour and Kenny G.
The stellar 45-year career of singer-songwriter-guitarist Nils Lofgren receives a comprehensive retrospective in Face the Music, a Limited Edition 9CD + Bonus DVD boxed set that is individually hand signed and numbered by the artist.
One of contemporary music's premiere vocalists, Al Jarreau is the only singer ever to win GRAMMY® Awards in three distinct genre categories-R&B, pop, and jazz-a testament to his remarkable and enduring cross-over appeal. Jarreau's most recent GRAMMY came at the 2007 ceremony, when he was honored with Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance. With many of his biggest hits coming during his long Warner Bros. era, Jarreau's career now spans five decades-but until now, has not included a LOVE SONGS release among its wealth of treasures. Possessed of a voice suited to the rhythm of romance and language of the heart, Jarreau's genius shines on this stirring collection.
HighNote welcomes Russell Malone, one of the most gifted guitar players to emerge in recent years, to its roster. Malone seems comfortable in a variety of settings, performing with such diverse artists as Diana Krall, Freddie Cole, Mulgrew Miller, Kenny Barron, Roy Hargrove, Cyrus Chestnut and Patti Austin. Malone was also a featured performer in Robert Altman's 1996 film "Kansas City." From his first recordings in 1992 to his HighNote debut Russell Malone has proven himself to be the consummate musician capable of both swinging hard and caressing a ballad like few guitarists today can.
The Ultimate Collection is quite different from the two-disc George Benson overviews that preceded it, including The George Benson Anthology. Like that 2000-released set, this one was also issued through Rhino, though there are only 17 tracks of overlap. The Ultimate Collection has even less in common with Legacy's The Essential George Benson (2006), which naturally favors Benson's Columbia and CTI output. The heart here is 1976-1983, an era during which Benson recorded for Warner and was regularly listed in the Top Ten of the Billboard R&B singles chart.
Released in 1979, “Feel the Night” belongs to a string of albums that definitely established Lee Ritenour as one of the world’s best and most sought after guitar players. All but one track are original jazz/fusion instrumentals written by Ritenour and Don Grusin and perfectly played by the guitar superstar with strong support from the usual suspects. Among the cast of session aces are keyboardists like David Foster, Joe Sample and Dave Grusin with Steve Gadd and Abe Laboriel driving the pulsing rhythm section.