RIJF 2024

LEE RITENOUR BAND + Special Guests Randy Brecker & Bill Evans

Tickets On Sale Now

For Lee Ritenour, there aren’t many ‘firsts’ left to achieve. During his dazzling five-decade career, the fabled LA guitarist has taken his music to the outer limits, alighting on every genre and occupying every position in the rock ‘n’ roll firmament. He’s been an enfant terrible of ’70s fusion, a crossover star of the ’80s pop chart, an honorary exponent of Brazilian jazz, and the fingers behind ’90s supergroup, Fourplay. Ritenour’s accolades include 45 albums,16 Grammy nominations, Alumnus of the Year at USC, Los Angeles’ Jazz Society Honoree (2019), plus thousands of sessions with legends such as Frank Sinatra, Pink Floyd, B.B. King, and Tony Bennett, among others.

And yet, when he checks the rear-view mirror, the 68-year-old acknowledges he’s never made a record like Dreamcatcher. “People have been telling me for years: ‘Rit, you gotta make a solo guitar record’. In the past, I’ve always been the band guy, the ensemble guy, the collaborative guitar player guy. So this was the one project I hadn’t done. And this year, I knew it was time.”

Weaving tapestries of instrumental guitar and conjuring eclectic moods, the 12 tracks of Dreamcatcher rank amongst the most melodic and tinglingly beautiful in Ritenour’s catalog. But there’s a power and purpose here, too, hinting at the darker circumstances that sparked this new record. “Our house and my studio in Malibu, California burnt down in 2018,” he recalls. “About 100 of my guitars went up in the fire, plus 40 amps, lots of music, the history of my whole career, pretty much. A week after the fire, I went to the hospital, which I’d never had to do before, for surgery to replace an aortic valve. So those incidents and the support from my family and friends absolutely went into this music. Making this record was a lifesaver for me.”

Dreamcatcher might have been born from personal challenges, but the record took shape against the global tragedy of COVID-19. Ritenour had already written several key tracks before shutdown. But as he settled into the makeshift studio at his new home in Marina Del Rey, equipped with little more than seven guitars, a computer interface, and good intentions, the guitarist let the context flood into the music he was tracking. “It was an important album for me,” he notes. “Especially now, with everything going on in the world.”

Even without lyrics, every track tells a story. Take the molten blues licks of “Abbot Kinney”, named for the fabled boulevard in Venice, California. “One day, when everything was shut down,” says Ritenour, “I drove my bike there and was just devastated to find it completely empty. But then I heard this rock guitar start up. I don’t know if it was a kid, but somebody nearby had just turned it up to 10 and said, ‘Fuck it, I’m gonna have some fun’. It brought a huge smile to my face and inspired me to write that song on my Les Paul.

Likewise, anyone living through the age of COVID-19 will feel a deep affinity with “2020”: a three-part symphony in which Ritenour takes the pulse of the times. “The three parts were a reflection of what was going on this year,” he nods, “when all of a sudden everybody’s life shut down. I was thinking about the young musicians that were out of work – and people in every walk of life.”

Elsewhere Dreamcatcher delves beyond the pandemic. While Ritenour strived to switch up musical styles – from the title track’s dovetailing classical guitars to the Taylor baritone that drives “Starlight’s” tumbling folk and the mad scientist multi-tracking of “Couldn’t Help Myself” – he also ran the gamut of mood. “Because even I get tired,” he reasons, “of solo guitar albums when it pretty much all sounds the same.”

As such, “For DG” salutes the harmonic sensibilities of the great producer, pianist, and long-time comrade, Dave Grusin. But it couldn’t be further from “Charleston,” whose mellow slink is laced with bittersweet thoughts on the ebb and flow of US race relations. “A few years ago, I played in Charleston, South Carolina,” recalls Ritenour, “and it was charming and the people were warm, and it was a very mixed, soulful audience. Charleston has a history of the beginnings of slavery, but this was modern-day Charleston, y’know? But then, a few years later, I’m writing this tune while watching the continuation of the struggle. As musicians who travel all over the world, we go, ‘What? This shit is still going on in the US?’ So it was appropriate to dedicate that song to Black Lives Matter.”

Dreamcatcher not only confronts the here and now but also slips back into Ritenour’s rich history. Long-standing fans will recognize “Morning Glory Jam” as a rework of the guitarist’s classic 1977 tune. “On 2015’s A Twist Of Rit, I had revisited a lot of older material, so I wanted to keep this record fresh. But one day, I remembered when I did sessions for Barry White and how there had been four or five guitar players all playing these incredible rhythm parts. That’s the kind of groove I had in my head for this new version of Morning Glory.”

Casting his mind still further back, The Lighthouse shares its name with the storied LA jazz club where the teenage guitarist was to be found most nights in the mid-’60s. “I’d started playing guitar at eight, and by 12, I was very serious. Everybody’s number was in the phonebook back then, right? So my dad – who was an amateur piano player and always very supportive – called up Joe Pass and Barney Kessel and asked them to give me a guitar lesson. Barney ended up recommending this incredible teacher, Duke Miller, and that was the foundation of all my playing. The Lighthouse was this very funky jazz club where I met Wes Montgomery. By the age of 16, I’d take the car over there in the late afternoons and just watch the bands soundcheck.”

Whatever genre you were into, recalls Ritenour, the guitar scene at that magical juncture in the mid-’60s was hard to beat. “In every field, there were legends. In jazz, you had Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery, Barney Kessel, Howard Roberts, Jim Hall, and Pat Martino. In Blues, B.B. King, Albert King, John Lee Hooker. In Rock, Jimi Hendrix was coming, and Clapton and Beck were already there. In Country, you had Chet Atkins and the all-time great classical guitar master Segovia, Sabicas, and Paco de Lucia for Flamenco! Great guitar playing was everywhere you turned, and I loved them all...How could you not?

Those eclectic early tastes served Ritenour well. The jazz giants at The Lighthouse had a passion for life: just check out his love letter to the great Mr Montgomery on 1993’s Wes Bound. But from the day he lucked into his first session for The Mamas And The Papas at age 16, Ritenour had the widescreen musicality to forge a career as one of LA’s busiest session men. “I remember John Phillips had this incredible studio in his Beverly Hills mansion, and I just thought, ‘This is what I want.’ As for my favorite and memorable sessions, I remember getting called by Bob Ezrin to record on “One Of My Turns” and “Comfortably Numb” on Pink Floyd’s, The Wall...incredible. And then there was Quincy Jones producing George Benson’s “Give Me the Night” album, and all of us waiting ‘til 4 am for Stevie Wonder to show up and play a song he’d written for George’s album...Ha! Too many memories!”

Bill Evans

 “Who do Miles Davis, John McLaughlin, Herbie Hancock, and an extensive list of rock icons have in common? Bill Evans, that’s who.

Evans is a world-class saxophonist and producer who made his debut on the international music scene in the 1980s with Miles Davis (at the age of 21) and recorded 6 records with Davis. This led to touring and recording with the likes of John McLaughlin, Herbie Hancock, and Mick Jagger, to name a few. Today, with 26 solo albums to date, Grammy nods, and countless collaborations and tours, Evans has continued to explore a dazzling variety of adventurous musical settings as a pioneering bandleader, consistently winning fans in the worldwide arena.

Recent highlights include touring and/or performing with his own Bill Evans Band, Robben Ford (Soulgrass meets Blues), Phil Lesh & Friends, The Mike Stern/Bill Evans Band, Medeski Martin & Wood, and Zen Amadeus - the group Bill and drum icon Simon Phillips put together. There were countless sit-ins with The Allman Brothers Band, Warren Haynes, and a collage of others. Evans spent much of 2016 and 2017 touring the world with the Bill Evans Band in support of his album “Rise Above”.

Bill toured extensively with the Randy Brecker/Bill Evans Soulbop band (formed in 2003) for over 15 years, which incorporated the many influences they both have had in their careers in the Jazz arena. This cooperation produced a live recording called the “Soulbop Band Live“.

Deeply intrigued and ultimately inspired by Jazz, as well as American roots music, Evans wrote, produced, and recorded “Soulgrass” in 2005, garnering a Grammy nod in the process.( his 2nd one to date ) Soulgrass was a breakaway new fusion of jazz and American roots music, blending the banjo, fiddle, mandolin, and Dobro, combining the best musicians from Jazz and Americana together. According to Bill, “The music and soundscape change, but it’s still me and my saxophone!“ Three more CDs followed in the Soulgrass genre, “The Other Side of Something”, “Dragonfly”, and the 2014 release of “Live in Moscow,” recorded during the first of two sold-out U.S. State Dept-sponsored tours of Russia. Each subsequent release found Bill pushing the musical boundaries of Jazz and Improvisational groove. Says Evans, “Miles always told me to write and play what inspires me. I’ve kept true to his advice from the very beginning, regardless of the challenges they may create. Miles gave me the confidence to believe in myself as a player and a composer.“

After 10 years of touring and breaking new ground with Soulgrass, in 2015, Bill introduced the “Bill Evans Band”, a hard-hitting montage of Contemporary Jazz. The “Bill Evans Band” featured Bill on saxophone/vocals as well as drummer/singer Josh Dion. This band represented a seamless blend of Jazz and groove. Evans was also seen singing on stage for the first time. “People really relate to this band. The Bill Evans Band takes people on a musical journey. For me, that’s the definition of jazz – improvisation and exploration that people can still relate to. It doesn’t have to be mass confusion. I like to connect with the audience and inspire people with new kinds of music you can feel as well as hear.”

“RISE ABOVE” was Bill's 2016 release and his most accessible release to date. On this, his 24th solo offering, Evans explores rich and haunting vocals from special guest singers, including legend Gregg Allman, Warren Haynes, JJ Grey, Anders Osborne, Murali Coryell, and Josh Dion. Says Bill, “This recording was an epic journey for me. My vision from the beginning was to record with some of my favorite singers and co-write music with each one of them. The goal was to make still a cohesive and solid performance out of all this music. It went far beyond my expectations. A sheer pleasure from start to finish!”

February 2019 and beyond….

Evans once again teamed up with legendary Blues guitarist Robben Ford, drummer Keith Carlock, and bassist James Genus to record “The Sun Room, “ which was just released by Ear Music on July 25th, 2019, and rose to the top of the iTunes download charts.  As if all of that is not enough, Bill created yet another group with good friend and star drummer Wolfgang Haffner called “Bill Evans and the Spykillers! with Wolfgang Haffner”. This group toured the European jazz festivals in July 2019. The Spykillers! released a live CD in 2019, recorded in November 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. “This is a very special group of musicians. Everyone pushed the envelope of jazz, soul, and funk. Wolfgang Haffner is a true master of the drums. Rounding off the rhythm section are bassist Gary Grainger and 21-year-old keyboardist Simon Oslender. ( now 24, haha )

The new “ live in the studio “ CD with Bill and Robben, called “ Common Ground, “ is finally released! October, 2022. Recorded in January 2020, but because of COVID-19, the release was held up until some of the smoke cleared. It was recorded in Nashville with Keith Carlock on drums and Darryl Jones on Bass. Bill brought the amazing singer Max Mutzke from Germany to guest on the recording's only vocal track, which was co-written by Bill and keyboardist Clifford Carter. Clifford is a lifelong friend of an incredible composer. Says Bill, “I had the honor of being a guest at a festival hosted by Wolfgang Haffner in September 2019 in Nuremberg, Germany. Max was also a guest. This is where I first heard Max Mutzke for the first time. He completely blew me away on every level. I was really excited to have Max guest on this CD. He is truly amazing and a vocal tour de force! We plan on creating more music together in the future!“

NEWS !! Max Mutzke, Thomas Quasthoff, and Nils Landgren will guest with “ Bill Evans and the Spykillers with Wolfgang Haffner “ in the summer of 2023 on select dates! Very special summer 2023 !!

Robben Ford/Bill Evans “Blues, Miles and Beyond” with Keith Carlock and Darryl Jones is on schedule to perform at the Tokyo Bluenote in April 2023.

Randy Brecker 

A seasoned jazz veteran, virtuosic trumpeter, and prolific composer, Randy Brecker’s horn has graced the bandstands and recordings of Horace Silver, Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, Charles Mingus, Clark Terry, Joe Henderson, Duke Pearson, Frank Foster and Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. As a first-call studio player, Brecker’s trumpet has also energized innumerable studio sessions by artists ranging from James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, and Parliament-Funkadelic to David Sanborn, Jaco Pastorius, and Frank Zappa.

In the realms of cutting-edge jazz-rock fusion, Brecker has been a major contributor to Blood Sweat and Tears, Larry Coryell’s Eleventh House, and Dreams, a group he co-founded with his brother Michael and drummer Billy Cobham.

After departing BS&T in 1969, Randy appeared with Horace Silver and many other jazz acts, feeling a need to stretch his desire to improvise freely. By 1973, Randy and his sax-playing brother, Michael, had become the most in-demand studio players in New York City. In 1975 they decided to form their own band, “The Brecker Brothers”.

The Brecker Brothers became a band of immeasurable influence and impact. Hailed by pop and jazz critics alike, their first album, which Randy produced, was nominated for four Grammy awards. The Brecker Brothers went on to record six albums and received seven Grammy nominations between 1975 and 1981. In the late ’70s, Randy also recorded on Charles Mingus’ last album, Me Myself an Eye. He has since performed on various incarnations of the Mingus Dynasty and the Mingus Big Band.

After the Brecker Brothers took a hiatus in 1982, Randy toured and recorded extensively as a key member of Jaco Pastorius’ Word of Mouth. Several more solo projects followed with numerous tours around the world with many different artists.

A ten-year break from the Brecker Brothers ended in 1992 with the release of the GRP project “Return of the Brecker Brothers” and “Out of The Loop” in 1994 which received 2 Grammy awards and resulted in both USA and European tours.

Randy has been heavily influenced by Brazilian music. For the 1998 Concord Jazz release “Into The Sun,” Randy received the Grammy award for best “Contemporary Jazz Performance”.

In the past few years, he has made recordings and concert appearances with The Trumpet Summit band (featuring Jon Faddis, Lew Soloff, Terrel Stafford), The Jazz Times “Superband” (featuring organist Joey DeFrancesco, drummer Dennis Chambers, and tenor saxophonist Bob Randy is now signed with ESC Records. The first CD on this label was “Hangin’ in The City,” which was released worldwide in April 2001 to considerable commercial and critical success. The release included all-new funk/hip-hop and jazz compositions featuring the cream of the crop of NYC players.

Randy’s latest two CDs as a bandleader won both a Grammy:

In 2003 his CD “34^th N Lex” for the ESC label featuring Michael Brecker, David Sanborn, Fred Wesley, Ronnie Cuber, and his regular working band won a Grammy as “Best Contemporary Jazz Album,” and the newly released CD “Some Skunk Funk” featuring Michael Brecker and the WDR Big Band just won this past February another Grammy as ” Best Large Ensemble CD”.

Randy Brecker is a true musical pioneer who continues to perform extensively around the world in a variety of settings. His quest for musical excellence, the constant expansion of his trumpet style, and his encyclopedic catalog of compositions are unparalleled.

Like close friend and fellow session ace Toto’s Steve Lukather, Ritenour was always more than a gun-for-hire. In ’76, he launched his own solo career with First Course and managed the magic trick of following his muse while finding enviable commercial success, especially in the ’80s. “On the West Coast, fusion was just starting,” he remembers, “and we were beginning to combine the melodies of pop music but with the sophistication of jazz. We were listening to people like John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, and then, at the same time, Grover Washington Jr, David Sanborn, and Bob James. So it was really a natural evolution for my own records to evolve out of that. When I finally did win a Grammy in 1985 – for “Early A.M. Attitude” – I think I was actually stuck on the freeway. But awards aren’t the reason we’re making music.”

Likewise, the jazz supergroup Fourplay scored a commercial hit with their eponymous 1991 debut album. For Ritenour, the attraction was all about the chemistry between the band members. “The magic was immediate between me, Bob James, Harvey Mason, and Nathan East. You can’t draw that sort of thing up on a chart – it either works or it doesn’t. We did three albums, but then the business got so complicated that I took a pass in 1997. But there was always friendship and musical respect, and we are talking about doing one last reunion project together.”

Respect was palpable, too, when Ritenour made the 2010 album Lee Ritenour’s Six String Theory: an all-star album that drafted many of the famous friends he’d picked up along his path. “In the early days, you could never put country, jazz, rock, and all these styles on the same record. The record companies would say, ‘No, you’ve got to have one theme’. But by 2010, the labels weren’t as powerful as they were, and they were looking for interesting projects. I went to my buddies Steve Lukather, George Benson, and B.B. King, and they all said yes. We opened it up to players like Joe Bonamassa and John Scofield – and everyone played their ass off.”

Collaboration might be a constant, but in a career full of left turns, Dreamcatcher is another thrilling detour for Lee Ritenour. Both by necessity and design, this latest album represents music in its purest form: one man channeling his headspace and the history unfolding around him, using the instrument that has sustained him all these years. There is a first time for everything and there has never been a better time for “Dreamcatcher”. “I’ve never done anything like this before, and it’s an important missing piece in my guitar history. It was inspiring, and it was meant to happen this year, in these times – after a lifetime of playing the guitar,” he considers, “this project reaffirmed just how much I love the guitar.”

Bonus Tracks (Japan release): “More Stories” and “Thank You Dreamcatcher”?

“More Stories... There were a series of songs that I wrote on the Yamaha classical guitar – Via Verde, More Stories, and Dreamcatcher. Some of the harmonies and the way I was interpreting playing solo guitar were somewhat similar to those three songs. So that was the first time where I wanted to make sure there was going to be enough variety on the record. Because even I get tired of great solo guitar albums when they pretty much sound the same. So that was very much the challenge I gave myself. That’s why there are different sounds on the record, the different approaches, and the different compositions – and even a different way of playing sometimes. And then, “Thank You Dreamcatcher” was one of the first songs that I wrote for the record on the baritone guitar. I always liked that song very much… It’s one of my favorite tunes on the record.”