Smooth operator: A profile of American guitarist Lee Ritenour
One of the most versatile and gifted exponents of jazz guitar, Lee Ritenour is in his element when playing live, writes Robin Lynam
He played his first session in the late 1960s at the age of just 16 when he was invited to participate in a session with folk-rock favourites The Mamas and the Papas.
He found that he was in his element, and offers of work flooded in. By the time he'd turned 18, he was playing backup guitar for Tony Bennett and Lena Horne, and during the '70s he became one of the group of elite "first call" players working in the recording studios of Los Angeles.
Ritenour is estimated to have played on more than 3,000 sessions, for artists ranging from Simon and Garfunkel to Frank Sinatra.
In an indication of his versatility as a guitarist, he has recorded with demanding jazz artists, including Sonny Rollins and Dizzy Gillespie, and in 1979 his guitar work was featured on Pink Floyd's The Wall.
By the '80s he was becoming more focused on his career as a solo artist, which began with 1976's First Course. On that album he worked with his friend composer, arranger and pianist Dave Grusin, and they jointly pioneered the style known today as smooth jazz.