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Lee Ritenour: 6 String Theory

By John Kelman
August 31, 2010
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The very gift that makes a session musician great can also be a curse. Oftentimes expected to be chameleon-like, it's that very act of becoming a credible musical shape-shifter that can sometimes lead to a loss of individuality. Lee Ritenour is a consummate and complete guitarist if ever there was one; his varied discography supporting a seemingly insatiable appetite for anything to do with the six-stringed instrument and all its variations. Often (and, in many cases, unfairly) linked too heavily with a genre that he helped formulate in the mid-to-late 1970s through his own "fusion lite" albums like Captain Fingers (Epic, 1977), to call Ritenour a smooth jazz guitarist would be unfairly exclusionary, as 6 String Theory proves in spades.

Not that there's anything wrong with smooth, but there's none to be found amidst 6 String Theory's multiplicity of styles, all-star guests and a cohesion surprising for an album so eclectic. Instead, Ritenour goes for the throat with some down-and-dirty blues ("Give Me One Reason," featuring guitar slingers/blues belters

Robert Cray

guitar, electric
b.1953

" data-original-title="" title="">Robert Cray and

Joe Bonamassa

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Bonamassa) and mainstream jazz (the incendiary "L.P.," with Ritenour joined by straight-ahead hero

Pat Martino

guitar
1944 - 2021

" data-original-title="" title="">Pat Martino and organist

Joey DeFrancesco

organ, Hammond B3
1971 - 2022

" data-original-title="" title="">Joey DeFrancesco, and a swinging "Moon River," with the equally mislabelled

George Benson

guitar
b.1943

" data-original-title="" title="">George Benson in full-out bop mode). There's some pedal-to-the-metal guitar pyrotechnics when

Steve Lukather

guitar
b.1957

" data-original-title="" title="">Steve Lukather,

Neal Schon

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Neal Schon and Slash get together for the high octane shuffle of "'68'"; a classier blues, "Why I Sing the Blues," where elder statesman

B.B. King

guitar, electric
1925 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">B.B. King is joined by relative youngsters

Keb' Mo'

guitar
b.1951

" data-original-title="" title="">Keb' Mo', Jonny Lang and Vince Gill, who not only turns in a searing solo, but as impassioned a vocal turn as his partners. And just to prove he still can do it, there's a nod to

Jeff Beck

guitar
1944 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Jeff Beck on Max Middleton's classic boogie, "Freeway Jam," where Ritenour tears it up with

Mike Stern

guitar
b.1953

" data-original-title="" title="">Mike Stern and Japanese guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei, supported by legendary British drummer

Simon Phillips

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Simon Phillips.

There are also nods to the acoustic side with guest steel-stringers

Joe Robinson

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Robinson and

Andy McKee

guitar
b.1953

" data-original-title="" title="">Andy McKee. A guitar competition as well as a CD, 6 String Theory closes with its winner, classical guitarist Shon Boubil, performing two Legnani "Caprices."

The entire set kicks off with Ritenour's funky "Lay It Down," capably sharing the bill with contemporary

John Scofield

guitar
b.1951

" data-original-title="" title="">John Scofield. As well as Ritenour plays here and throughout 6 String Theory—humbly leaving more than ample room for his guests as he appears, in fact, on only eight of the album's fifteen tracks and never dominates—it highlights the disc's one and only flaw: Ritenour plays undeniably well throughout, but it's the very strength of the voices around him that highlights his own lack of one. It's hard to criticize a player so accomplished and so diverse, but while many of his guests will be remembered for their distinctive musical personalities, it's far more likely that Ritenour's legacy will be as an exceptionally talented chameleon, capable of fitting into any context—not, by any means, a shabby accomplishment, however, and especially when the result is as thoroughly enjoyable as 6 String Theory.

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Track Listing

Lay It Down; Am I Wrong; L.P. (for Les Paul); Give Me One Reason; "68"; In Your Dreams; My One and Only Love; Moon River; Why I Sing the Blues;] Daddy Longlegs; Shape of My Heart; Drifting; Freeway Jam; Fives; Caprice, Op. 20, No. 2 and 7.

Personnel

Lee Ritenour

guitar

Lee Ritenour: guitar (1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 12, 13), nylon string electric guitar (11), arrangement (1-3, 6, 9, 11-13); John Scofield: guitar (1); Harvey Mason: drums (1, 2, 9); Melvin Lee Davis: bass (1, 13); Larry Goldings: organ (1, 5, 14), Fender Rhodes (2, 9), clavinet (2), Wurlitzer (4); Nathan East: bass (2, 9); Keb' Mo': guitar (2, 9), vocals (2, 9), arrangement (2, 9); Taj Mahal: guitar (2), vocals (2); Will Kennedy: drums (3, 8, 11); Pat Martino: guitar (3); Joey DeFrancesco: organ (3, 8); Joe Bonamassa: guitar (4), vocals (4), arrangement (4); Robert Cray: guitar (4), vocals (4); Vinnie Colaiuta: drums (4-6, 14); Tal Wilkenfeld: bass (4-6, 14); Steve Lukather: guitar (5, 6, 11), arrangement (5, 6, 11); Neal Schon: guitar (5, 6); Slash: guitar (5); George Benson: guitar (7, 8), arrangement (7, 8); B.B. King: guitar (9), vocals (9); Vince Gill: guitar (9), vocals (9); Jonny Lang: guitar (9), vocals (9); Joe Robinson: guitar (10), arrangement (10); Andy McKee: steel string acoustic guitar (11), guitar (12), arrangement (12); Paulinho Da Costa: percussion (11, 12); Jimmy Johnson: bass (11, 12); John Beasley: keyboards (11, 12), Fender Rhodes (13); Mike Stern: guitar (13); Simon Phillips: drums (13); Tomoyasu Hotei: guitar (13); Guthrie Govan: guitar (14), arrangement (14); Shon Boublil: guitar (15).

Album information

Title: 6 String Theory | Year Released: 2010 | Record Label: Concord Music Group

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