Rit's House

Rit's House

The old Rit is back! His smiling, swaggering guitar-playing alter ego has resurfaced, and he's invited all his friends over for a tumultuous jam, including George Duke, Marcus Miller, and Peter Erskine. Red-hot organist Joey DeFrancesco brings the Wes Montgomery out of Ritenour on the corner of "78th & 3rd," and a killer overhaul of Dave Grusin's movie theme "Three Days of the Condor," re-titled "Condor," is a reminder that Rit was kicking the smooth jazz before they had a name for it. Some beboppers already know that Ritenour is quite capable in that genre, too. In case they've forgotten, he's got Lee Morgan's "Party Time" and Gary McFarland's nice Brazilian piece, "13." Michael McDonald sings a Sting song, and the guitarist's buddy, Ernie Watts is back on sax on "A Little Dolphin Dreamin'," a tune that harkens back to their old fusion days. There's no themes or long-form tributes; everyone is just having a great time and it sounds like it. <I>Rit's House</I> is the guitarist 30th album, but it's the first "real" Lee Ritenour record in a long time. <I>--Mark Ruffin</I>