First Course

First Course is the first studio album released by jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour. The album was released in 1976 on LP by the label Epic Records. It was re-released on CD by Sony Records in 1990.

The album was made at the time that Ritenour was still a session musician, perhaps considered the best of the time in Los Angeles, California next to Larry Carlton.^[1] He drafted friends and peers from Dante's and the Baked Potato club in Studio City, Los Angeles, California to record this "artifact of the early L.A. jazz/funk sound"^[2] Ritenour was worried about creating the album, as he has stated "I was still thinking as a "studio musician", and I was very worried about having my own identity on the guitar, because up until that time my job as a studio musician had been to be a "chameleon" ... it wasn’t until several years later that I felt more comfortable with who I was stylistically."^[1]

Financially, there were issues with the album, since the "sound perplexed studio executives" who were mainly looking for the next Bitches Brew or Return to Forever.^[3] This was melodic rhythm and blues-based jazz that didn't find a home until new wave-type radio stations became mainstream over a decade later.^[3]

1 Track listing
2 Personnel
3 Reception
4 References

[edit] Track listing

All tracks composed by Lee Ritenour; except where indicated

"Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That" — 6:16
"Sweet Syncopation" — 4:47
"Theme from Three Days of the Condor" (Dave Grusin) — 4:08
"Fatback" — 4:18
"Memories Past" — 1:51
"Caterpillar" (Dave Grusin) — 4:21
"Canticle for the Universe" (Jerry Peters) — 6:12
"Wild Rice" — 5:32
"Ohla Maria (Amparo)" (Antonio Carlos Jobim) — 3:50

[edit] Personnel

Lee Ritenour — synthesizer, electric guitar, vocals, classical guitar
Bill Dickinson, Louis Johnson, Chuck Rainey — bass
Chuck Findley — trumpet
Dave Green, Ian Underwood — synthesizer
Ed Greene, Harvey Mason, Sr. — drums
Dave Grusin — organ, synthesizer, piano, clavinet
Larry Nash, Michael Omartian, Jerry Peters, Patrice Rushen — keyboards, clavinet
Jerome Richardson — saxophone (baritone)
Frank Rosolino — trombone
Tom Scott — saxophone (tenor), lyricon
Jerry Steinholtz — percussion, conga
Ernie Watts — saxophone (tenor)

Production:

Ron Coro — art direction, design
Sam Emerson — photography
Mick Haggerty, Tom Steele — design

[edit] Reception

All Music Guide observed Ritenour's hesitance when they said his "identity is still quite diffuse; he knows how to establish a fine rhythm groove but his tone is generic in a mostly rock-oriented vein."^[2] Still, reviewer Richard Ginell comments that the "tracks convey a vicarious energy that lift them above the journeyman level."^[2] PopMatters comments that the tracks "feature a loose, cinematic statement with an original arrangement" that turn into "sleek, after hours anthem[s]."^[3]