First Course

A "first course" in cookery refers to an entrée.
First Course
Studio album by Lee Ritenour
Released 1976
Recorded October 3, 1975 - October 15, 1975 at The Sound Labs, Hollywood, California
Genre Crossover jazz, jazz pop
Length 41:15
Label Epic Records (1976)
Columbia Records (1990)
Producer Skip Drinkwater
Lee Ritenour chronology

First Course
(1976)
Gentle Thoughts
(1977)

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 Columbia Records in 1990.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]

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.[2] 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"[3] 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."[2]

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.[4] 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.[4]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Lee Ritenour; except where indicated

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

Personnel

External links

References

  1. Ginell, Richard S.. Lee Ritenour: First Course > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 08 September 2011.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Willie G. Moseley. "...Rit on the Right". Archived from the original on 2006-12-31. Retrieved 2007-06-05.
  3. Richard S. Ginell. "First Course at Allmusic". Retrieved 2007-06-05.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Review of The Best of Lee Ritenour". October 23, 2003. Retrieved 2007-06-05.