Lee Ritenour - Festival (1988)

This was Ritenour's second album on acoustic guitar, and, as such, it's more or less a sequel to 1979's Rio. This is one of those rare cases where the sequel is better than the original. The most obvious difference is the inclusion of Portuguese vocals on three of the nine tracks, provided by MPB veterans João Bosco and Caetano Veloso. Ritenour put together an all-star crew for his backing band here: Ernie Watts on saxophone, Dave Grusin or Bob James on keyboards, Marcus Miller or Anthony Jackson on bass, Omar Hakim on drums, and Paulinho Da Costa and Carlinhos Brown on percussion. If you're looking for highly polished, Latin-favored jazz featuring acoustic guitar, you could do much worse. I find it, along with Rio, a very relaxing pairing.

Reviews/ratings:

• Stereo Review: "One of his best"
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #156
• Billboard Contemporary Jazz: #3
• CashBox Contemporary Jazz: #2

Tracks: For me, the better tracks are Night Rhythms, Waiting For You, Linda, and The Inner Look. Rio Sol and New York/Brazil, while somewhat enjoyable, are the only tracks that sound dated.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Larry & Lee (1995)
On The Line (1983)
Rio (1979)