Lee Ritenour & Dave Grusin - Amparo (2008)

I picked this CD up from the clearance bin simply because I saw the names Ritenour and Grusin. If I had bothered to check the track listing, I might have seen that it was a classical crossover disc and taken a pass. I didn't, so here we go. There's no doubt this is technically brilliant, just not my thing. In fact, the only classical crossover album that I enjoy hearing is Romances for Saxophone by Branford Marsalis and I haven't even listened to that since 2010. So I'll just say to Lee and Dave, "It's not you, it's me."

Track two, Danzón de Entiqueta, was nominated for the Best Instrumental Composition Grammy award, eventually losing to a John Williams original from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart
Peak on the US Billboard Top Classical Crossover Albums chart: #10

Tracks:

1. Tango en Parque Central (Grusin)
2. Danzón de Entiqueta (Grusin)
3. Jeropo Peligroso (Grusin)
4. Pavane, Op. 50 (Gabriel Fauré) featuring Renée Fleming & Joshua Bell
5. My Bonny Boy from English Folk Song Suite (Ralph Vaughan Williams)
6. Since First I Saw Your Face (anonymous, 17^th century) featuring James Taylor
7. Olha Maria (Amparo) (Antônio Carlos Jobim) featuring Joshua Bell
8. Les entrentiens de la Belle et de la Bête from Mother Goose Suite (Maurice Ravel)
9. Échos (Ritenour)
10. Adagio in G minor (Tomaso Albinoni) featuring Chris Botti
11. Duetto: Scherzano sul tuo volto from Rinaldo (George Frederick Handel) featuring Renée Fleming & Chris Botti

Sadly, the only piece I enjoy is track 9, the Ritenour original Échos. If you're familiar with Grusin's film soundtrack work, you'll like his opening suite. I had high hopes for the Fauré and Jobim pieces as well as the James Taylor collaboration but no.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Rit's House (2002)
This Is Love (1998)
Larry & Lee (1995)
Stolen Moments (1990)
Collection (1989)
Festival (1988)
Harlequin (1985)
On The Line (1983)
Out Of The Shadows (1982)
"Rit" (1981)
Rio (1979)