Larry and Lee

Lee Ritenour

and Larry Carlton

Considering Lee Ritenour and Larry Carlton's well-deserved reputations as two of the most skilled and versatile guitarists in contemporary music, it's not surprising that their first album together Larry&Lee , is a richly satisfying affair.

But what is perhaps most notable about the 11 finely crafted and performed songs on this all-instrumental outing isn't what you hear. Thankfully absent are any showboating solos, tedious pyrotechnical displays or the jarring clashesof inflated egos that have transformed too many other collaborations by big-name guitarists into empty execises in digital doodling.

Larry&Lee instead offers such welcome qualities as subtlety, sensitivity, sophistication and a finely wroughtblend of fire and finesse, dashing elegance and vibrant soulfulness. The empathetic musical rapport achieved throughout by these two guitar masters is a testament to their mutual respect for each other; an attribute not alwaysevident in collaborations by solo artists at the top of their field.

„What we wanted to avoid was a lot of grandstanding and showing off our chops, per se," Ritenour noted. „We also wanted to bring a variety of material that could showcase our playing in the jazz, pop and rock sense of showcasing different textures with different guitars."

Carlton agrred, adding „I never doubted it would work. This is like a gift to our listeners, especially the guitar playerswho are fans of both of ours. Lee's fans and my fansare going to love hearing us playing side by side. I hope it's a special treat for them."

But Larry&Lee, which was co-produced by it's namesakes, is more than just a welcome gift for longtime fans. It should appeal equally to all music lovers who value compositional ingenuity and deft instrumental interplay that never sacifises musicality or opassion for pomp and circumstance.

That musicality is evident from the beginning of the alternatly moods and buoynat Ritenour-penned opening track, Croostown Kids, to the last shimmering notes of Reflection of a Guitar Player , the Carlton number which closes the album. Backed by an all-star cast that is anchored by bassist Melvin Davis and alternating drummers Omar Hakim and Harvey Mason (the later one of Ritenour's partners in Fourplay, a long with Bob James and Nathan East), the two guitarists are by turns supple and seductive, bluesly and biting, poignant and playful. And when they cut loose, which is often, their guitar work is always tasteful and imaginative, never flashy or predictable.

Not surprisingly, highlights abound, from the percolating funk of Take That and the

lilting textures of After the Rain, both written by Ritenour, to the finely nuanced acoustic guitar reveriesof Lots about Nothin' and the lively Joe Pass tribute Remembering J.P., both by Carlton (who nearly left college in the 1960's to replace Pass in pianist George Shearing's quintet). Then there's the neatly embroidered guitar parts of Carlton's Closed Door Jam and the fleet, Wes Montgomery-inspired octave work on Ritenour's snappy L.A. Underground, which features a drum and organ sample from Ritenour's acclaimed 1993 Wes Bound album.

All told, Larry & Lee features five songs by each guitarist and one credited to both (Ritenour's Low Steppin', which is built around a sample of the intro to „High Steppin'" from Carlton's 1982 Alone But Never Alone album). Intriguingly, Larry & Lee marks the first official pairing of two heralded guitarists whose intertwining pahts have only rarely met over the years.

Ritenour, 42, and Carlton, 47, were both born and raised in the Los Angeles area. Each displayed prodigious musical skills at an early age and shared an early affinity for such as for blues legend B.B. King and various six-stringed rock innovators. Both studied with the same classical guitar teacher in the late `60s before rising to prominence playing the same guitar model, a Gibson 335.

„I'd heard about Larry ever since I was 14," Ritenour recalled. „I always admired his playing, but there was always a little wariness. Because he was the young hotshot and I was the kid on his tail." Indeed, both began doing studio dates while still in their teens. By the time they were in their twenties, the demand for each was so great they were playing three sessions a day, five days a week, and commanding triple-scale rates. Their first solo albums followed soon thereafter, although both continued their hectic studio session schedules well into the ´70s.

Carlton, a two-time Grammy Award winner, was prominently featured on landmark albums by Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan and The Crusaders, the pioneering jazz/funk/rock fusion band he was a member of from 1972 to 1976. Fellow Grammy winner Ritenour played a key role on albums by Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock and Pink Floyd (that's him all over The Wall). The two guitarists have also been individually showcased on hundreds of other albums by artists as varied as Sonny Rollings, Michael Jackson, John Lennon, Oliver Nelson and Barbra Streisand, with whom they have both collaborated. (For the record, the only album both men remember playing on at the same time was Paul Anka's otherwise forgotten 1976 release, The Painter.)

Between them, the two have made nearly three-dozen albums, including such hits as Carlton's acoustic tour de force Alone But Never Alone and Ritenour's Brazilian-themed 1988 album Festival. The long-overdue Larry & Lee comes after earlier attempts to pair them were stymied by conflicting schedules and the fact that each recorded for competing labels. With both now on the GRP roster, their anticipated musical union has finally become a fruitful reality.

„I'm happy with the outcome," Carlton affirmed. „This was a project I'm glad I did, because it needed to be done. It seems every time we said, ´Let's do this, this and this,' it worked. Somebody would make a decision and it would sound great, and the majority of it was unspoken. I've heard Lee's records over the years and I've always admired the way they're put together and his production values." „For the most part, the interaction was very natural," Ritenour agreed. „For years and years people would tell me we were so similar, and I didn't think so, although I love Larry's style and the way he plays and writes. But making this album, I realized we are quite different from each other.

I think we pulled it off where there's a nice balance."

That balance can only improve when these two guitar stars take to the road this summer for an extended joint tour, a trek that could well show Larry & Lee is just the beginning of a fruitful relationship whose rewards are yet to be realized.

George Varga.