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Lee Ritenour is probably right to call the guitar the world's most popular musical instrument. It also wouldn't be a stretch to say that the guitar is the world's most misunderstood instrument. Rock music has a lot to do with the guitar being so misunderstood. Genres like classical, Latin, blues, jazz, folk and country all gave the world some wonderful guitar players. Yet when most people think about the guitar - and especially the electric guitar - one genre comes to mind: rock ‘n roll.
That's not surprising considering the way that rock music evolved from its birth in the late 1940s. Soon, the electric guitar supplanted the horn section in most rock bands and guitar players like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page pretty much ensured that the rock guitarist would become the archetypal player of the instrument.
Lee Ritenour is probably right to call the guitar the world's most popular musical instrument. It also wouldn't be a stretch to say that the guitar is the world's most misunderstood instrument. Rock music has a lot to do with the guitar being so misunderstood. Genres like classical, Latin, blues, jazz, folk and country all gave the world some wonderful guitar players. Yet when most people think about the guitar - and especially the electric guitar - one genre comes to mind: rock ‘n roll.
That's not surprising considering the way that rock music evolved from its birth in the late 1940s. Soon, the electric guitar supplanted the horn section in most rock bands and guitar players like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page pretty much ensured that the rock guitarist would become the archetypal player of the instrument.
Ritenour can definitely play rock music. However, he is best known as a jazz and jazz/fusion guitarist. 6 String Theory, his latest project, also reveals Ritenour as a student of the instrument and a fan of some of history's great guitar players in a variety of genres - including rock ‘n roll.
In one sense 6 String Theory is one of those all-star lineup records where a bunch a great instrumentalists get together and perform. Ritenour recruited some legendary guitarists to play on 6 String Theory. That list includes B.B. King. I could just stop there, but that would do a disservice to the range of genres and generations Ritenour assembled for the 6 String Theory project. Here is a partial list of collaborators: George Benson, Steve Lukather, Vince Gill, Keb' Mo', Taj Mahal, Slash, Joey DeFrancesco. A newcomer is classical guitarist Shon Boublil, a teenager who earned his way onto this album with legends by winning Ritenour's 6 String Theory guitar competition.
In a larger sense, Ritenour sees 6 String Theory as a way to remind the public that the guitar is diverse and multi-faceted instrument. The guitar's only limitations are in the hands of the person playing the instrument. In that regard, Ritenour and his collaborators succeed spectacularly. Boublil's rendition of Caprices, Op. 20, No. 2 and 7, Andy McKee's finger work on the acoustic tune "Driftin'" and the slow burning solos on the funk/rock fusion jam "In Your Dreams" speak to the depth of this instrument.
Great song selection and the hands of a unique set of players come together in a way that meets all expectations here. Whether you are a fan of hard driving rock guitar, blues guitar, classical guitar or jazz improv on the guitar, 6 String Theory has something for you. Highly Recommended.
By Howard Dukes