Talking to guitarist: Lee Ritenour meets the press
By Paul W. Blair
JAKARTA (JP): Guitarist Lee Ritenour is quite capable of drawing a crowd of Jakarta reporters and photographers to a press conference at nine o'clock in the evening. He's also seemingly unruffled by off-the-wall questions touching on non-musical matters.
"What kind of car do you drive?" asked one writer from a local automotive magazine.
"I like any car that's cheap," Ritenour responded, "so that I can spend the extra money on recording equipment."
Ritenour is back in Indonesia for a series of appearances with a group that includes saxophonist Ernie Watts and singer Phil Perry. The ensemble will be performing at Jamz in Jakarta for four evenings (tonight through Saturday), then moving on for two nights each at Jamz/Bandung (Sept. 20-21) and Jamz/Surabaya (Sept. 23-24).
Several of the questions at Monday's press get together concerned a jazz guitar player not present: the late Wes Montgomery, whom Ritenour acknowledges as his primary influence and inspiration.
"When I was 12 or 13 years old and growing up in the Los Angeles area, my father took me out to the old club called The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach to hear Wes. I was absolutely amazed at what he was doing. He was playing things that were quite astounding technically, yet he was always so soulful, so musical. And all the while, he appeared totally relaxed!
"Around that time, I got myself a Gibson L-5 guitar that had been made in 1949. It was the same model that Wes used -- and that's the guitar I grew up with. In fact, I used it in recording parts of my last two solo records, Stolen Moments and Wes Bound. I brought it to Indonesia with me this time because I'll being doing some of the tunes from those albums here."
The stylistic influence of Montgomery (who died in 1968) is apparent on both albums, particularly Wes Bound. Montgomery used his thumb, often at blinding tempos, in lieu of a pick and tended to solo in octaves. Several of his compositions have become jazz standards frequently recorded by other musicians. Two of them, Four on Six and West Coast Blues, appear on Wes Bound. Many of the classic late 50s and early 60s Montgomery albums are available locally on cassette, as are those of Joe Pass, another of Ritenour's heroes and one of his former teachers.
"Is there a new generation of good jazz players in America?" asked another journalist, "And if there is, why didn't you bring some of those players to Indonesia with you?"
"Why would I bring the new generation when I'm already playing with the best generation?" retorted Ritenour.
"Why would he want to play with guys trying to sound like us when he can play with us?" added Watts with a grin.
What advice would Watts give to young Indonesian jazz musicians who want to improve their playing?
"Based on my having heard Indonesian musicians during past visits here, I'd emphasize this: do a lot of listening and don't just pay attention to what's going on now. Listen to the heritage of jazz. Pay attention to the masters like Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Oscar Peterson, people like that. Then add your own culture and your own individual experiences to it, your playing will have a really solid foundation."