Wes Bound

Lee Ritenour | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 2, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Grp Records
• ASIN: B0000001SN
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,669 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

LEE RITENOUR Wes Bound (1993 US 10-track CD album complete with fold-out picture sleeve this copy has been boldly AUTOGRAPHED Lee Ritenour 95 on the front of the sleeve in a black marker pen)
** Complete With Certificate Of Authenticity **

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wes Bound: All Roads Lead To Boss City, January 11, 2005

By 

Rebecca*rhapsodyinblue* (CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Wes Bound (Audio CD)

"I think - I hope - I've done justice to Wes without losing my own identity." ~ Lee Ritenour

I've had this CD since 1993 and love it. It was a gift to me along with tickets to watch Lee Ritenour's live concert at the Universal Amphitheatre in the nineties and after listening to the CD and watching the concert, I have included him in my list of favorite guitarists of all-time. This CD topped the Billboard Jazz Chart in 1993 and is a tribute to a great jazz legend, Wes Montgomery, who was the greatest influence Lee Ritenour's guitar playing. Mr. Ritenour's style has been impressively influenced by Brazilian music but retained his own distinctive sound.

This CD consists of ten marvelous tracks in which four are his very own compositions: "Wes Bound," "A Little Bumpin'," "A New Day" and "Ocean Ave." The rest of the tracks are all original compositions of the great Wes Montgomery. Track #5 "Waiting In Vain" was written by Bob Marley and the lead vocal was provided by Maxi Priest.

Some of the highlights for me are the initial/title track "Wes Bound" which has a very contemporary groove, followed by Montgomery's "Boss City" which Ritenour interpreted splendidly with a shuffle style. "Ocean Ave." is also one of the best tracks and has some of the finest musicians backing him up, an incomparable pianist, Alan Broadbent and a skilled drummer and percussionist, Harvey Mason, to name a few.

I especially love track # 4, his own composition "A Little Bumpin'" with my all-time favorite contemporary jazz artist whom I also watched in a live concert, Bob James on piano.

Following are notable quotes from Lee Ritenour about his great jazz legend idol, Mr. Wes Montgomery:

"Intoxicating" is a word Lee Ritenour keeps repeating when he discusses the music of Wes Montgomery, intoxicating to play, and intoxicating to hear."

"Like every guitar player who's arrived on the scene since the sixties, I owe a great debt to Wes Montgomery."

"Wes music is so captivating, it can almost make you forget who you are."

"It amazes me that so many of today's young musicians are not familiar with Wes. I think he should be right up there with Ellington, Armstrong and Miles. So if I can introduce him to some of the younger musicians - jazz, rock, whatever - who don't know who he is, I'll be real happy."

I must admit and I'm sure you'll agree with me that this is guitar playing at its very BEST! I highly recommend this CD to all guitar music enthusiasts.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Tribute, August 9, 2001

By 

Russell Diederich (Littleton, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Wes Bound (Audio CD)

This album was my first exposure to both Lee Ritenour and Wes Montgomery. Who could ask for anything more? Ritenour gives a stunning tribute to one of the greatest jazz guitarists ever to fret a chord. Montgomery always seemed to be playing effortlessly while always keeping the listener entertained by his rhythms and solos.

Ritenour splits the album by covering Montgomery for half the songs and spends the other half composing songs in the style of Montgomery. Ritenour's covers have a bit of artistic freedom as he colors the songs to his own style of playing. This album sounds more like a tribute to Ritenour's hero instead of someone flat out copying the songs note for note.

All of these songs are strictly instrumental (except for "Waiting In Vain", which really doesn't fit in with the other songs of the album). Ritenour's licks are fast, varied and entertaining. He has the classic L5 sound throughout the album that just screams jazz. The backing band gives the album more of a smooth jazz feeling, but Ritenour's playing stands out.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply outstanding..., December 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Wes Bound (Audio CD)

Having first been exposed to Lee Ritenour as an original member of the group "Fourplay," I now consider him among my favorite artists. Of his CDs, this Wes Montgomery tribute is my favorite. In describing Ritenour's feelings towards Montgomery's music, the liner notes open with the word "Intoxicating," and, in fact, that is the precise word I would use to describe this effort. It's been in my collection for about four years, and I can still listen to it for hours on end without tiring. The album has just the right touch of bluesy funk to complement the jazz, and has as much feel as it does sound. If you appreciate hard-hitting jazz guitar, you'll love Wes Bound.

As an aside, "Waiting in Vain" is quite off character in relation to the rest of the album and, therefore, could easily mislead those who recognize it from radio play. Do not let that song deter you.