Color Rit

Composer: Luis Gonzaga Jr.
Personnel: Lee Ritenour (acoustic guitar); Phil Perry (vocals, background vocals); Gonzaguinha , Gracinha Leporace, Kate Markowitz (vocals); Oscar Castro-Neves (acoustic guitar); Anthony Jackson (contra guitar); Larry Williams (flute, saxophone, keyboards); Ernie Watts (tenor saxophone); Jerry Hey (trumpet); David Witham (piano, keyboards, synthesizer, midi piano); Russell Ferrante (keyboards, synthesizer); Bob Wilson , Carlos Vega (drums); Paulinho Da Costa (percussion).
Audio Mixer: Don Murray .
Recording information: A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA; Bahia, Brazil, City of Salvador; Starlight Studio, Malibu, CA.
Unknown Contributor Roles: Johnny Mandel; Anthony Jackson; Kevin Dixon.
Arranger: Lee Ritenour .
Color Rit begins right where Festival left off, with Brazilian-flavored electric jazz and Rit handling the acoustic guitar, but soon veers closer to a more generic L.A.-based series of sounds and textures. Ritenour adds electric guitar to several tracks, although the acoustic instrument dominates the album. Ernie Watts is back on a couple of cuts, but the bulk of the backup is provided by the likes of keyboardists Dave Witham, Larry Williams and Russ Ferrante, bassist Jimmy Johnson, percussionist Paulinho Da Costa and drummer Carlos Vega. "All the Same Tonight," "Malibu" and "I Can't Let Go," with vocals by Phil Perry, thankfully don't sound quite as commercial as previous attempts on earlier Ritenour albums. Yet this CD represents a slight dip for Ritenour at a stage in his career when his albums were gradually becoming classier and more musical. ~ Richard S. Ginell