First Course
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First Course
''First Course'' is the debut album by jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour. The album was released on LP by Epic Records in 1976 and on CD by Columbia Records in 1990. Reception ''First Course'' was made when Ritenour was considered the best session musician in Los Angeles next to guitarist Larry Carlton. He recorded the album with peers from Dante's and the Baked Potato club in Studio City, California. AllMusic called the album an "artifact of the early L.A. jazz/funk sound". Ritenour worried about the album. "I was still thinking as a studio musician, and I was very worried about having my own identity on the guitar, because up until that time my job as a studio musician had been to be a 'chameleon'...it wasn't until several years later that I felt more comfortable with who I was stylistically." Financial problems plagued the album because the "sound perplexed studio executives," who were looking for the next ''Bitches Brew'' or ''Return to Forever''. This was melodic rhythm and blue ...
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Lee Ritenour
Lee Mack Ritenour ( ; born January 11, 1952) is an American jazz guitarist who has been active since the late 1960s. Biography Ritenour was born on January 11, 1952, in Los Angeles, California, United States. At the age of eight he started playing guitar and four years later decided on a career in music. When he was 16 he played on his first recording session with the Mamas & the Papas. He developed a love for jazz and was influenced by guitarist Wes Montgomery. At the age of 17 he worked with Lena Horne and Tony Bennett. He studied classical guitar at the University of Southern California. 1976–1988 Ritenour's solo career began with the album ''First Course'' (1976), a good example of the jazz-funk sound of the 1970s, followed by ''Captain Fingers'', ''The Captain's Journey'' (1978), and ''Feel the Night'' (1979). In 1979, he "was brought in to beef up" one of Pink Floyd's ''The Wall''s heaviest rock numbers, "Run Like Hell". He played "uncredited rhythm guitar" on "One of ...
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Fender Rhodes
The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, the hammers strike thin metal tines, which vibrate next to an electromagnetic pickup. The signal is then sent through a cable to an external keyboard amplifier and speaker. The instrument evolved from Rhodes's attempt to manufacture pianos while teaching recovering soldiers during World War II. Development continued after the war and into the following decade. In 1959, Fender began marketing the Piano Bass, a cut-down version; the full-size instrument did not appear until after Fender's sale to CBS in 1965. CBS oversaw mass production of the Rhodes piano in the 1970s, and it was used extensively through the decade, particularly in jazz, pop, and soul music. It was less used in the 1980s because of competition with polyphonic and digital ...
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Ernie Watts
Ernest James Watts (born October 23, 1945) is an American jazz and rhythm and blues saxophonist who plays soprano, alto, and tenor saxophone. He has worked with Charlie Haden's Quartet West and toured with the Rolling Stones. On Frank Zappa's album ''The Grand Wazoo'' he played the "Mystery Horn", a straight-necked C melody saxophone. He played the notable saxophone riff on " The One You Love" by Glenn Frey. Biography Watts was born in Norfolk, Virginia, and began playing saxophone at thirteen. After a brief period at West Chester University, he attended the Berklee College of Music on a ''Down Beat'' magazine scholarship. He toured with Buddy Rich in the late-1960s, occupying one of the alto saxophone chairs. He visited Africa on a U.S. State Department tour with Oliver Nelson's group. For twenty years he played alto saxophone with The Tonight Show Band under Doc Severinsen. He was a featured soloist on many of Marvin Gaye's albums on Motown during the 1970s, as well as on m ...
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Lyricon
The Lyricon is an electronic wind instrument, the first wind controller to be constructed. Invented by Bill Bernardi (and co-engineered by Roger Noble and with the late Lyricon performer Chuck GreenbergIngham (1998) p.184), filed for patent on October 5, 1971, by Computone Inc., patented under #US3767833 October 23, 1973 and then manufactured by Computone Inc. in Massachusetts in the early 1970s. The first lyricon was completed in 1974 with Tom Scott being the first customer for the instrument. The Lyricon was available in two designs, the first being somewhat silver and resembling a soprano saxophone and the latter, black and resembling an alto clarinet. Using a form of additive synthesis, the player was allowed to change between types of overtones with a key switchable between fundamentals of G, Bb, C, Eb, and F (allowing the instrument to be used to play transposed parts written for saxophones, trumpets, etc.) and an octave range that could be switched between low, medium, ...
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Tom Scott (saxophonist)
Thomas Wright Scott (born May 19, 1948) is an American saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He was a member of The Blues Brothers and led the jazz fusion group L.A. Express. Early life, family and education Scott was born in Los Angeles, California, US. He is the son of film and television composer Nathan Scott, who had more than 850 television credits and more than 100 film credits as a composer, orchestrator, and conductor, including the theme songs for '' Dragnet'' and '' Lassie''. Career Tom Scott's career began as a teenager as leader of the jazz ensemble Neoteric Trio and the band Men of Note. After that, he worked as a session musician. In 1970, Quincy Jones said of him: "Tom Scott, the saxophonist; he's 21, and out of sight! Plays any idiom you can name, and blows like crazy on half a dozen horns." Scott wrote the theme songs for the television shows '' Starsky and Hutch'' and ''The Streets of San Francisco''. In 1974, with the L.A. Express he composed the score for th ...
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Conga
The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). Congas were originally used in Afro-Cuban music genres such as conga (hence their name) and rumba, where each drummer would play a single drum. Following numerous innovations in conga drumming and construction during the mid-20th century, as well as its internationalization, it became increasingly common for drummers to play two or three drums. Congas have become a popular instrument in many forms of Latin music such as son (when played by conjuntos), descarga, Afro-Cuban jazz, salsa, songo, merengue and Latin rock. Although the exact origins of the conga drum are unknown, researchers agree that it was developed by Cuban people of African descent during the late 19th century or early 20th century. Its direct ancestors are thought to be ...
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Ed Greene
Ed Greene is an American drummer and session musician. In 1971 he recorded with Donald Byrd (''Ethiopian Knights'', 1972), together with Thurman Green, Harold Land, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Sample, Bobbye Porter Hall, David T. Walker, and Wilton Felder, among others. Greene has also recorded with Barry White, Stanley Turrentine, Richard Cook (journalist), Cook, Richard, Brian Morton (Scottish writer), Brian Morton''The Penguin Guide to Jazz on Compact Disc'', p. 1495.At Google Books. Retrieved 5 January 2022. B.B. King, Ramsey Lewis, Dizzy Gillespie, Steely Dan,Don Breithaupt, Breithaupt, Don''Steely Dan's Aja'', pp. 56, 103. A&C Black, 2007. ISBN 0826427839, 9780826427830.At Google Books. Retrieved 5 January 2022. Bobby "Blue" Bland, Phoebe Snow, Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye, among others. Greene was Barry White's drummer on recording sessions, and he played on many of White's biggest hits, including his 1973 hit "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby". Partial discography ...
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Harvey Mason
Harvey William Mason (born February 22, 1947) is an American jazz drummer, record producer, and member of the band Fourplay. Mason, who attended Berklee in the 1960s, received an Honorary Doctorate at Berklee's 2015 Commencement Ceremony for his achievement and influence in music and for his enduring contributions to American and international culture. Life and career Mason was born and grew up in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States, and attended Atlantic City High School. He began playing drums at the age of four with the support of his father, a drummer in the army band. Equipment Mason endorses Canopus drums, Murat Diril cymbals, Remo drumheads, DW pedals, and Vic Firth drumsticks. Mason has his own Vic Firth Harvey Mason signature drumstick and Vic Firth Harvey Mason Chameleon signature drumstick. Discography As leader With Fourplay As sideman With Arthur Adams * ''I Love Love Love My Lady'' (A&M, 1979) With Christina Aguilera * ''My Kind of Chris ...
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Chuck Rainey
Charles Walter Rainey III (born June 17, 1940) is an American bass guitarist who has performed and recorded with many well-known acts, including Aretha Franklin, Steely Dan, and Quincy Jones. Rainey is credited for playing bass on more than 1,000 albums, and is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of recorded music. Early life Rainey was born in Cleveland, Ohio on June 17, 1940, and grew up in Youngstown. His parents were both amateur pianists. He learned piano, violin, and trumpet as a child and majored in brass instruments in college. He attended Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee. Rainey began playing bass guitar in the military. Career After leaving the military, Rainey joined a local band. His first big professional gig was playing with Big Jay McNeely. He then joined up with Sil Austin to tour Canada and New York. In 1962, Rainey joined King Curtis and his All-Star band; in 1965, they opened for The Beatles' 1965 US tour. He joined Quincy Jones's big ba ...
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Louis Johnson (bassist)
Louis Johnson (April 13, 1955 – May 21, 2015) was an American bass guitarist. Johnson was best known for his work with the group the Brothers Johnson and his session playing on several hit albums of the 1970s and 1980s, including the best-selling album of all time, Michael Jackson's ''Thriller''. His signature sound came from the Music Man StingRay bass guitar, which Leo Fender made for him, and from his slapping technique. He is ranked number 38 on ''Bass Player'' magazine's list of "the 100 Greatest Bass Players of All Time". Biography His work appears on many well-known records by prominent artists. Johnson played on Michael Jackson's albums ''Off the Wall'', ''Thriller'' and '' Dangerous'', and hit songs "Billie Jean" and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". He also played on George Benson's '' Give Me the Night''. He was one of three bassists on Herb Alpert's 1979 album ''Rise'', which included its top-10, Grammy-winning disco/jazz title-track. Due to his distinctive sty ...
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Patrice Rushen
Patrice Louise Rushen (born September 30, 1954) is an American jazz pianist and R&B singer. She is also a composer, record producer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and music director. Her 1982 single "Forget Me Nots" received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. The instrumental "Number One" from her album '' Straight from the Heart'' earned an additional Grammy nomination for best instrumental. Her 12th album ''Signature'' also received a Grammy nomination for best instrumental in 1998. Rushen also serves as an ambassador for artistry in education at the Berklee College of Music and the chair of the popular music program at the USC Thornton School of Music. Biography Rushen is the elder of two daughters born to Allen and Ruth Rushen. Patrice was three years old when she began playing the piano, and by the time she was six, she was giving classical recitals. In her teens, she attended Locke High School and later earned a degree in music from ...
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Ian Underwood
Ian Robertson Underwood (born May 22, 1939) is a woodwind and keyboards player, known for his work with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. Biography Underwood graduated from The Choate School in 1957 and Yale University with a bachelor's degree in composition in 1961 and a master's degree in composition at UC Berkeley in 1966. He began his career by playing San Francisco Bay Area coffeehouses and bars with his improvisational group, the Jazz Mice, in the mid-1960s before he became a member of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention in 1967 for their third studio album, ''We're Only in It for the Money''. He speaks on ''Uncle Meat''; on the track "Ian Underwood Whips It Out" he relates how he first met Zappa and demonstrated his capabilities on the saxophone at Zappa's invitation. Underwood later worked with Frank Zappa on his solo recordings, including 1969's '' Hot Rats''. He married Ruth Komanoff (Underwood), marimbist/percussionist from the Mothers of Invention in Ma ...
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