Jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour has called pianist-composer Dave Grusin “friend” since he was in his teens. Like their long-standing friendship, their music has ripened and mellowed over time—aglow with a burnished, nuanced give-and-take. Come hear two musical masters at work, with other friends along for the ride.

Presented by the TD James Moody Jazz Festival

Lee Ritenour did his first session work in the late ‘60s with the Mamas and the Papas, who dubbed him “Captain Fingers” for demonstrating incredible dexterity while still in his teens. He earned a GRAMMY Award and 19 GRAMMY nominations, among many other honors, and recorded more than 40 albums, which have produced 35 chart songs. Ritenour’s diverse musical styles and brilliant technical chops have been put to work on more than 3,000 sessions with a broad spectrum of artists.

In a prolific career that spans nearly five decades, Dave Grusin has distinguished himself as a composer, arranger, musician and bandleader, as well as a recording artist with over 25 albums to his credit and the co-founder of the influential jazz label GRP. He is one of America’s premier soundtrack composers, with more than 60 feature film scores to his credit, and was nominated eight times for the Academy Award. He is the subject of Barbara Bentree’s documentary Dave Grusin: Not Enough Time.

Sponsored by The Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers