It's hard to believe that 2010 marked 50 years since Lee Ritenour starting playing the guitar, setting in motion a career that legends are made of. Highlights of this career include 19 Grammy nominations, a Grammy Award, numerous No. 1 spots on guitar polls, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian SJ Awards, and the prestigious Alumnus of the Year award from USC. He has recorded over 40 albums and charted 35 songs, and he was a founding member of the group Fourplay, considered the most successful band in contemporary jazz.

As a young guitarist, Ritenour's diverse musical style became the foundation of over 3,000 sessions covering a broad spectrum of artists, ranging from his first session at 16 with the Mamas and Papas to Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Simon & Garfunkel, and Frank Sinatra. Of course, one can't forget the dazzling array of talent appearing on his solo works and collaborations, including his legendary work with Dave Grusin, Phil Collins, Brazilian greats Ivan Lins, Caetano Veloso, and Djavan, and opera great Renee Fleming.

On his latest endeavor, 6 String Theory (2010), Ritenour celebrates the instrument that has allowed him the blessing of his tremendous career - the guitar - by producing and assembling a star-studded tribute with 20 (including himself) of the greatest and soon-to-be greatest guitarists of our time. Incorporating all of his history, from jazz and classical to rock and blues, from acoustic to electric and back again, 6 String Theory is certainly one of greatest guitar recordings ever made.

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