SFJAZZ is excited to partner with Diablo Regional Arts Association and the Lesher Center Presents Headliners series on its first ever season of concert events in Contra Costa County. Curated by SFJAZZ this thrilling line-up of internationally recognized jazz artists launches its inaugural residence at Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts during the 2025-26 Season.
Also joining the band will be Melvin Davis on bass, Wesley Ritenour on drums, and Otmaro Ruiz on keys.
ABOUT LEE RITENOUR
Known widely as “Captain Fingers,” a moniker he earned for his remarkable dexterity and musicianship, GRAMMY-winning guitar hero Lee Ritenour began his sparkling career as a solo artist and bandleader at the height of the jazz fusion era of the mid-1970s.
Still a teenage phenom when performing with the likes of Tony Bennett and Lena Horne, Ritenour made waves on the L.A. studio circuit and released his debut First Course in 1976, the first of 35 albums for the Elektra, GRP, and Concord labels including the career highlights Captain Fingers (1977), Rit (1981), Harlequin (1985), Festival (1988), and 6 String Theory (2010).
Ritenour was a founding member of the fusion supergroup Fourplay and has contributed to the music of Patti Austin, Pink Floyd, George Benson, Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, Natalie Cole, Joe Henderson, Steely Dan, Barbra Streisand, and Dizzy Gillespie, among dozens of others.
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SFJAZZ is excited to partner with Diablo Regional Arts Association and the Lesher Center Presents Headliners series on its first ever season of concert events in Contra Costa County. Curated by SFJAZZ this thrilling line-up of internationally recognized jazz artists launches its inaugural residence at Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts during the 2025-26 Season.
Also joining the band will be Melvin Davis on bass, Wesley Ritenour on drums, and Otmaro Ruiz on keys.
ABOUT LEE RITENOUR
Known widely as “Captain Fingers,” a moniker he earned for his remarkable dexterity and musicianship, GRAMMY-winning guitar hero Lee Ritenour began his sparkling career as a solo artist and bandleader at the height of the jazz fusion era of the mid-1970s.
Still a teenage phenom when performing with the likes of Tony Bennett and Lena Horne, Ritenour made waves on the L.A. studio circuit and released his debut First Course in 1976, the first of 35 albums for the Elektra, GRP, and Concord labels including the career highlights Captain Fingers (1977), Rit (1981), Harlequin (1985), Festival (1988), and 6 String Theory (2010).
Ritenour was a founding member of the fusion supergroup Fourplay and has contributed to the music of Patti Austin, Pink Floyd, George Benson, Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, Natalie Cole, Joe Henderson, Steely Dan, Barbra Streisand, and Dizzy Gillespie, among dozens of others.
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