VOA标准英语2010年-Lee Ritenour Gets a Little Help From H

Grammy-winning jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour gets a little help from his friends, namely some of the world's greatest guitar players, on his new album, "6 String Theory."  Lee's all-star showcase is a celebration of the instrument he mastered more than a half-century ago.

 

Lee Ritenour first learned to play guitar at age eight, and by 16, he was recording¹ with '60's pop stars The Mamas and The Papas.  His prolific² studio work commanded thousands of sessions with the best from jazz, rock, pop and blues³, and his dexterity⁴ on the guitar earned him the nickname "Captain Fingers."

Now 58, Lee is the master of ceremonies on "6 String Theory," working as producer, arranger, composer and performer alongside everyone from Robert Cray and Vince Gill, to Pat Martino, B.B. King and John Scofield.  There's also appearances by bluesmen Johnny Lang, Taj Mahal  and Keb' Mo'; rockers Neal Schon, Joe Bonamassa and Slash⁵; and up-and-coming guitarists Andy McKee, Joe Robinson and Shon Boublil.  Earlier this year, Shon won the Grand Prize at Lee Ritenour's Six String Theory International Guitar Competition.

Lee himself only plays on three of the tracks, saying he wanted to focus on the guitar's unlimited⁶ possibilities.

"The guitar is the most evolutionary⁷ instrument on the planet.  There's no doubt about it.  In the hands of Segovia, the great classical guitarist, or in the hands of Jimi Hendrix, it's still the guitar, but it's totally different.  So, I wanted everyone to be able to listen to this album [and] make sure that it was musical; and [I] somehow ran [the tracks] together [so] that it was not a hodgepodge of music.  And, it isn't.  When you listen to the music it kind of evolves from one step to the next.  If you listen to the whole album it takes you on a journey, but it's the guitar journey," he said.

When it comes to jazz guitar one of the first names on Lee's wish list was George Benson.

"I wanted George to play some be-bop on this album.  He's so well known for his contemporary jazz and 'smooth' jazz and vocals⁸, but what I really wanted him to do was stretch out and be the legendary⁹ Gorge¹⁰ Benson we all know that just 'eats the guitar alive,'" he said.

"I kind of pride myself on being a good producer, arranger and orchestrator, and I'm such a fan of the guitar and I know guitar styles so well; the jazz sound, the rock sound, the blues sound, the classical sound, that I think I was able to put it together the right way," said Ritenour.

Lee Ritenour's upcoming tour includes stops in Japan, Turkey, Ukraine, Holland, Ireland and England.
 

1 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

2 prolific   

adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的

参考例句：

• She is a prolific writer of novels and short stories.她是一位多产的作家，写了很多小说和短篇故事。
• The last few pages of the document are prolific of mistakes.这个文件的最后几页错误很多。

3 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

4 dexterity   

n.(手的)灵巧，灵活

参考例句：

• You need manual dexterity to be good at video games.玩好电子游戏手要灵巧。
• I'm your inferior in manual dexterity.论手巧，我不如你。

5 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

6 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

7 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

8 vocals   

（乐曲中的）歌唱部份，声乐部份( vocal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Also look out for soaring vocals on The Right Man. 另外，也可留意一下《意中人》中的那高亢的唱腔。
• Lazy bass line, lazier drums, lush violins, great piano and incomparable vocals. 懒惰的低音线，较懒惰的鼓，饮小提琴，棒的钢琴和无比的声音。

9 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

10 gorge   

n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃

参考例句：

• East of the gorge leveled out.峡谷东面地势变得平坦起来。
• It made my gorge rise to hear the news.这消息令我作呕。