Two Worlds

Performer: Dave Grusin
Artist: Renée Fleming; Gil Shaham; Julian Lloyd Webber; James Walker
Producer: Dave Grusin; Lee Ritenour
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel includes: Lee Ritenour (guitar); Dave Grusin (piano); Renee Fleming (vocals); Gil Shaham, Ralph Morrison, Margaret Batjer (violin); Roland Kato, Karen Elaine Bakunin, Carole Castillo (viola); Julian Lloyd Webber, Steve Erdody, Cecilia Tsan, Christina Soule (cello); James Walker (flute); Ed Meares, Tom Kennedy (bass); Alex Acuna (drums, percussion); Luis Conte (percussion). Engineers include: Don Murray. Recorded at Starlight Studio, Los Angeles, California; Capitol Records Studios, Hollywood, California; Avatar Studio, New York, New York between December 1999 and June 2000. Includes liner notes by Chris Roberts and Albert Imperato. Forging a unique creative relationship, Lee Ritenour and Dave Grusin's mutual professional history extends back some two decades. Ritenour was a core artist on Grusin's label, GRP, throughout the 1980s and early '90s; in 1986, they first collaborated on the Grammy Award winning Harlequin, a critically-acclaimed, Brazilian-themed recording. Ritenour also appeared on many of the pianist/composer's film scores and solo recordings, and the two jammed together on GRP Super Live in 1987. Two Worlds, the classical-oriented labor of love that reunites the two legends, is more than simply a beautiful creative departure from their usual jazz-oriented projects. A blend of original compositions and respectful reworkings of timeless classics from Bach, Bartok, Villalobos, Mompov, and Segovia, the collection -- which features stellar guest performances by opera star Renee Fleming, violinist Gil Shaham, and cellist Julian Lloyd-Webber -- finds Ritenour and Grusin joyously reconnecting with their rich classical roots. Among the highlights are the lush, highly percussive Vivaldi/Bach piece "Bach Concerto, featuring a twenty-piece string section; "Bachianas Aria," a piece from Brazilian composer Villalobos, provides a showcase for opera diva Renee Fleming. As for the original compositions, there's the haunting, melodic "Elegia," which Grusin composed many years ago for his late father, a violinist, featuring Gil Shaham; "Lagrima (Lee's Prelude)," a graceful Ritenour original led by the classical guitar; "River's Song," Grusin's clever medley adaptation of the folk songs "The Water Is Wide" and "Shenandoah," featuring Fleming on vocals and "Canto," an Italian-styled "winter song" which Grusin originally wrote for a Ritenour project in the late '70s. Timeless yet contemporary, Two Worlds is beautiful reunion of these musical soul mates. ~ Jonathan Widran

JazzTimes (12/00, p.90) - "...Heartrending....Each arrangement fits the artists' dexterity and dynamic interpretive ability like a glove..."

A dizzyingly eclectic jazz/pop piano player, producer, and arranger, Dave Grusin has lent his skills to artists as diverse as Art Pepper, Benny Goodman, and Billy Joel, and has written music prolifically for film and television. But Grusin's biggest mark on musical history is in his role as co-founder of GRP Records, a mid-1970s start-up that provided a home to the burgeoning jazz fusion scene. Grusin nurtured the careers of Chick Corea, Lee Ritenour, Gary Burton, and many others. The GRP "sound," which Grusin was responsible for imbuing in all its releases, relied on crystal clear digital production that captured the harmonic subtleties and rock-like rhythms of jazz fusion.

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