Stolen Moments

Lee Ritenour
Duration: 7:20
396 views

Can any song put you in a melancholy mood better than “Stolen Moments,” composed by Oliver Nelson with its major release in 1961? Well, there’s a case to be made for another version of the song to be considered the smokiest and most swinging -- it’s the all-star group featuring Lee Ritenour (guitar), Ernie Watts (tenor sax), Alan Broadbent (piano), plus Harvey Mason (drums) and Brian Bromberg (bass). This 1990 live version is a master class on how to play with elastic time and how to build a solo from the ground up. In particular, Broadbent opens with a melange of extended harmonies; Ritenour follows with his best impression of Wes Montgomery’s octave double-stops, and finally Watts provides the coup de grace with a burning, emotional solo. By the way, the New York Voices version on Youtube is really good, too. What’s your favorite "Stolen Moments?"