Claire Ritter

Claire Ritter (b. May 31, 1952, Charlotte, North Carolina). Pianist, composer. Ritter is a composer and pianist working in a style that fuses jazz with classical, new music, and occasionally other world music cultures.

Ritter’s music is among the most successful Third Stream syntheses of jazz and classical musics. All About Jazz has called her “an undersung jazz master” and praised her composing and improvising for their economy, “with every new idea coming at you quickly, every tight, engaging melody buffed up like a little jewel.”^[1] Her approach to the keyboard has been described as painterly, with Ritter "applying splashes of color, dabs of contrast and subtly adjusting tempo and dynamics to create masterful soundscapes."^[2] Her compositions are notable for their “haunting clarity,”^[3] and are often compared to songs without lyrics.^[4] This songlike quality and the harmonic sophistication of her tunes are hallmarks of her style. Her ability to orchestrate compositions, using instrumental combinations that recall classical music, places jazz elements such as the blues and improvisation in novel contexts. Beginning with her 2004 recording, Greener and Blue, she also incorporated non-Western instruments and folk music elements into her composing.^[5] Many of her compositions are inspired by paintings, poetry, and nature, although they are not always directly programmatic. Her album, Waltzing the Splendor was voted a Top 10 Album of the Year by Coda magazine; and Jazz Review voted Greener Than Blue one of the top CDs of 2004.

Ritter grew up on a horse farm in rural Weddington, North Carolina,^[6] and began piano lessons in the public school system at age 7.^[7] As a teenager, she studied with jazz pianist-arranger Ziggy Hurwitz. In 1974, she received a B.S. in Education from Appalachian State University, where she was also an amateur athlete, competing in tennis, softball, soccer, field hockey, and basketball.^[8] She returned to Charlotte, where she attended Queens College and studied classical piano with Anita Bultman Tritt, principle pianist with the Charlotte Symphony,^[9] earning a B.A. in music in 1978.^[10] From 1978 to 1980, she studied privately with pianist Mary Lou Williams, when she was an artist in residence at Duke University.^[11]

In 1981, Ritter moved to Boston, Massachusetts,^[12] to study with pianist Ran Blake and attend New England Conservatory. Ritter lived in Boston for 16 years, during which time she performed with artists such as Ricky Ford, Houston Person, and Dave Holland, and Boston-area musicians such as Dominique Eade, Ran Blake, and Stan Strickland. In 1996, she served on the faculty of the New England Conservatory Contemporary Improvisation Department. Her composition, “In Between,” was recorded in 1986 by Ran Blake on The Short Life of Barbara Monk^[13] and by Franz Koglmann on Orte Der Geometrie in 1989^[14].

In 1987, Ritter founded Zoning Records^[15], named after a major work by her former teacher, Mary Lou Williams. She has released the following CDs on the label:

• In Between, with Ran Blake, Dave Holland, and Dominique Eade (1988)

• Ain’t Life a Circus, with Christine Correa and Stan Strickland (1991)

• Mistral, by vocalist Eleni Odoni, with Ran Blake (1991)

• At One, with Takaaki Masuko (1994)

• True, with Takaaki Masuko and Kaku Sato (1998)

• Castles in the Air, with Steve Swallow, Stan Strickland, and Takaaki Masuko (2001)

• River of Joy: Solo Portraits, with Steve Swallow and Ran Blake (2001)

• Greener than Blue, with Stan Strickland, Todd Low, and Bob Weiner (2005)

• Waltzing the Splendor, with Jon Metzger, Jane Hart Brendle, Ashima Scripp, and Dave Holland (2007)

• The Stream of Pearls Project (inspired by water), with Ashima Scripp, Richie Stearns, Toni Naples, Rick Hansen, Jon Metzger, and Takaaki Masuko (2011)

In 1998, Ritter moved to Charlotte, North Carolina,^[16] where she teaches composition to private students, and continues to compose, perform, and record. Since returning to the Charlotte area, she has been the recipient of a North Carolina Arts Council Jazz Composer Fellowship in 2000^[17], a Charlotte Mecklenburg County 2006 Arts and Science Regional Artist Grant ^[18], and other grants.^[19]

Notes

1. ^ McClenaghan, Dan “Clair Ritter–Waltzing the Splendor–All About Jazz Review,” http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/review_print.php?id=26926, accessed 9/18/11
2. ^ Lee, Nancy Ann, "Claire Ritter
: Castles in the Air, 
River of Joy," Jazz Times, http://jazztimes.com/articles/12912-castles-in-the-air-claire-ritter, accessed 9/21/11
3. ^ Blumenthal, Bob, Castles in the Air liner notes, 2001
4. ^ McClenaghan, Dan, “Clair Ritter–Waltzing the Splendor–All About Jazz Review,” http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/review_print.php?id=26926, accessed 9/18/11
5. ^ McClenaghan, Dan, “Clair Ritter: Greener Than Blue,” http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=15504, accessed 9/18/11
6. ^ Nastos, Michael G., “Claire Ritter,” Michael G. Nastos, http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p313734, accessed 4/28/11
7. ^ van Trikt, Ludwig, “Claire Ritter Interview,” Cadence Magazine, Vol. 34, No. 10-11-12, Oct-Nov-Dec 2008, pp. 3–9
8. ^ Nastos, Michael G., “Claire Ritter,” Michael G. Nastos, http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p313734, accessed 4/28/11
9. ^ van Trikt, Ludwig, “Claire Ritter Interview,” Cadence Magazine, Vol. 34, No. 10-11-12, Oct-Nov-Dec 2008, pp. 3–9
10. ^ Nastos, Michael G., “Claire Ritter,” Michael G. Nastos, http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p313734, accessed 4/28/11
11. ^ van Trikt, Ludwig, “Claire Ritter Interview,” Cadence Magazine, Vol. 34, No. 10-11-12, Oct-Nov-Dec 2008, pp. 3–9
12. ^ Smith, Dean, “Meet the Composers,” Charlotte Observer, April 12, 1998, pp 1F, 4F
13. ^ Ran Blake Quartet, Short Life of Barbara Monk, Soul Note Recordings 121127-2
14. ^ Koglmann, Franz, Orte Der Geometrie, hat ART CD 6018
15. ^ van Trikt, Ludwig, “Claire Ritter Interview,” Cadence Magazine, Vol. 34, No. 10-11-12, Oct-Nov-Dec 2008, pp. 3–9
16. ^ van Trikt, Ludwig, “Claire Ritter Interview,” Cadence Magazine, Vol. 34, No. 10-11-12, Oct-Nov-Dec 2008, pp. 3–9
17. ^ http://ncarts.org/artist_page.cfm?ser=27932&num=27432&
18. ^ Waltzing the Splendor liner notes, 2007
19. ^ Nastos, Michael G., “Claire Ritter,” Michael G. Nastos, http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p313734, accessed 4/28/11

External links

• Claire Ritter’s official website
• Allmusic Guide biography of Claire Ritter