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Steve Khan: Subtext
By Track review of "Hackensack"Khan's liberating rendition of Thelonious Monk's "Hackensack," sheds a markedly inventive spin on the roads exhaustively travelled by other jazz artists over the years. Simply put, it's not more of the same. Khan fuses Wes Montgomery's chord voicings atop a bulging, medium tempo Latin jazz romp. True to form, his animated and curvaceous single note lines counterbalance the bubbly pulse, where the rhythm section seems on the verge of bursting at the seams.
The guitarist bends his strings to generate a little emphasis on the primary motif and tosses in a few off-kilter contrasts, as he pitches an alternating viewpoint. And the rhythm section enacts an oscillating jamboree during the bridge as Khan comps with a two-chord vamp, segueing to an understated melody line towards closeout. Consequently, Khan's artistry and acute vision convey a touch of class that underscores the heart of matters.
Track Listing
Bird Food; Blue Subtext; Baraka Sasa; Infant Eyes; Heard; Never Let Me Go; Cada Gota de Mar; Hackensack; Bait and Switch.
Personnel
Steve Khan
guitarSteve Khan: guitar, voice (9); Rubén Rodriguez: electric bass, baby bass; Dennis Chambers: drums; Marc Quiñones: timbal, bongo, percussion; Bobby Allende: conga, bongo (1); Randy Brecker: flugelhorn (1); Rob Mounsey: keyboards (2, 5), orchestrations (3, 4, 6, 7, 9), coro (7); Gil Goldstein: accordion (7); Mariana Ingold: voice (7).
Album information
Title: Subtext | Year Released: 2014 | Record Label: Tone Center
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