Jazz Articles about Steve Khan

About Steve Khan

Album Review

Latin jazz has rarely featured the guitar, but that hasn't stopped Steve Khan. Backlog continues in the vein of previous albums including Parting Shot (Tone Center, 2011) and Subtext (Tone Center, 2014): creative Latin arrangements of Great American Songbook standards and modern jazz tunes that are rarely played in Latin style (or in any style, in the case of the more obscure choices). The two previous installments included a number of Khan originals, but Backlog is entirely devoted to covers. ...

Album Review

Steve Khan: Backlog

by James Nadal
February 27, 2017

In what could best be described as an enduring exploration, Steve Khan has undertaken the role of expanding and redefining the role of the guitar in the hybrid genre of Latin Jazz. Backlog continues with the concept established as far back as 2005 on The Green Field (Tone Center), in the transformation of straight-ahead jazz compositions into unique Khan improvisations drawing deeply from the Afro-Cuban tradition. The percussion duo of Marc Quiñones and Bobby Allende have been an ...

Album Review

Steve Khan: Backlog

Read "Backlog" reviewed by Mark F. Turner

by Mark F. Turner
February 24, 2017

Steve Khan's love affair with Latin music germinated in the 1980's with his stellar Eyewitness recordings and continued to develop in a number of releases including 2011's Parting Shot and 2014's Subtext both on Tone Center Records. Backlog is third in this series and represents some of the esteemed jazz guitarist's finest work to date. A consummate musician, Khan's credits include heavy work in the '70s and '80s with pop and jazz icons Donald Fagen, Michael Brecker, ...

Extended Analysis

Eyewitness Trilogy

by John Kelman
April 17, 2016

Emerging on the New York scene in the mid-1970s, guitarist Steve Khan didn't long at all to develop a strong reputation as both chameleon-like session guitarist—comfortably crossing over from the jazz world into pop and rock and gracing albums by artists ranging from Esther Phillips, Freddie Hubbard and David Sanborn to Phoebe Snow, Billy Joel and Steely Dan—and valued member of the Brecker Brothers Band, playing on the seminal uptown group's sophomore effort, 1976's Back to Back, as well as ...

Multiple Reviews

BGO Records: Excellence in Jazz Reissues

by Jakob Baekgaard
September 28, 2015

In the digital age we live in, there is no doubt that the business of reissuing music is booming. It has never been easier to get music, old and new, in digital or physical form. However, one thing is to re-release a record; another thing is to do it the right way. BGO Records, run by Andy Gray with help from Mike Gott, is a British label that focuses on doing reissues like a dedicated fan and collector would like ...

Rediscovery

Steve Khan: Eyewitness

by John Kelman
January 15, 2015

Steve KhanEyewitnessAntilles1981 Today's Rediscovery represented a significant turning point for an artist who'd already made a name for himself in the '70s as part of the scene that included The Brecker Brothers, David Sanborn and Mike Mainieri. Guitarist Steve Khan, along with playing with many of the artists in that axis, had released his own trilogy of fine recordings on Columbia Records between 1977 and 1979--albums that all reflected that scene's more funkified ...

Album Review

Steve Khan: Subtext

Read "Subtext" reviewed by Mark F. Turner

by Mark F. Turner
November 16, 2014

From his obscure gems on Columbia Records--Tightrope (1977), The Blue Man (1978) and Arrow (1979), or the critically acclaimed 1980s Eye Witness recordings, to 2011's Latin-tinged Parting Shot (Tone Center), jazz guitarist Steve Khan continues to deliver his unique artistry--exquisite touch, expressive solos, and warm tonality--that's made his music identifiable. Subtext finds that mastery still intact with a renewed mix of originals and covers. In addition to Khan's musicianship, he's always been a great interpreter of standards, ...