Jazz Articles
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The Light Beyond: Frank Gambale, Stuart Hamm and Steve Smith
by Josef Woodard
Reports of fusion's death have been greatly exaggerated. The cultural phenomenon, by which jazz and rock made a potent alliance during the '70s, generally slipped out of the public ear and major label consciousness, as jazz as a whole retreated into a more historicist, unplugged attitude. But out of corporate sight only out of corporate mind, and musicians have been courting the fusion muse on indie labels and just beneath the surface of mainstream jazz marketing ever since its heyday. ...
read moreSteve Khan: Patchwork
by Rafael Vega Curry
Few artists have been as successful as Steve Khan in achieving a genuine blend of jazz and Latin sensibilities, rhythms and sonorities. In fact, it can be suggested that no one else has done what he has accomplished for the jazz guitar, offering both the extensions of what Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell and Grant Green did in their day, plus the real sabor latino. Khan, of course, is one of the preeminent guitarists of the last few decades, ...
read moreSteve Khan: Patchwork
by John Kelman
Amongst the many myths out there about music-making—especially in jazz, where the improvisation quotient is often so high—is that composing may, indeed, be work, but doesn't require the kind of relentless attention to detail that far more truthfully defines how many artists write and arrange their music. These days, one need only look to music by artists including Pat Metheny, Antonio Sanchez and Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah to find music conceived with intimate and painstaking detail while, at the same ...
read moreSteve Khan: Subtext
by Mark F. Turner
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, ...
read moreSteve Khan: Subtext
by Glenn Astarita
Steve Khan has always been a consummate, story-telling improviser. His extensive resume and distinguished solo career spans jazz fusion, modern mainstream, and with Subtext, he delves a bit deeper into the Latin element, when looking back at his days recording and performing with former Weather Report percussionist Manolo Badrena who was a member of Khan's early 80s bands. It's a sprightly session, featuring guest appearances by trumpeter Randy Brecker, keyboardist Rob Mounsey and others of note. But the core personnel ...
read moreSubtext
by John Kelman
Change is a fact of life, and it's something that's better to be embraced than challenged; as inevitable as death and taxes, it's one of those things that you may as well accept, because there are few, if any, options to do otherwise. That said, while the then-aptly titled Parting Shot (Tone Center, 2011) suggested that guitarist Steve Khan's days recording as a leader were over, it is, indeed, great news to find, in 2014, that he's changed his mind ...
read moreSteve Khan: Subtext
by Dan Bilawsky
Guitarist Steve Khan's latter day work has been increasingly focused on Latin jazz fusion of various shapes, so the scope and direction of Subtext should come as no surprise to his longtime followers. This album arrives three years after Parting Shot (Tone Center, 2011) and runs along similar lines. That one was an originals-heavy, percussively-coated session that dipped into the songbooks of Thelonious Monk ("Bye-Ya") and Ornette Coleman ("Blues Connotation" and “Chronology"); this one is a mostly covers companion piece ...
read moreScott Henderson / Jeff Berlin / Dennis Chambers: HBC
by Glenn Astarita
Not simply a super-group, but more like a jazz-fusion superpower as this formidable trio melds classic fusion works amid a few originals on its debut release, although the artists have crossed paths over the years. Bios and resumes would transcend the limitations of a review or analysis. So, it's the in-your-face attitude, creative impetus, and the respective musicians' gargantuan chops that account for a passionate exposition. Guitarist Scott Henderson's enviable technique as a monumental blues-rock soloist shines on ...
read moreTribal Tech: X
by Ian Patterson
According to guitarist Scott Henderson, Tribal Tech never broke up; the band's work simply halted in 2000 when bassist Gary Willis moved to Spain. Henderson, keyboardist Scott Kinsey and drummer Kirk Covington continued to play in each others' respective projects in the following years. The first whispers of reunion came in 2009, and subsequently gathered force. Finally, a year after re-locking horns in thirty improvised jams and twelve years since Rocket Science (Tone Center, 2000), the doyens of modern fusion ...
read moreTribal Tech: X
by John Kelman
It's been more than ten years since Tribal Tech's last release, and if this uncompromising fusion group was beginning to show signs of wear and tear by the time of Rocket Science (ESC, 2000), its return to recording proves that sometimes a hiatus can be a healthy thing. After working through a number of personnel shifts, guitarist Scott Henderson and bassist Gary Willis--who introduced the group with Spears (Passport, 1985), releasing eight more albums and one compilation between 1986 and ...
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