Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Steve Khan: The Green Field

124

Steve Khan: The Green Field

By

Sign in to view read count
Steve Khan: The Green Field
Guitarist Steve Khan brings a straight-ahead quartet to the forum with The Green Field. Recorded less than a year ago, the session draws from jazz's modern mainstream with a focus on the leader's lyrical preferences. Percussionists Ralph Irizarry and Robert Quintero sit in for four of the album's nine selections, adding considerable depth to the program's foundation.

As the only melodic voice for most of the program, Khan takes off with sweeping motions that ramble from start to finish with seamless lyrical cascades. John Patitucci's acoustic bass solos, while they carry a similar flair, go much farther in expressing the straight-ahead meaning explored here.

With Monk's "Eronel, Khan swings fluidly while capturing the quirky nature of the piece. Together, guitar, bass and drums grab hold of the theme and take it away solidly. Khan's "Fist in Glove lets the quartet explore textures with an "All Blues sentiment. Wayne Shorter's "Sanctuary receives a smattering of fusion along with the band's dreamy interpretation, where Manolo Badrena's wordless vocals create a dream sequence. "Nefertiti, on the other hand, is portrayed with a light, Latin jazz texture that simmers gently.

Khan's "The Green Field runs for eighteen minutes, exploring modern jazz from several different viewpoints. With an emphasis on the fusion that has led to smooth jazz radio, however, Khan's dreamscape conjures up casual affairs of the leisure class and lazy afternoons when we've nothing more to worry about than gradual changes in the weather. Nevertheless, the album represents a significant portion of jazz history and comes recommended for its relaxed ambience.

Track Listing

El Vi��n; Congeniality; Riot; Fist in Glove; Cosecha lo que Has Sembrado; Sanctuary/Nefertiti; Eronel; You Stepped Out of a Dream; The Green Field.

Personnel

Steve Khan: guitar; John Pattitucci: acoustic bass; Jack DeJohnette: drums; Manolo Badrena; percussion, voice; Ralph Irizarry: timbales (3,5,6,8); Roberto Quintero: congas, percussion (3,5,6,8).

Album information

Title: The Green Field | Year Released: 2006 | Record Label: Tone Center

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Sensual
Rachel Z
Over and Over
Tony Monaco Trio
Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.