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.