Search - Steve Khan :: Borrowed Time

One of our most interesting living guitarists

Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 10/25/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The contenders for top spot, in my humble opinion, are Metheny, Scofield, Abercrombe, Ben Monder, Noel Akchote, Lionel Loueke, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Sylvain Luc, Nguyan Le, and Adam Rogers. To place Steve Khan in such exalted company may seem like a stretch, but I don't think so. His last two recordings, The Green Field and this one, demonstrate such an astounding range of musicality and versatility that one often shakes one's head at such virtuosity so casually on display.



By any measure, Borrowed Time is a spectacular disc. The concept alone, with its multiple resonances--from time signatures borrowed from the Afro-Latin diaspora to the idea that, because of environmental concerns, we're living on borrowed time--lends this music a weight and presence seldom encountered (at least this effectively) in popular music forms. Combine that with important selections from some of the most significant composers of the last century (Monk, Ornette Coleman, McCoy Tyner, Rogers and Hart), not to mention a couple of brilliant compositions from Khan himself, and you have music of uncommon gravitas. The core band of leader Khan (acoustic and electric guitar), John Patitucci (acoustic bass), and Jack DeJohnette (drums) consistently delivers performances of the highest quality. Augmented by such standouts as Badal Roy (tabla), Randy Brecker (flugelhorn), Bob Mintzer (bass clarinet), Manolo Badrena (percussion and voice), and others, plus the pre- and post-production of Rob Mounsey, the emergent soundscape is one of great range and subtlety.



Music of the absolute highest accomplishment."

More Latin flavours (with almost something for everyone?)

Olukayode Balogun | Leeds, England | 06/03/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Listening to this, I get the sense that fans of people like Wes Montgomery or Grant Green would really like it. It sounds like the kind of thing Wes & Grant would be doing now if they were still alive and their sound had been given the opportunity to develop further and modernise.



The first two tracks are especially reminiscent of these guitar greats. "I Mean You" is a wonderfully Latin-influenced version of the Thelonious Monk/Coleman Hawkins standard and as a delightful coincidence my favourite vocal version of the tune is by another Khan, Ms Chaka herself. No relation one presumes, but she gave a belting performance of the song on the Echoes of an Era album she did back in 1982 with Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White.



But back to this album. The second tune, the Ornette Coleman classic "Mr. And Mrs. People", is also strictly trad-jazz in the spirit of earlier days. The somewhat complex structure of the song had me taxed to begin with but I got into it after a few plays. I'm told this style of jazz is called hard bop but I'm not sure I care what it's called. I just enjoy listening to the stuff.



The next two tracks are more today; more jazz-fusion, if you will and definitely more up my street. Both are written by Khan himself. The first, the 10mins 9sec "Face Value" is a beautiful ballad, again with the Latin flavours, with Khan playing both electric (with what sounds like some distortion tone or some similar effect) and acoustic guitars, and with soulful flugelhorn solos by Randy Brecker. Rob Mounsey also sounds cool on the keyboards.



The second, "El Faquir" (13mins 37sec), is more of a mid-tempo ballad but we're back in more trad-jazz territory now, with an excellent drum intro and performance by the legendary Jack DeJohnette, bass clarinet by Bob Mintzer, tabla by Badal Roy and tambourine by Geeta Roy. Khan himself is back on straightforward electric guitar. His improvisations are simply amazing on this one.



The Sammy Cahn/Jule Styne standard "You're My Girl", is a wonderful ballad played out once again, in typical Montgomery or Green style. The McCoy Tyner tune, "Blues For Ball", is a bit livelier, a bit more upbeat but in the same vein as the tune that precedes it. The Rogers & Hart classic, "Have You Met Miss Jones?", is a Latin percussion-soaked number with Khan brilliant on acoustic guitar and Brecker equally brilliant once again, on flugelhorn.



"Luna Y Arena (Moon and Sand)" is a vocal ballad, written by Alec Wilder, William Engvick & Morty Palitz, and beautifully sung by Gabriela Anders. She sings in Spanish throughout the song and it adds a nice element to the obvious direction and intentions of the album. As one might expect, Khan plays acoustic guitar.



The album closer, "Hymn Song" and another McCoy Tyner tune with a fabulous danceable bossa nova twist towards the end, once again takes me back to my opening statement. In my opinion, fans of either Montgomery or Green - or indeed, any of the many guitarists who were subsequently influenced by them - cannot afford to miss this album.



Apart from the aforementioned musicians, the album also features John Patitucci on acoustic bass, Manolo Badrena on percussion and voice, Ralph Irizarry on timbal, Roberto Quintero on conga & percussion, Rubén Rodríguez on bass, Marc Quiñones on timbal, conga, bongo, güiro & maracas and Bobby Allende on conga, bongo & maracas. You can see where all the Latin flavour I speak of comes from. A couple of the standards stand on their own but the rest of the album is infused with it.



Produced by Khan, this is a very eclectic album, very different to many of the albums by some present modern greats that I'm fond of - Metheny, Scofield, Abercrombie, Rosenwinkel et al - with almost something for everyone. It's a very cohesive set nonetheless. It hasn't been an easy album to write a review on and I almost threw my hands up and said sod it but it's such a good album, I knew I just had to put the effort in. It's a lengthy review, I know but I didn't feel I could do the album real justice saying any less.



Or maybe my précis skills just aren't what they used to be.



This is my first Steve Khan CD but he seems such a gifted and versatile guitar player, there's no way it'll be my last. Highly recommended."

Another Solid Performance from Steve Khan

K. Bickel | Gaithersburg Md | 07/25/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been listening to Steve Khan for the last 30+ years and if you take into account all his session work over the last three decades, we've all been listening to Steve Khan for 30+ years whether we knew it or not!



What is really impressive over the last decade or so has been his growth as a composer. He has a wonderful mix of "covers" by jazz legends with his own originals, and to my ear there is not a weak spot on the album. It also sounds as if the players are having a great time playing. For me, there is always something special when you can note a sense of joy in what someone is doing.



Also, check out his solo performance on the Jazz Masters Volume 1 video put out by Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop. I certainly found it to be well worth the price of the DVD."