Search - Steve Khan :: Got My Mental

One of Khan's most sublime efforts

David Hildebrand | Denver, CO | 03/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The problem with assessing the quality of cd's is that artists often have different phases in their career, or different kinds of output for their talent. Khan, for example, had a "fusion" phase (early Khan material and the band Eyewitness), has a Latin jazz side, is a superlative sideman and session player (look at, e.g., Steely Dan's Gaucho album), and has real bonafides as a "straight ahead" jazz player.My favorite format in jazz is the trio, particularly the jazz guitar trio. Khan has done several albums in this vein and Got My Mental is my favorite (it's more or less a trio). The songs are perfect examples of trio playing where the interactivity is so complete that one almost forgets there are separate players. Khan's melodies are sing-able (a forgotten art in so much guitar jazz) and his solos speak with phrases both lovely and enigmatic. (Is Khan the Wallace Stevens of the guitar solo? Not a bad analogy.) Here, too, John Patitucci really shines; one of the first albums where he leaves the "hot shot fusion bass player" thing behind and lets Khan's melodism guide him beyond his technical habits. And Jack DeJohnette--what can be said? He is a drummer's drummer, the perfect third point in this triangle.Without a doubt, this is a "Desert Island Disc." Check it out and you'll be singing it for the rest of the month."

One of Khan's best

THX1138b | NY USA | 11/23/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The other review summed this up nicely but I can't help chiming in.



Khan has a lyrical style (some liner notes in an earlier release try to make him out a pianistic kind of guitar player.) and this CD may be the height of his straight ahead mode -- which was already nicely established by Headline and Let's Call This. Compared to the earlier disks, this one features longer compositions, more solos and Khan much more relaxed, in control and coaxing marvelous deep tones from his Gibson.



The comparison to Metheny is hard to avoid, but to me it goes no where. Khan has a refined aesthetic that contrasts sharply to Pat's earthy streak. And Got My Mental is also worlds away from the calculated, relentless be-bop of Sco's latest trio, EnRoute.



If guitar trios are where your heart is, check this out, especially if you already have Let's Call This (and if you don't, get them both!)."

A Real Treat

Karl W. Nehring | Ostrander, OH USA | 07/25/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Jazz guitarist Steve Khan heads a trio consisting of Jack DeJohnette on drums and John Patitucci on bass, a trio occasionally augmented by some various percussionists on a few of the cuts. Talk about eclectic: the eight cuts on this CD come from eight different sources--Ornette Coleman, Wayne Shorter, Keith Jarrett, Khan, Sammy Cahn (Khan's father)/Jimmy Van Heusen, Eddie Harris, Rodgers & Hammerstein, and Lee Morgan. Not a bad lineup! The musicians play with taste and style, really seeming to enjoy the session. Not too straight-laced, not too far-out, and always enjoyable, Got My Mental is a real treat for those who love jazz guitar."