CD, стоящие на полке рядом : Jazz (Fusion)      

========= from the cover ==========

On a snowy night last December 28, 1993, Steve Khan waited in Manhattan's Skyline Studio to begin recording his latest release, Crossings. Ready with a refrigerator full of Dr. Pepper, his favorite drink, Steve greeted his fellow musicians—Anthony Jackson, Manolo Badrena, Dennis Chambers, and Michael Brecker— as they arrived under increasingly heavy snowfall. For these musicians, this recording was to be their most important work of the year. For Steve Khan, the event was also significant for many reasons: the reunion with old friends, overcoming memories of difficult times, the rare opportunity to work with Michael Brecker, and this first recording since his father passed away. My impression of that recording is that Steve Khan really had fun. With a Dr. Pepper in one hand, he created the happening in a studio put at ease with his witty humor and laid back approach.

Crossings is Steve's tribute to the memory of his father, the great lyricist Sammy Cahn. The album contains many of Sammy Cahn's most beloved works, such as the popular classic, "It's You or No One." The album cover, painted by Jean-Michel Folon, shows a solitary figure aboard a ship embarking on a journey. Steve described the scene as expressing the hurdles, from childhood to adulthood and finally death, we all must clear in our journey through life. "My father pulled off the final crossing," Steve explains. "He and I were very close. After he passed away, I thought I could never talk music with him again. But he exists in me now, and I'm probably talking with him without knowing it."

This tribute is not made for the sake of reminiscence. Instead, as of the final completion and the joy of attaining it. One is impressed with the abundance of hope and the upbeat tempo of many of the numbers.

Years ago Steve Khan developed a unique pianistic style of playing guitar, and perfected it after forming the group Eyewitness. His refined technique is evident in recent albums such as Let's Call This ('91), Headline ('92) and Crossings ('93). McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and Bill Evans have developed styles unique in jazz piano history. Such piano-oriented styles, which have been adopted and personalized by many guitarists, have consequently influenced the ongoing evolution of guitar voicing techniques.

Although one can not expect the perfect instrumental harmony of a piano from a guitar, great progress is possible. The "incomplete" sound of the guitar makes it both simple and unique. And by adding the creative energy of other musicians, harmony can be achieved. This approach was refined by Jim Hall and other talented guitarists who followed him. Among these progressive guitarists was Steve Khan (who I consider to be severely underrated).

Steve Khan pioneered a new frontier in jazz guitar using such techniques as combining two types of voicing: the close type favored by Bill Evans, and the open 4th build (4-level range voicing) technique employed by McCoy Tyner and Herbie Hancock, and many guitarists that followed Wes Montgomery. Khan considers the melody, line and harmony as one in the flow of music. His songs and lyrics offer a delicate sense of balance that effect one-line harmony, extension, reduction and expansion. His free-spirited, playful sound is unique among contemporary guitarists. Perhaps the secret of Khan's sound is in his expressive ability to exceed the limits of traditional guitar playing. With a fine sense of line and harmony, Khan creates a laid back image based on his own rhythmic approach and offbeat sound. Another peculiar aspect of Khan's playing is his primary use of only 3 of 4 strings to create "warm" sounds. (Steve considers strings 1 and 2 as treble tones, strings 3 and 4 as "warm" tones, and strings 5 and 6 as bass tones for the bass player.) Steve Khan creates such "warm" sounds on his Gibson ES-335 by controlling the width in . tone using picks and his fingers. Khan's unique sound is truly a product of many factors.

For the Crossings recording, musicians were selected based on their versatility and willingness to share ideas and technology in the creative process, while supporting the distinctive style of Steve Khan. The musical cast included Anthony Jackson on bass, Manolo Badrena on percussion, an original ('81) member of Eyewitness, Dennis Chambers, a long-time friend who toured Europe with Khan and Anthony, and Michael Brecker, a dear friend of 23 years.

Long ago Steve Khan formed a trio with bassist Ron Carter and drummer Al Foster. Two-set recording sessions were held, with Anthony, Manolo and Dennis participating. The Crossings recording appeared to be a reunion of Eyewitness, although the results were much different. The new album embodies a refreshing essence not shaped by form or the accompanying musicians. And capturing the essence of one's music or even reality is not possible for most of us. Steve Khan formed Eyewitness without a clear musical direction. Of course, technique improved with practice, and skill with experience. These days, big-budget productions involving top musicians are becoming the typical form of making music. The problems are the limits posed by using instruments, techniques, compositions and accompanying musicians to achieve total creative expression. Those musicians not bound to such limits can create new forms of timeless music. This is why Steve Khan is becoming more popular in the world today.

The last number was influenced by jazz tunes of the 60's. Music of this era inspired Steve Khan who was then between 18 to 25 years of age. The title "Descarga Khanalonious" was created after "Descarga Cubana" by Cal Tjader, a mentor of Steve Khan. The term "Khanalonious" is a combination of the names Khan and Thelonious Monk.

- Kazuyuki Sawa