Customer Reviews

Suitcase

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After so many years since his European tour Steve Khan finally presents the live registration of the fantastic 1994 Köln concert. The German sound engineer did an excellent job and produced a fine recording of outstanding technical quality. Also a great advantage was the fact that drummer Dennis Chambers used headphones playing live instead of using loud monitors. That made the recording transparent and very agreeable to listen to. Steve Khan shows one of the best guitar performances ever recorded live. His clear and warm guitar sound combined with a phenomenal harmonic approach, not only take his own compositions but also standards written by Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter and Sammy Cahn to a higher level. One can also enjoy the sublime drum playing by Dennis Chambers and Anthony Jackson's clear sounding bass. These accompanist were given a lot of space by Steve Khan to express their own virtuosity.

This is a fantastic double CD! How could this recording have been kept vaulted for so long? It sounds like it could have been recorded yesterday. I have always loved the basic guitar, bass and drums trio setting and this group is right up there with all the greats. Great guitar, great bass and great drumming. There is not a boring moment on the entire two disc set. Fusion at its best!

Live albums such as this are hard to come by. The playing is incredible, the sound quality is top shelf and the audience is totally into it...as much as the musicians themselves.

Whenever you hear about great jazz guitar players, folks always talk about Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Mike Stern or whomever else. Steve Khan doesn't get that kind of mention and I have no idea why. He plays with a lot of atmosphere, rhythm and harmonics and has always been a personal favorite of mine. Khan is absolutely incredible here. Dennis Chambers is a monster drummer; this live set shows you why. Like the other reviewers have said, why did it take so long to release this???

Anyway, by all means make the purchase. This is five stars plus. Jazz is NOT dead.

Steve Khan comes from a generation of jazz musicians who flourished in the halcyon years of fusion (early-mid 70s) along with people like Billy Cobham, Alphonse Mouzon, Tom Scott, The Brecker Brothers, Joe Farrell etc. Although comparisons are odious to some extent, I personally find his playing of a similar ilk to Larry Carlton's: blues-based in spirit with that extra edge of harmonic sophistication (a la Wes Montgomery) to elevate it beyond the myriad Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix clones. In this recording he performs in a trio with legendary drummer Dennis Chambers and bassist Anthony Jackson. The level of sustained creativity and virtuosity is rarely accomplished and the interplay between these three highly proficient musicians is exemplary. The tunes are a combination of originals from Khan's prestigious career as well as a few standards (by Thelonious Monk, Wayne Shorter and Lee Morgan). Thus, the diversity of music is very wide: gentle ballads ("Melancholee", "Dr. Slump") to bebop and postbop tunes ("Played Twice" and "Capricorn"). For me the highlights are "What I'm Said", "The Suitcase" and "Guy Lafleur".
Although the recording was made in 1994 it was not released until 2008 (Khan explains the reasons behind this lenthy interim period in his liner notes). Well-worth the investment.

I'm so delighted to have this double CD, after having actually been in the audience so long ago, while doing military service in Cologne. These guys just didn't stop playing and I had to walk all across Cologne in the middle of the night to get back to barracks, only to get up 3 hours later :-) Great playing and memories!

This album, released 14 years after the actual show recorded in Germany in 1994, solidifies Khan's place towards the top of the list as a guitarist (especially in the trio setting, which is no easy feat) and improviser. The spotlight isn't fixed on Khan, however; all three musicians have room to show what they bring to the table (including three Dennis Chambers drum solos). Much of the repertoire featured comes from Khan's earlier band Eyewitness (which also featured Anthony Jackson), with a few cover tunes from the likes of Wayne Shorter, Thelonious Monk, and Joe Henderson.

Musically, this is not your typical jazz trio. Rather the traditional approach of 'head, solo 1, solo 2, trade 4's with the drummer, head out', Khan and company use the method of collective improvisation (a method first explored by saxophonist Ornette Coleman on his album "Free Jazz"). The result is a three-way musical conversation, with each individual playing off the ideas presented by the others in the ensemble.

Steve Khan's abilities are more than well-represented here. His smooth, articulate tone perfectly match his seamless articulation, and gives a bit of 'traditional' vibe to his no-so-traditional harmonic explorations. He wrote the majority of the material on the album as well.

Anthony Jackson shines bright on this recording. His contrabass guitar has recieved equal prominence in the mix, and rightfully so - he accompanies Khan's guitar with everything from walking lines and latin grooves to chords and lightning fast runs. He pulls out all the stops of his tonal palette as well; his sparkling clean fingerstyle, thumb-plucked palm muting, and flatpick chops (his pick and flanger reharmonization on the tune "Eyewitness" is quite a spectacle) show their head all throughout both sets. Jackson's brightest moment is perhaps on the track "The Suitcase", which features Jackson, solo, out front. With the help of an Alesis reverb unit, Jackson performs a stunning showcase of his command over his instrument. His performance on the tune itself is nothing short of stunning, with high-register 32nd notes, played with sequencer-like precision.

Dennis Chambers (related to the great jazz bassist, Paul Chambers) is a force to be reckoned with. Together with Jackson, the two spiral into seemingly meter-less dispositions of time and rhythm just to come back out on beat '1' again with metromic precision. Like mentioned before, Chambers gets a couple of solo spots (such as the one on the tune "Blades", where he solos over - and against - Khan and Jackson's montuno figure).

Overall, this is a stunning example of what today's jazz guitar trio is capable of. It is also a great showcase of the influence of the bass guitar on today's jazz music; the electric bass has been engaged in a long-running battle with the upright bass for an equal opportunity in the jazz scene, and it's about time that people start opening their minds to where jazz is going, not on where it's been already. But regardess....

Enjoy!

This CD is now the BEST in my collection!. Steve Kahn, Anthony Jackson, Dennis Chambers...their chemistry is great. 15 cuts on this 2 disc, live recording of this trio. Give it a listen. I'm sure it will be one of , if not, the best in your collection!.

Superb musicianship and fine quality live performance recording of jazz/rock fusion trio do not get better than this! This 2CD set is guaranteed to have you full listening attention, and multiple times for any Steve, Anthony or Dennis' fan!

This album exceeded all my prior expectations of a MONSTER trio comprising Mssrs. Steve Khan, Anthony Jackson and Dennis Chambers.

It's unfortunate that the double album was only officially released over a decade after the concert proper, as an earlier release would have undoubtedly garnered it its due awards (of the highest order).

Highly recommended.

This is an excellent album, with great performances by Steve, Anthony Jackson and Dennis Chambers! A live double CD set recorded in Germany that is really worth while. Outstanding!!!