....and this just in to the Newsroom:

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• NOW AVAILABLE!!! We are proud to announce that ESC Records(Germany/Europe), Tone Center Records(U.S./Canada), and 55 Records(Japan) have all released the double "live" CD titled: "THE SUITCASE." We are all so very excited to see this finally happen!
      This incredible recording features Steve alongside Anthony Jackson(Contrabass Guitar) and Dennis Chambers(Drums) and was recorded on the last night of their European Tour on May 17th, 1994. The recording took place as part of a live radio broadcast for WDR as the trio performed at Stadtgarten Club in Köln, Germany. Recorded digitally and direct to a 2-track master, the CDs feature truly remarkable performances from all three players, but, it is easy to recognize that these are historic representations of the art of both Anthony Jackson and Dennis Chambers. What takes place on the nearly 18-minute version of Joe Henderson's "Caribbean Fire Dance" will be talked about for a long, long time. Anthony Jackson's solo 'prelude' to the title track is also a truly outstanding moment.
      Once again, the CD is graced by a beautiful 'suitcase' image from Jean-Michel Folon which makes this package extra special for Steve. The release of this now legendary concert is not without a rather remarkable story. Please take a moment, click on the cover image link, and read about it. Some details have been left out to protect the innocent!
  
  
• The reviews have already started to come in beginning with an incisive and wonderful REVIEW of the new CD, by John Kelman of allaboutjazz.com. You can read another superbly comprehensive review, this time by Mark F. Turner, at the same great website! My sincere thanks to them both!
  
  
• Just now, I was sent an advance copy of Rafael Vega Curry's review, in Spanish of course, which will appear in the May 11th issue of "Revista Domingo" from "EL NUEVO DÍA" newspaper in Puerto Rico.
      So, for all our Spanish speaking visitors, this was definitely something we wanted to share with you.
  
  Buenas nuevas de Steve Khan
      Admito que conocíla música de Steve Khan hace relativamente poco. Fue en 1998, gracias a "TJADERIZED", un álbum en el que el vibrafonista Dave Samuels rinde tributo a Cal Tjader en compañía de algunos los mejores músicos de jazz latino: Eddie Palmieri, Ray Barretto, David Sánchez... Sin embargo, más allá de la oportunidad de escuchar este junte de talentos, para mí "TJADERIZED" fue otra cosa: el feliz descubrimiento del sonido de Steve Khan y su guitarra 'líquida', refinada, con una personalidad totalmente suya.
      Más tarde supe de las diversas etapas por las que su música ha atravesado: su época de fusión/funk, sus grabaciones de aire latino, su participación como 'sideman' en bandas de grandes estrellas del jazz y el pop, desde Miles Davis y los hermanos Brecker hasta James Brown y Steely Dan. Khan (nacido en Los Ángeles en 1947) parece tener un don para unirse con otros músicos de primera categoría.
      Esto queda evidenciado una vez más en "THE SUITCASE - Live in Köln '94" (Tone Center), un álbum doble con una historia inusual. Fue grabado por la WDR -radio estatal alemana- durante el último concierto de una gira, y estuvo disponible durante años sólo en versiones piratas que el propio Khan desconocía; éste es el debut 'oficial' de esta música. Lo cual es una excelente noticia, porque el sonido es magnífico (mejor que el de algunos discos grabados en estudio) y permite apreciar el rico interplay entre Khan y sus músicos, Anthony Jackson en 'contrabass guitar' y Dennis Chambers en batería. Son un trío maravillosamente bien integrado; se nota la confianza que hay entre ellos.
      La noche de este concierto estaban especialmente inspirados. Abundan los buenos momentos: el 'drumming' polirrítmico de "What I'm Said"; el diálogo jubiloso y bien 'apretado' de guitarra y bajo en "Blue Zone 41"; la manera sabia y delicada en que Khan va desarrollando su solo en la balada "Melancholee" (de Lee Morgan); la belleza melódica de "Dr. Slump." Todos estos números corresponden al CD 1; en el 2, increíblemente, Khan va aun más lejos, ejecutando solos -a mi juicio- con mayor profundidad. Jackson tiene su momento de gloria en el tema que le da título al disco, con un verdadero recital de técnicas de bajo, y Chambers 'reescribe el libro' de lo que es un solo de batería en "Caribbean Fire Dance" (de la autoría de Joe Henderson) con un espectacular despliegue de casi 15 minutos de duración.
      Cada uno de los discos que componen "THE SUITCASE" dura sobre 77 minutos, pero la calidad y la variedad musical son tan altas que el oyente no se cansa en ningún momento. Esta es una de las cumbres creativas de Steve Khan y, ciertamente, uno de los discos del año.
  
  
• Just recently, on April 28th from 12 Noon(EDT)/9 A.M.(PDT), with a repeat at 9 P.M.(EDT)/6 P.M.(PDT), XM Satellite Radio's Russ Davis presented, via Channel 72 and his "Beyond Jazz" program a very special BIRTHDAY salute to Steve Khan as part of the ongoing series, "MONDAY WITH THE MASTERS." Prior to this broadcast, Russ and Steve got together for another energetic and spontaneous conversation, centered around Steve's current release: "THE SUITCASE." As always, thanks so much to Russ for making these special events possible.
  

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• The Grammy nominated "BORROWED TIME" was released on June 5th, and since the first reviews had been published, the reaction to the recording from the music critics seemed to be pretty unanimous in favor of Steve's latest work. For anyone who is interested in reading the Reviews and Press, you can now access them on a separate page via the above link. Thanks to everyone from the public, radio programmers, and press who have been so supportive of the recording since its release
  
  
• But, before we get to the reviews, please make certain that you read STEVE'S PERSONAL REFLECTIONS on all the tunes from "BORROWED TIME." When this new column, "In the Artist's Own Words" was launched during 2006 by allaboutjazz.com, the very first feature was Steve's Personal Reflections on all the tunes from "THE GREEN FIELD." In both cases, they were originally written to give some personal and historical perspective for what were to be the Japanese liner notes, it is now hoped that everyone can benefit from reading just what went into both of these wonderful recordings.
  

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• Though its release in early 2006 seems like such a long time ago, "THE GREEN FIELD" sessions from May 23rd & 24th, 2005 still remain fresh in the memory.
      The last of the recorded tracks from those sessions, "Dreamsville" written by the great Henry Mancini, will still have to sit and await a new opportunity for a release as there just was not any room for it to fit on either of the last two CDs. Right now, it's hard to imagine just how that one isolated track could fit somewhere else.
      For those of you who are still interested in reading the Interviews and Press associated with this release, you can now access them on a separate page via the above link. Not to be redundant, but, another very popular feature has been "STEVE'S PERSONAL REFLECTIONS" on the recording, and those are available via the wonderful allaboutjazz.com website.
  

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• I suppose that, sooner or later, everything just catches up to you. A fan from Europe wrote and asked me if I had seen myself on YouTube. My answer was: "Of course not!" So, I clicked on the link which he had sent, and suddenly I was taken back to May 11th, 1990, when I taped a local public access cable TV show called: "THE GUITAR SHOW" for my good friend, and neighbor, Christian Roebling. Over the years, he probably did shows with 100+ guitarists, some legendary, some less so. When the show no longer aired, he tried to find someone to put them out in DVD format, but those efforts initially failed.
  
      Now, Stefan Grossman is about to release various performances from this series in DVD. Lucky me, my performances of both Larry Young's "Backup" and my own tune, "Dr. Slump" will be part of "JAZZ MASTERS: VOLUME ONE" of the DVD packages. Also featured on this very special DVD will be Pat Martino and Bill Frisell

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• Sometime ago, KHAN'S KORNER was divided into KORNER 1 and KORNER 2 pages to better serve all our visitors. KORNER 1 is devoted to transcriptions. As May of 2007 arrived, we impusively decided to change our plans and present to you a rare Michael Brecker soprano sax solo over Hal Galper's, "Call" which appeared on sadly overlooked 1971 recording, "THE GUERILLA BAND." More recently, we presented Wes Montgomery's melody statement over the touching ballad associated with Ray Charles, "Born to be Blue" which appeared on his recording, "MOVIN' WES." This was followed by Freddie Hubbard's solo on the great Herbie Hancock tune, "Dolphin Dance" which appeared on Herbie's classic recording, "DOLPHIN DANCE." Looking towards the end of 2007 and the arrival of 2008, we will most likely see a few more Wes Montgomery solos, not to mention some appearances by other fan favorites at KORNER 1. 2007 has been a great year, and 2008 looks to be wonderful as well for the educational services provided here.
  
      KORNER 2 houses the lead sheets and arrangements to Steve's originals. During 2006, we presented Steve's four new compositions from "THE GREEN FIELD" For January, it was his tribute to Elvin Jones, titled, "El Viñón." February, "The Green Field" was presented. In March, "Fist in Glove" was our feature. And finally, during April, "Cosecha lo que has sembrado," a spectacular Latin percussion descarga, was our feature. Don't you dare miss them!!!
      For June and July of 2007, we will continue in KORNER 2, by presenting the two original compositions from Steve's latest CD, "BORROWED TIME." Firstly, in June, we are going to bring you, "El Faquir." Then for July, it will be "Face Value." As we peer into the looking glass at 2007, we can foresee that the 2nd part of the "City Suite" from "ARROWS" will appear at some point. So, be on the lookout for "Dream City." Later in the year, we will bring you "In a Star's Arms" and "Warm Blue Town" which only appear on the "HELPING HAND" CD.
  
  "Electric Etínho"
  Photo by: Paul Aresu
  Digital Art by: Tanja Prellwitz

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• As it always is with all the time spent "on the road," there are stories to tell. And so, here are some of Steve's recent stories Old News: the lovely, the comical, the tragic, and the triumphant.
  
• And speaking of "old" - If you like, you can read Steve's essay titled: "On Turning 60" which was originally written for his blog at the recently launched MySpace 'tribute' page, one which was actually designed, and is now maintained, by Iain Grimwood from "across the pond" in the U.K.! Thanks so much Iain!!!
  
• For those of you who might have missed Steve's heartfelt tributes to Ray Charles, Elvin Jones, Jimmy Smith, Steve Marcus, Jean-Michel Folon, Wilson Pickett, Ray Barretto, from the world of sports, Arnold "Red" Auerbach, James Brown and most recently, two dear friends and colleagues Michael Brecker and Joe Zawinul, we have created a special TRIBUTES page. We hope that you will enjoy reading about these very special musicians/artists who recently left us.
• We are now pleased to announce the addition of another new page, created for those of you who might have missed Steve's tales of: THE LOST TELECASTER CUSTOM; or, the incredible AIR-CONDITIONER REMOVAL DISASTER; or, the popular but very terrifying HOLIDAY INN FIRE. And so, we have created a special AMAZING TALES page. We hope that you will enjoy reading about these "Theater of the Absurd" Events, but all too true!!! Believe me!!!
  
• And, as if that's not enough, we have given Steve's BRUSHES WITH GREATNESS its very own page too. Read what can happen when just walking around in one's neighborhood on the streets of New York. What a town!

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• With the recent publication of Walter Kolosky's very fine book, Power, Passion & Beauty: The Story of the Legendary Mahavishnu Orchestra, I have started to receive e-mails about my small contribution. However, as what I wrote was edited and then spread-out over various chapters, I wanted to share with everyone the full text, just as I wrote it. So, now you can read my personal "Mahavishnu Orchestra" reflection. I hope that you will enjoy it.
  
  
• As we have now passed the five year anniversary of September 11th, 2001, Steve has taken the time to write his own personal story, which he has titled, "Where I was on 9/11." For most people, and certainly virtually every American, there is a personal recollection of exactly where they were, and just what they doing at the moment when they learned that New York and Washington, D.C. were under terrorist attack. No matter with whom one might be speaking, this always makes for an interesting conversation. We hope that you all will enjoy reading Steve's story of that morning, that day.
  
  
• George Cole has written a fantastic new book titled, "THE LAST MILES"(The Music of Miles Davis 1980-1991)[University of Michigan Press]. As a part of this project, George conducted a very honest Interview with Steve regarding his participation in Miles' recording, "AMANDLA" and all the various stories and feelings surrounding that experience. Enjoy the interview, and if you are a Miles Davis fan, the book is a must have!!!
  
  
• Please take the time to read this great INTERVIEW of Steve by Mike Brannon for allaboutjazz.com! It's a very comprehensive look inside the artist.
  
• Check out this past STEVE KHAN INTERVIEW done with Souvik Dutta for his Abstract Logix site. We're certain that you'll find Steve's answers most interesting.
  
  
• John Irizarry just asked Steve to write an article for his website on the topic of: "What's the difference between Salsa and Latin Jazz?" Never one to shy away from a challenge, Steve did his 'blanquito best' to try and answer the question in a manner in which, perhaps, everyone could understand. And, while trying to de-mystify the question, he tells one of his favorite "jazz jokes." You won't want to miss that!!!
  
  
• NOW AVAILABLE! "PENTATONIC KHANCEPTS" The book is now at the warehouse, and in stores across the country!!! You can order copies directly from Alfred Publishing Co. by phoning (888) 310-3342 or online via Order Music Today. The book's 'code'/catalog number remains 0667B. This much anticipated and innovative book is intended to serve as the linear adjunct to the very successful "CONTEMPORARY CHORD KHANCEPTS." Steve is hoping that the two books will work hand-in-hand to provide every player with exciting and fresh ideas.
  
  
• Attenzione! For those of you visiting us from ITALY, please know that you can read many of the pages from KHAN'S KORNER at Marco Losavio's fantastic Jazzitalia website. Thus far, Marco has posted, in Italian, tunes such as: "Got My Mental"; "Anhelante"; "Descarga Khanalonious"; "Tightrope"; "Dr. Slump"; "An Eye Over Autumn"; "Uncle Roy"; "Daily Village; "What I'm Said"; Steve's George Harrison tribute: "Within You Without You/Blue Jay Way"; "Blue Zone 41"; "Daily Bulls"; "Sierra Madre"; and most recently, "El Viñón." And, if you can read in Italian, here is a great Interview Steve recently did with fellow guitarist Alex Milella. A più tardi!
  
• Sumimasen! And for those of you visiting us from JAPAN, I am so proud to announce that you will now be able to read pages from KHAN'S KORNER in your own language at Kenny Inaoka's fantastic Jazztokyo website. Kenny has launched these pages at his site by posting in Japanese, Steve's nylon-string guitar solo from: "Clafouti" which appeared on "YOU ARE HERE." Ja, mata!
  
  
• Check out this INTERVIEW from the recent past which found Steve in a roundtable discussion with fellow guitarists Wayne Krantz and David Gilmore as they discuss the bass, and its role in their music. Written by bassist, Brent-Anthony Johnson for the April 2002 issue of: GLOBAL BASS MAGAZINE
  
• Now you can view all of STEVE'S GEAR by visiting our newly posted EQUIPMENT page! Here Steve details for you the information about his guitars, strings, picks, amps, speakers, and effects. For those of you who've been asking for this, we will hope that it answers most, if not all, of your questions.
  
• Ever wonder who drew that front page caricature of Steve? NED SHAW, veteran illustrator who has drawn for major companies, and whose illustrations have appeared in major magazines for years. Just posted, see Ned Shaw's latest ONLINE GALLERY.
  
  
• A selected DISCOGRAPHY. When visiting this page, simply click on any of the mini-CD covers and this will take you to a page where you can read Steve's personal reflections of each recording.
  
• A quirky list of STEVE'S FAVORITES, and perhaps, dare I say it, even more than you wanted to know regarding his favorite movies, flower, most annoying insect, best shaving advice from Dad! And, his favorite news people, least favorite athlete, and his rants against "Info-tainment"! You get the picture.
  
• Misconceptions resolved! Steve does NOT play solo Flamenco guitar in Greenwich Village, New York City! It is just another guitarist with exactly, well almost, the same name! Hard to believe, but true.