Description
In an era where emerging instrumental artists often seek success by copying the greats or watering down their own deeper passions to fit in the mainstream, Reza Khan stands out as a true musical citizen of the world, purposefully transcending typical genre trappings with his dynamic fusion of blend of infectious pop, jazz, soul and world music influences. Even after four popular, critically acclaimed indie albums – Painted Diaries (2008), A Simple Plan (2011), The Dreamwalker (2013) and Wind Dance (2016) – the Bangladesh born and raised, NYC based composer/guitarist is still artfully straddling the classical Indian and Bengali music of his youth with contemporary funk grooves and the free form energetic sounds of Western rock and jazz fusion. Khan’s latest full length album Next Train Home reflects the multi-talented performer’s ultimate acceptance of an artistry that is all about exploration, not limitation, following a multitude of passions in vibing with contemporary jazz greats rather than dialing down for commercial considerations. While Khan’s core acoustic and electric lines are front and center on every tune of Next Train Home – sometimes alternating on the same track – the album features pianist Matt King, drummers Mauricio Zottarelli and Graham Hawthorne, percussionist Gumbi Ortiz, guitarist Nils, rhythm guitarist Sergio Pereira, bassist Mark Egan, saxophonists Jeff Kashiwa and Andy Snitzer, flutist David Mann and keyboardist Philippe Saissse, who plays synth and adds touches of accordion and marimba. Khan’s unique “day job” as a program manager for the United Nations, contributing to peace operations and multiple conflict operations throughout Africa, Asia and the Middle East, played a direct role in laying the creative foundation for Next Train Home. Traveling in the summer of 2017 to several African countries in six weeks, he was able to hang out and occasionally play with local musicians and learn about their countries’ musical cultures. Using his laptop software, he began writing melodies and working on song forms, incorporating samples and loops into scratch recordings. When he came home, he refined these in his home studio in NYC and later invited many of the musicians who appear on the album to live sessions at a larger studio in the city. Jeff Kashiwa and Nils contributed their parts digitally from the West Coast, and there were a few overdubs, but for the most part, Next Train Home is a single take, live in the studio recording. “I believe my music has evolved tremendously over the past few years since Dreamwalker, and to hear Mark Egan, who played for years with Pat Metheny, tell me that my writing style reminds him of Pat’s melodic style, is confirmation that I’m on track to where I have always dreamed of being as a composer and musician,” says Khan. “My favorite aspect of Next Train Home was how organically everything happened, from my original melodies written in African hotels to the natural flow that happened in the studio when we were tracking live, with no overdubs. The album captures and preserves the musicianship and interactions as we lived them in the moment. It reflects some of the greatest musicians in the world having fun, and when you’re having fun, everything sounds good.”
