For jazz guitarist Reza Khan (http://www.rezakhanmusic.com), who by day is a United Nations program manager playing a role in peace and conflict operations throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East, “home” is wherever his duties take him as long as he has his folding guitar in his backpack. He used it to write his newly released album, “Next Train Home,” which includes the current Billboard Top 15 single “Drop of Faith.”
Next Train Home” is an elaborate contemporary jazz, world music and Brazilian jazz hybrid featuring Khan’s expressive acoustic guitar accompanied by a premier cast of guest stars that bring Khan’s primitive hotel room sketches to life on lushly textured canvasses. The Bangladesh-born Khan wrote the material during his travels abroad and returned to his New York City base to produce the collection that he says symbolizes the finding of his musical “home.” The cross cultural, multi-genre offering is anchored on Khan’s melodic riffs amidst the instrumentation provided by household names such as keyboardist Philippe Saisse, saxophonists Andy Snitzer and Jeff Kashiwa, sax and flutist David Mann, and electric guitarist Nils, who co-produced the lead single, “Drop of Faith,” which hit five major smooth/contemporary jazz charts. The album itself hit the JazzWeek charts by way of straight-ahead jazz airplay.
Khan launched the album with a sold-out concert performance at City Winery in NYC where he performed most of “Next Train Home” along with samplings from his four earlier releases. The record continues to receive glowing reviews, including from national magazine Jazziz, with many making note of the global beats and rhythms, layered instrumentation, exquisite musicianship and rich cultural assimilations.
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