Steve Khan (born Steven Harris Cahn; April 28, 1947) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

guitarist.

Career

Steven Harris Cahn was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. His father, lyricist

Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premier ...

, "loved to hear any and all versions of his songs". He took piano lessons as a child and played drums for the

surf rock Surf music (or surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a Music genre, genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is in ...

band the Chantays. The band's guitarist exposed him to the albums ''Tough Talk'' by The Crusaders and ''Movin' Wes'' by

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...

. In his late teens he quit the drums and started playing guitar. He was a member of the R&B band Friends of Distinction, recorded with keyboardist Phil Moore, then played on the album ''Bullitt'' by

Wilton Felder Wilton Lewis Felder (August 31, 1940 – September 27, 2015) was an American saxophone and bass player, and is best known as a founding member of the Jazz Crusaders, later known as The Crusaders. Felder played bass on the Jackson 5's hits "I Wan ...

("one of my heroes"). Despite his father's advice to avoid a career in the music business, he graduated from UCLA with a degree in music composition and theory. In the early 1970s, he performed in an acoustic guitar duo with

Larry Coryell Larry Coryell (born Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III; April 2, 1943 – February 19, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist. Early life Larry Coryell was born in Galveston, Texas, United States. He never knew his biological father, a musician. He w ...

and was a member of the

Brecker Brothers The Brecker Brothers were a jazz fusion music duo consisting of siblings Michael Brecker, Michael and Randy Brecker, Randy. Michael played saxophone, flute, and EWI (musical instrument), EWI, and Randy played trumpet and flugelhorn. The brothers ...

band. As a session musician, he appeared on albums by

Ashford & Simpson Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, ...

Rupert Holmes David Goldstein (born February 24, 1947), better known as Rupert Holmes, is a British-American composer, singer-songwriter, dramatist and author. He is widely known for the hit singles "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" (1979) and " Him" (1980). ...

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

, and

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from live ...

. He was signed to Columbia Records through the efforts of

Bobby Colomby Robert Wayne Colomby (born 20 December 1944) is a jazz-rock fusion drummer, record producer and television presenter. He is best known as an original member of the group Blood, Sweat & Tears, which he co-founded in 1967. He has also played wit ...

and Bob James. On his first three albums ''

Tightrope Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope ...

'' (1977), ''The Blue Man'' (1978), and ''Arrows'' (1979), he was trying "to single-handledly keep alive the sound of the original Brecker Brothers band." His next album was ''Evidence'' (1980), which contained an eighteen-minute medley of songs by

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", "B ...

. He has also produced recordings for fellow guitarists

Mike Stern Mike Stern (born January 10, 1953) is an American jazz guitarist. After playing with Blood, Sweat & Tears, he worked with drummer Billy Cobham, then with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1981 to 1983 and again in 1985. He then began a solo career, re ...

Biréli Lagrène Biréli Lagrène (born 4 September 1966) is a French jazz guitarist who came to prominence in the 1980s for his Django Reinhardt–influenced style. He often performs in swing, jazz fusion, and post-bop styles. Biography Lagrène was born in ...

, and

Bill Connors Bill Connors (born September 24, 1949) is an American jazz guitarist who was a member of Chick Corea's band Return to Forever. After leaving Return to Forever, he recorded three acoustic albums and then three electric albums as a leader/soloist ...

, as well as pianist

Eliane Elias Eliane Elias
BrowseBiography.com, 20 November 2011; retrieved 10 September 2014. is a Brazilian jazz pianist, sin ...

Awards and honors

* Grammy Award nomination, ''Local Color'' (1987) * Grammy Award nomination, ''Borrowed Time'' (2007) * Named to list of "22 All-Time Greatest Jazz Guitarists", ''Jazz Life'' magazine (1998)

Discography

As leader

As sideman

Books

* ''Pentatonic Khancepts'' (Alfred Music, 2002) * ''Contemporary Chord Khancepts'' (Alfred Music, 1996) * ''Wes Montgomery Guitar Folio'' (Jamey Aebersold, 1973) * ''Pat Martino: The Early Years'' (Alfred Music, 1991)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Steve 1947 births Living people 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American guitarists American jazz guitarists Columbia Records artists Antilles Records artists Novus Records artists American session musicians Musicians from New York City Lead guitarists Guitarists from Los Angeles Jewish jazz musicians Jewish American musicians Jazz musicians from New York (state) Jazz musicians from California Steps Ahead members GRP Records artists 21st-century American Jews