Steve Khan
Steve Khan (born April 28, 1947) is an American jazz guitarist. Career. He was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. According to Steve Khan, his father, lyricist Sammy Cahn, "loved to hear any and all versions of his songs". Thus Khan grew up in a house with music. He took piano lessons as a child and played drums for the surf rock band the Chantays. The band's guitarist exposed him to the albums "Tough Talk" by The Crusaders and "Movin' Wes" by Wes Montgomery. 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 ("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 and was a member of the Brecker Brothers band. As a session musician, he appeared on albums by Ashford & Simpson, Rupert Holmes, Billy Joel, and Steely Dan. He was signed to Columbia  Records through the efforts of Bobby Colomby and Bob James. On his first three albums "Tightrope" (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. He has also produced recordings for fellow guitarists Larry Coryell, Mike Stern, Biréli Lagrène, and Bill Connors, as well as pianist Eliane Elias.