Reza Khan Shadow Dancers Album Release Show

Reza Khan brings his Shadow Dancers album-release show to the Iridium. The Bangladesh-born, New York-based guitarist and composer leads an ensemble project centered on the new record, whose core players include pianist Matt King, drummer and percussionist Mauricio Zottarelli, bassist Brendan Rothwell, and keyboardist Philippe Saisse. Khan is credited on the album with guitar, sound design, and santoor; its extended cast also includes guests Jeff Kashiwa, Nathan East, Jimmy Haslip, Olivia Foschi, and Zach Brock.

Since his 2009 debut, Painted Diaries, Khan has written conceptually, creating what his bio calls “lush musical storylines” through collaborators from world music and contemporary jazz. Shadow Dancers follows the theme of night, which Khan describes as representing “peace, tranquility, quietness.” Critics have heard a broad, carefully shaped sound in the record: Jazz Views notes melodic guitar lines filled out by strings, keyboards, saxophone, and percussion, calling his title-track playing “effortless.” Paris Move calls the music “gently cinematic, rich in melody and played with great taste,” while Skope finds it “sophisticated without becoming inaccessible” and “polished without losing its personality.”