I have been following world jazz guitarist Reza Khan for years. He was born in Bangladesh, but has lived in New York City for years. For his latest album, which will be released on March 8, he called on several fellow musicians. The element of the unknown is inherent when artists come together to collaborate. World jazz guitarist Reza Khan is intrigued by that mystery. He sees magic in the creative process and finds the results mystical. Putting his avid curiosity and desire to experiment into practice, he invited a handful of Grammy-recognized musicians and Billboard hitmakers to join him and producer, songwriter and horn player David Mann on a joint recording adventure. Khan has a long history of collaboration with Mann, who as a saxophonist, flautist and woodwind player has worked with superstars - from Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga to Sting, James Taylor, Paul Simon, Madonna, Billy Joel, The Eagles and Tower of Power along with groundbreaking jazz greats such as Jeff Lorber, Chuck Loeb, Michael Franks, Dave Koz and The Rippingtons. Mann was Khan's first call to co-write and produce the album when he conceived the project. He'd never completely handed over producer duties to anyone before across Khan's six albums, but he trusted Mann to helm 'Mystical' after having a very positive experience on his previous outing, 'Imaginary Road' 2021. With Mann on board, Khan decided to do something else he's never done before: start composing music for the album with specific artists in mind – even before asking if they would be willing to be a guest on the album. Khan's leap of faith paid off when each of them – two-time Grammy winner Bob James, Grammy winner Lorber, three-time Grammy winner Jimmy Haslip, Grammy nominees Keiko Matsui and Philippe Saisse, and Billboard chart-topper Nils Jiptner – eagerly accepted the invitation to work with the guitarist. The album contains 10 original songs that reflect musical diversity and creativity, 7 new tracks and 3 reworked songs from his catalogue. Together with Jeff Lorber on keyboards and mini-Moog, he opens with the fusion of 'Falcon', a symbol of freedom, courage and vision. David Mann himself plays sax on the mystical and spiritual title track, followed by the first single 'Language of Love', together with legendary keyboard player Bob James and funky bassist Brendan Rothwell. This is an arrangement of a track from the 2011 album 'Simple Plan'. The beautiful 'Catalina's Dream' obviously refers to that jazz festival, and Reza plays it with exotic nylon guitar riffs. Philippe Saisse is also on board here. Singer Jennifer Grimm sings 'Bahia Mama', and also did so on the original from 2009. Reza's preference for Brazilian music comes to the fore here. David Mann provided the original idea for 'Rising' and asked Reza to finish it. Beautiful smooth jazz! Guitarist Nils Jiptner duets with Reza on the cheerful 'Look at the Bright Side' and pianist Keiko Matsui mixes contemporary jazz with world fusion, classical and Asian music on 'Strum'. Optimism is the trump card on 'Positivity' together with David Mann on sax and Mark Egan (Pat Metheny Group, Gil Evans Orchestra) on bass. Reza closes with acoustic guitar on 'Whispering Trees', which symbolize calm and healing. A beautiful album with equally beautiful collaborations! It takes you on a musical, mystical journey, and makes you think along the way.
		Tracks: Falcon Mystical Language of Love Catalina’s Dream Bahia Mama Rising Look at the Bright Side Strum Positivity Whispering Trees Reza Khan