Change is a fact of life, and it's something that's better to be embraced than challenged; as inevitable as death and taxes, it's one of those things that you may as well accept, because there are few, if any, options to do otherwise. That said, while the then-aptly titled Parting Shot (Tone Center, 2011) suggested that guitarist Steve Khan's days recording as a leader were over, it is, indeed, great news to find, in 2014, that he's changed his mind with the release of Subtext—though the why is not necessarily so good.

But more about that later. Subtext continues the thread that's run through his recent Tone Center recordings, specifically Parting Shot and 2007's Borrowed Time—two records that explore and exploit, more than any in the guitarist's long career, his interest in all things Latin and Afro-Cuban. But Subtext also represents both change and some of Khan's most flat-out soulful playing ever.

Subtext also represents, from a guitarist who has long eschewed meaningless technical displays, some of Khan's most overtly virtuosic playing since his early '80s epiphany and attendant paradigm shift towards the more spartan approach that began around the time of his overlooked solo guitar masterpiece, Evidence (Arista/Novus, 1980), but became more fully formed with the release of Eyewitness (Trio, 1981). That's not to suggest Khan is now sacrificing quality for quantity, or substance for style—far from it—but on Subtext he stretches out more and demonstrates that he's absolutely capable of pyrotechnic displays; but, as befits a guitarist who deserted "look at me" demonstrations decades ago, only at exactly the right time. It just seems that, on Subtext, there are plenty more of them.

There are some changes, too, in the personnel, most notably the absence of Parting Shot's bassist,