The ever-restless guitarist/producer/songwriter/film scorer King Khan who leads several bands, most prominent among them, King Khan and the Shrines, is known as a purveyor of psychedelic soul, punk-infused garage rock, gospel, and irreverent rock n’ roll. He has found yet another unexplored frontier, his first-ever jazz album, The Infinite Ones. The album features Marshall Allen & Knoel Scott (Sun Ra Arkestra) John Convertino & Martin Wenk (Calexico), Brontez Purnell (Younger Lovers), Ben Ra (King Khan & The Shrines), and Davide Zolli (The Mojomatics). These ten tracks total a short jazz album, clocking in around 36 minutes with some tracks in the two-three-minute range. As such, these are sound explorations, most rather spacey in nature, rather than a series of ensemble passages spiced with individual solos.
Khan claims the album came to him from deep in his soul, rather than as a planned project. The album begins with “Wait Till The Stars Burn”, a planetary ode to the Sun. The second track “Tribute to the Pharoahs Den”, is a requiem for Danny Ray Thompson (R.I.P.) of the Sun Ra Arkestra, his music and legacy now floating above us in the infinity of space. Both tracks feature saxophonists/multi-reedists Marshall Allen and Knoel Scott. Calexico’s trumpeter Wenk plays on the latter with Convertino among the percussionists on both.
Khan seems to envision himself as a modern-day Sun Ra playing synths, guitar, bass, percussion, and an instrument he labels “Astro Infinity Bass.” He wrote “Theme of Yahya” for Yahya El Majid who played for many years with the Arkestra. He says, “I met Yahya in 2005 during my first meeting with the Arkestra. He shared many stories with me about the teachings of Sun Ra, the discipline he learned from him, and the many adventures he had all over the world traveling with the Arkestra. He told me these tales while playing a Chinese harp, jamming to the sounds of Tuvaan Throat Singers, while burning a large amount of frankincense and myrrh. When I recorded the song, I had four harps panned in stereo to form a sonic flower. When Yahya heard the track, he telephoned me and told me that he was really moved by the piece and was proud of me. Yahya had been struggling for years with cancer and sadly passed away late August 2020. I did not realize that my tribute to him would become a requiem, and it means the world to me that he was able to hear his tribute before he left the planet.” Beyond those Sun Ra related pieces, we don’t hear again from Allen and Knoel but Convertino and Wenk appear on most pieces, each of which carry a slightly different instrumental configuration.
Khan is trying to do in a few short minutes a tribute to many composers who inspired him, rattling off this list – Alice Coltrane, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Philip Kelan Cohran, Bernard Herrmann, Ennio Morricone, Miles Davis, Sun Ra, John Carpenter, Quincy Jones, Old Bollywood, Film Noir, to name just a few. He also nods to the films he scored that never gained commercial fame. Here’s another statement – “These tracks are from the infinite celluloid that runs deep in my mind, body and soul. In my lifetime I never thought I would see the deaths of “Celluloid” or “analog recording”. I refuse to accept the coroner reports on said fatalities, so here is my offering to the canon of cinematic overtures and analog self-preservation, for the films in our heads yet to be made.”
The album ends with “Hal,” a requiem for Hal Willner (R.I.P.) whose devotion to celebrating the weird and insane is clearly at the heart of Khan’s vision. The album is like a grand mashup of Sun Ra, Alice Coltrane, and electronica but the sounds are mostly soft and relaxing, making for a dreamlike headphone experience before one turns out the lights.
