Author Marty Khan Explores Thought Provoking Fiction
with a Paranormal Twist in Through the Membrane
Available Now as eBook and Hard Copy
via Outward Visions and Amazon,
Published by Giant Steps Press
If you like thought-provoking fiction with a paranormal twist, take a step Through the Membrane into a place where (as the late composer/musician Fred Ho described) "Jazz meets the Twilight Zone," by Marty Khan.
Author of Straight Ahead: A Comprehensive Guide to the Business of Jazz (Without Sacrificing Dignity or Artistic Integrity),
Khan has spent the last 50 years inside jazz-from teen fan to aspiring
musician to respected manager, producer, strategist, consultant,
non-profit specialist and advocate for artist self-empowerment. Born in
Brooklyn, Khan's initiation into the New York City jazz scene began in
1964. As a young fan, he worked in record stores and frequented concert
halls, lofts and clubs like Slugs' and the Five Spot. Thwarted in his
attempt to flunk out of NYU in his sophomore year by the general student
strike that closed down all colleges after Nixon's bombing of Cambodia,
he dropped out three hours into his junior year to pursue his
musicianship as a saxophonist in workshop performances and private
studies with Sam Rivers at Studio Rivbea on the early Seventies loft
scene. His long and varied career and relationships with some of the
music's major innovators provides him with a unique perspective on the
music's vitality and transformational power, enhanced by his colorful
take on the richly individualistic and extraordinary characters that
have created this music since its inception. All of this is celebrated
on every page of Through the Membrane, his first book of fiction.
Where in I Never Lived Until I Died for You
Slugs' - the notorious New York City jazz club of the 1960s - is the "office"
of foul-mouthed P.I. Teddy Hunter, who chases a gunman through the ladies' room
secret door and emerges into a totally new world.
Where in Catwalk to Ever
Pianist Kweli Porter is a reluctant sideman on a Southwestern tour
who finds himself experiencing buried realities of his past while playing
for a profoundly discerning audience.
Where in Exponent 4
The members of the Vincent Sherwood Quartet are faced with
staggering opportunity and responsibility when they discover that
their music can alter reality.
Filled
with fascinating characters, sharp dialogue, highly original plot
lines, a lot of humor and a stylistic flair that is as rhythmic and
vibrant as the music that provides the background for these tales, Through the Membrane will take you on three very different and very unusual trips.
"Drawn from an unstoppable imagination and a lifetime of
insider jazz lore, the plots and characters in 'Through the Membrane'
unfold with the eeriness of a Twilight Zone episode, the turns of a
Chandler crime mystery and a confrontation with evil characteristic of
Martin Scorsese's best films."
-- Kirpal Gordon - Author of Round Earth, Open Sky
"Sophisticated writing, with a mythical twist! Want to read more of these stories."
-- Mimi Machado-Luces - Emmy Award-winning producer
"He
brings to us amazing characters, the passion for art and expression and
the magic of the places that really great music can lead us. His words
dance and his images fly."
-- Steve Rowland - Two-time Peabody Award-winning documentarian
"Each novella is orchestrated with power and mastery, whether grounded in noir or the fantastic lyricism of fantasy."
-- Peter Kuhn - Writer, Musician, Zen Priest
"Words cannot describe how much I love 'Through the Membrane'. From
the first few sentences, to the very last word, I was entranced."
-- Subhraag Singh -Musician/Composer
"Reading
these stories is a cinematic and enveloping experience. Interesting and
exciting sci-fi/paranormal twists and turns - those I expected. What I
didn't expect was to finish each story with a lingering sense that I'd
been exposed to deeper Truths (capital T intended) about humanity and
culture."
-- Kyle Wilson - Executive Director - Artist Sync - an arts and technology non-profit