Wayne Krantz

Wayne Krantz - Greenwich Mean - 1999 - Wayne Krantz

"Greenwich Mean boils with guitar virtuosity" - The Guardian: "The music, teeming with dynamics, is at once lyrical and power-packed, urgent and ecstatic" - Downbeat: "Dynamic; vivid...rife with surprising harmonic moves and tongue-twister melodies" - Guitar Player: "This is a music wrought out of months of collective improvisation. A musical bond that fosters second sight, an ability to see round corners, a confidence to pull an emergency stop and then accelerate headlong down a dark alley where risk equals reward" - Jazzwise:

The album is edited down from over 100 hours of live tape from performances at the 55 Bar, NYC, during Summer, 1997 and Spring, 1998. There have been numerous complaints about the editing of the album, which sometimes result in abrupt endings, and track end silences, but there's enough material here to keep any fan of great improv. jazz rock/fusion happy. Wayne Krantz is a genius, and a few track editing flaws should not deter you from enjoying the gargantuan talent of this guitar master. Check out the "Krantz Carlock Lefebvre" album on this blog. Also, try and listen to his acoustic album with Leni Stern, "Separate Cages".

TRACKS

1. Infinity Split
2. Anemone
3. Harum-Scarum
4. Ultramarine
5. There's Looting in Bombay
6. Wet Heat Sweat
7. Greenwich Mean
8. Cinecitta
9. Blue Period
10. The End of Wednesday
11. Casanova Club
12. Spektor
13. Deep Sleep Joke
14. Honey Loves Sugar
15. Black Ocean Endlessness
16. Clamor
17. Soul System
18. Elephant
19. Marble Maker
20. Escape From Oblivion
21. Outpost
22. Unnamed track 22
23. Unnamed track 23
24. Unnamed track 24

All tracks composed by Wayne Krantz

N.B: The last three tracks are short instrumental "snippets" and last 1 minute 41 seconds in total

MUSICIANS

Wayne Krantz : electric guitar
Tim Lefebvre : electric bass (on 1-6,8,10-12,17-21)
Will Lee : electric bass (on 6-10,13-16)
Keith Carlock : drums

ABOUT WAYNE KRANTZ (WIKI)

Wayne Krantz (born July 26, 1956 in Corvallis, Oregon) is an innovative American musician, who is widely recognized as a technically advanced jazz fusion guitarist. He has played with top artists such as Steely Dan, John Zorn, Michael Brecker, Billy Cobham, and others, but currently has a solo act. Krantz released his first album, Signals, in 1991, sporting an array of recognized jazz musicians such as Dennis Chambers, Leni Stern, Anthony Jackson, and others. However, in 1992, he formed a trio with bassist Lincoln Goines and drummer Zach Danziger, and recorded two albums with them; Long To Be Loose, in 1993, and a live album, 2 Drink Minimum, in 1995. In doing so, he began to play periodically at the 55 Bar, a diverse and premier jazz club in New York City. In 1996, Krantz released an acoustic album with Leni Stern, dubbed Separate Cages. Wayne formed a new trio in 1997, consisting of his ferocious guitar skills, complemented by Tim Lefebvre on electric bass and Keith Carlock on drums, new sounds that would change his music's style drastically. On June 28, 2007, Krantz played his final regular Thursday night gig at NYC's 55 Bar. In an announcement by Krantz to his mailing list notifying his fans of the change, he stated a desire to move towards a "louder thing" requiring "bigger rooms, with stages and sound systems to pull it off." Krantz's first three solo albums were released on the jazz label, Enja Records, which was at the time also home to frequent collaborator Leni Stern. However, Krantz's last three albums, 1999's Greenwich Mean, 2003's Your Basic Live, and 2007's "Your Basic Live '06" were both released from Wayne's private website. Like 2 Drink Minimum, these two albums both are excerpts of various sets at the 55 Bar. These two albums also include more use of effects pedals, and are more unscripted and improvised than the previous three, implying Wayne's tendency towards nonconformism on and off the stage. He contributed to Steely Dan co-founder Donald Fagen's newest release, Morph the Cat, and participated in touring with Fagen's band in early 2006. In another rare sideman role, Krantz is featured on tenor saxophonist Chris Potter's 2006 release, "Underground." Additionally, he is to return to the studio in 2006 to record a new solo album, to be followed by touring. It is unknown whether this new album will feature Wayne's existing trio. Even with a lack of a record company, and thus an absence of excessive advertisement and sponsorship, Krantz's music still receives acclaim and a worldwide underground fan base, strongest in the New York metropolitan area and Britain. Wayne Krantz signed with record label Abstract Logix to release his first studio record in over fifteen years.Krantz Carlock Lefebvre (2009) features the core trio of Keith Carlock on drums, Tim Lefebvre on bass, and Wayne on guitar. As a guitarist, Krantz is known for being a relentless individualist, which is evidenced in his improvisational style. In his book "An Improviser's Operating System," Krantz outlines his approach to improvisation, which relies not on licks or memorized fretboard patterns but an awareness of musical "formulas" on the instrument. Krantz's improvisation is known for its spontaneity, and he makes a distinction between this form of improvisation and "composition," the latter of which may include any musical idea that is preconceived on the instrument. While many guitarists rely on other music as a model for their own playing, Krantz is highly committed to realizing his own voice on the instrument and claims not to derive a great deal of inspiration from other music. Though Krantz has studied other players in the past, he does not consider himself a stylist (i.e. someone who models his or her playing on a predefined stylistic template, such as pure bebop, rock, blues or funk.) In addition to its concern for melody and harmony, Krantz's music demonstrates a high rhythmic awareness, often incorporating polyrhythms, odd metric groupings and displaced beats. Krantz is most identified with a Stratocaster-type electric guitar. Recently he has played a model manufactured by Tyler Guitars. Earlier releases such as "Signals" feature a chorus effect commonly associated with fusion guitar. Within several years, however, his sound became more organic, featuring analog effects such as overdrive, wah-wah, and a Moogerfooger ring modulator. For amplification, Krantz has used both Fender Deluxe Reverb and, more recently, Marshall amplifiers for a heavier sound. On May 22, 2004, Krantz married smooth jazz vocalist Gabriela Anders. Together they live in New York City with their daughter Marley.