Wayne Krantz

Wayne Krantz - Long To Be Loose - 1993 - Enja

This is a group effort that finds Krantz in the company of young stars Lincoln Goines and Zach Danziger. This became a regular band for Krantz, who later put out a live recording with the same personnel. The tunes are all played with passion by all, and feature Krantz's penchant for extended and at times self-indulgent solos. Like most good jazz players, Krantz explores new territories and takes chances when he's playing. He is one of the few fusion-style players to emerge during the '90s who can improvise for long periods of time and make it interesting for the duration. This is more consistent than Signals, but it would have been an extra bonus to hear some more of his solo pieces. Robert Taylor © 2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/long-to-be-loose-mw0000102823

"Indefinable, unfettered excellence." - Musician

"A major talent with a fresh vision." - Pulse

"Krantz makes his guitar sing in ways that sound at once new and reconfigured." - Jazziz

"A strikingly fresh approach to late 20th century guitar…distinctive to the point of singularity…essential listening. CD of the year." - Jazz

"Riveting trio interplay". - Bass Player

"The intricate texture and Spartan sound of LTBL makes a strong statement" - Billboard

It is impossible to describe the music using any kind of mainstream comparisons, simply because it is so individual and unique. Making an attempt would be a great disservice to the man himself, who has spent many years developing, in detail, his own highly personalized approach to composition and improvisation. If you are unfamiliar with his music, I would advise you immediately to visit his site www.waynekrantz.com, to gain an insight into the story so far. © www.zama.co.uk 2003 http://www.andydrudy.com/Interviews/interviewWayneKrantz.htm

Long To Be Loose is the second solo album released by the unique jazz fusion guitarist, Wayne Krantz. It was the first album to feature his first trio, consisting of Lincoln Goines on electric bass, Zach Danziger on drums, and Wayne himself on guitar. Its memorable riffs imply Wayne's avant-garde maturity from his previous album, Signals, towards his later and more complex albums, such as 1995's 2 Drink Minimum, and Greenwich Mean, released four years later. Many licks that Wayne uses on Long To Be Loose have found their way onto later albums. Wayne is a genre-defying visionary in jazz rock fusion, and these high energy tracks propelled by Wayne's searing guitar will give you a new insight into the jazz fusion genre. Wayne is one of the greatest rock and fusion guitarists playing today. His originality, inventiveness, and improvisational skills know no bounds. He has played on over 3000 recording sessions and toured with bands like Steely Dan. Wayne, in an interview said that "I often feel frustrated in the way guitar education has gone in recent times. Inspired by the rock world, pattern based playing has seemingly taken over. Yet this was never how most of the great players learned how to play or executed their solos. It almost seems like the death of improvisation. Instead we have solos constructed using a series of pre-learned patterns. I suppose I yearn for the days of Steely Dan when improvised solos were frequently in the mainstream". "Long To Be Loose" is HR by A.O.O.F.C. Buy Wayne's "Howie 61" album featuring Tal Wilkenfeld, Vinnie Colaiuta, John Patitucci, Pino Palladino, and Keith Carlock [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 140 Mb]

TRACKS

1 These instrumental pieces were 2:01
2 not consciously written about 6:47
3 specific people, places, things or ideas 6:38
4 (although one began 7:01
5 from a little croaking sound 5:03
6 a friend's DAT machine makes). 6:55
7 What they were written about 6:27
8 is something I don't understand yet 6:14
9 but I know it when I see it 6:37
10 and, hopefully, so will you. 7:41

All tracks composed by Wayne Krantz

MUSICIANS

Wayne Krantz - Guitar
Lincoln Goines - Bass
Zach Danziger - 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.