Wayne Krantz

Wayne Krantz - Good Piranha / Bad Piranha - 2014 - Abstract Logix

Wayne Krantz, the muscular, funky New York guitarist, might be approximately parcelled into a John Scofield category – except that this exciting artist goes further than Scofield, and loves nothing more than hell-for-leather jams with mates. Krantz’s trio, with bassist Nate Wood and drummer Keith Carlock, display a relish for ferociously loose covers of leftfield pop. Along with long-time bassist Tim Lefebvre and the ethereal, contrasting background singer, Gabriela Anders, they rocket through four themes – including Thom Yorke’s Black Swan and MC Hammer’s U Can’t Touch This – and then play them all again, totally differently. Anders’s fragile lilt prefaces the splintering chordwork and pounding funk on Black Swan, and Comprachicos swerves and skids on Krantz’s taut, whippy phrasing. U Can’t Touch This, meanwhile, has a vivacious, bouncing groove, fresh and long-lined guitar phrasing, and wacky, Ed Wood flying saucer-like whirrs. It’s all uncompromisingly raw, and maybe something of a guitar buff’s set, but it never stops rocking. © John Fordham Thursday 6 November 2014 20.00 GMT © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/nov/06/wayne-krantz-good-piranha-bad-piranha-review

Since the late 1980's, guitarist Wayne Krantz has been regarded as one of the world’s great musicians. He has worked with artists that include the exalted Steely Dan (both as a band member and on solo albums by Donald Fagen), the legendary jazz saxophonists Michael Brecker, Chris Potter and David Binney, composer Carla Bley and the incomparable drummer Billy Cobham. As well as Wayne's incredible inventive studio albums, he has released several influential recordings of his amazing live trio performances, mostly recorded at the 55 Bar in Greenwich Village, New York. Wayne has also played major global concert events attracting many lovers of powerful, innovative and amazingly skilled improvised music. It has been said that Wayne Krantz "has invented a guitar genre of his own". G. T. Gusdorf reviewing this album on amazon.com said that, "I like jazz fusion, and this album is great. It makes me realize that the question "is jazz dead?" debate is for people who don't like jazz, and don't know how to say it". This album is HR by A.O.O.F.C. Check out Wayne's "Howie 61" album [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 99.9 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1. Black Swan - Thom Yorke 6:04
2. My Skin Is My Sin - Ice Cube 5:05
3. Comprachicos - Gareth McGrillen 7:42
4. U Can't Touch This - MC Hammer 4:22
5. Black Swan - Thom Yorke 6:56
6. My Skin Is My Sin - Ice Cube 3:47
7. Comprachicos - Gareth McGrillen 2:43
8. U Can't Touch This - MC Hammer 4:54

MUSICIANS

Wayne Krantz - Guitar
Tim Lefebvre - Bass
Nate Wood - Bass, Drums
Keith Carlock - Drums
Gabriela Anders - Occasional Vocals

ABOUT WAYNE KRANTZ

Born 26th July 26 1956, WAYNE KRANTZ was raised in Corvalis, Oregon, Krantz. He discovered the Beatles at 14, and soon after started playing guitar. Having previously been subjected to piano tuition and hated it, KRANTZ found with the guitar he enjoyed not being told to practice. Early musical development included playing in rock and country groups. Shortly before leaving high school he discovered jazz in his father's record collection, in particular guitarist BARNEY KESSEL: this music became his main interest. To quote from KRANTZ's own web biography: "My first musically important job was with a band in Boston, the D SHARP GROUP - which also had guitarist BILL FRISELL. Afterwards I went on the road with CARL BLEY and that's where I really learned how to play chord changes. LENI STERN heard me playing at a club with CARLA and started hiring me to play gigs around town and later I went to Europe with LENI for several tours, clubs and festivals. Guitar-wise I guess I have been influenced one way or another by all the guys I respect. In that long list have to be TERRY HAGGERTY (The SONS OF CHAMPLIN), MICK GOODRICK, PAT METHENY, MIKE STERN, BILL FRISELL, KEVIN EUBANKS and JOHN SCOFIELD. Way off in the distance, the mountains that inspire all of us are JOHN MCLAUGHLIN and GEORGE BENSON; those are the guys that have taken their own the farthest. The immediate goal for me is to fulfill the promise of making my own music". In 1991 WAYNE KRANTZ released his first solo album, 'Signals', which included a number of well known session jazz musicians. He then formed his own trio with LINCOLN GOINES (bass) and ZACH DANZIGER (drums), recording 'Long To Be Loose' (1993), and the first of several live albums the excellent '2 Drink Minimum', (1995). During this period through to the mid noughties, WAYNE KRANTZ gained the reputation of being a New York guitar-fusionist, playing periodically at the 55 Bar jazz club in New York City. In 1996, KRANTZ released an acoustic album with LENI STERN, 'Separate Cages' (1996). WAYNE KRANTZ formed a new trio in 1997, which further demonstrated his outstanding guitar abilities complimented with a huge bag of jazz and rock riffs, allowing attractive improv to be played live night after night. In fact to use the term 'riffs' is far from precise when KRANTZ has outlined in his book, 'An Improviser's Operating System', his approach to improvisation, which relies not on licks or memorised fretboard patterns but an awareness of 'musical formulae' using the guitar. In doing so KRANTZ was producing new sounds that have changed his musical style drastically. His electric bass-player and drummer, respectively TIM LEFEBVRE and KEITH CARLOCK, contributed well the immediate inspiration and fluidity so that such live improv to be generated in many of KRANTZ's later albums well illustrate this type of jazz fusion. (It should be noted that TIM LEFEBVRE and ZACH DANZIGER, formed the innovative jazz drum'n'bass group BOOMISH as a side project in the late 90's - their second album 'Clearance Sale' includes contributions from KRANTZ and FRISELL. With some growing disillusionment and impatience with the mainstream record industry, KRANTZ's next three albums were produced and sold independently: 'Greenwich Mean' (1999), 'Your Basic Live' (2003), and 'Your Basic Live '06' (2007), being only available for sale at gigs or mail order via KRANTZ's website. During this time WAYNE KRANTZ cemented a well earned reputation worldwide, through tours (for instance appearing several times at Wales' Brecon Jazz Festival. In addition he has been in demand as a touring sidesman and session guitarist, working with STEELY DAN, MICHAEL BRECKER, DONALD FAGEN ('Morph The Cat', released 2006), CHRIS POTTER ('Underground', also in 2006), TAL WILKENFELD ('Tranformation' 2007) with perhaps the earliest session appearance on JASPER VAN'T HOF's 'Blue Corner'(1993). In June, 2007, KRANTZ played his last regular gig at the 55 Bar (at least for the time being), announcing ?he had a desire to move towards a louder thing requiring bigger rooms, with stages and sound systems to pull it off.?? However, the most recent announcement tells us of a August 2009 release 'Krantz, Lefevbre, Carlock', the first studio album recording in 13 years. (Biography compiled from various sources, quotes from Wayne Krantz). © Prog Archives, All rights reserved http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=4613