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Wayne Krantz

Krantz was born in Corvallis, Oregon. He released his first album, Signals, in 1990, sporting an array of recognized jazz musicians such as Dennis Chambers, Don Alias, Anthony Jackson, and others.

In 1992, he formed a trio with bassist Lincoln Goines and drummer Zach Danziger and recorded two albums with them, Long To Be Loose (1993) and 2 Drink Minimum (1995), a live album, and began playing regularly at the 55 Bar, a jazz club in New York City. In 1996, Krantz released an acoustic album with Leni Stern, dubbed Separate Cages. After playing with Steely Dan for several years, Krantz formed a new trio in 1997 with Tim Lefebvre on bass and Keith Carlock on drums; on June 28, 2007, he played his final regular Thursday night gig at New York's 55 Bar. As of October and November 2018, he is playing regularly at 55 Bar again with a rotating cast of sidemen.

Krantz's first three solo albums were released on the jazz label Enja Records. His next three albums, 1999's Greenwich Mean, 2003's Your Basic Live, and 2007's Your Basic Live '06 were all released from Wayne's private website. Like 2 Drink Minimum, these albums are excerpts of various sets at the 55 Bar. These albums also include more use of effects pedals, and are more unscripted and improvised than the previous three. He contributed to Donald Fagen's release Morph the Cat, and toured with Fagen's band in early 2006. He was featured on tenor saxophonist Chris Potter's 2006 release, Underground.

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 Krantz, Carlock on drums and Lefebvre on bass. In 2012, Krantz released Howie 61 (a reference to Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited), which includes performances by Keith Carlock, James Genus, John Patitucci, Charley Drayton, Tal Wilkenfeld, Vinnie Colaiuta, Anton Fig, Yasushi Miura, Jeremy Stacey, Paul Stacey, Pino Palladino, Gabriela Anders, Kenny Wollesen, Nate Wood, Henry Hey and Owen Biddle. In 2014, Krantz released "Good Piranha/Bad Piranha," a live-in-the-studio album featuring his two dominant trio combinations at the time: Nate Wood/Keith Carlock and Tim Lefebvre/Nate Wood. The bands each recorded the same four cover songs with radically different improvisational results.

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3
Radio & Podcasts

Dieter Ilg, Jane Getter, Marc Guillermont, David Hines

Read "Dieter Ilg, Jane Getter, Marc Guillermont, David Hines" reviewed by Len Davis


German bassist Dieter Ilg from Summer Hill, guitarist Jane Getter with Adam Holzman, French guitarist Marc Guillermont, and bassist David Hines. Brazilian drummer Cuca Texiera from Mr Motaba, multi instrumentalist Sandro Haick with Pepe Cisneros, John McLaughlin from The Heart of Things-Live in Paris. We finish the first hour with Wayne Krantz, Keith Carlock and Tim Lefebvre. Playlist Dieter Ilg “Summer Hill" from Summer Hill (Lipstick) 00:00 Jane Getter “Pressure Point" from ON (Self Produced) 07:58 Marc Guillermont ...

12
Play This!

Wayne Krantz: One Of Two

Read "Wayne Krantz: One Of Two" reviewed by Mike Jacobs


While the whole of Wayne Krantz's Signals (Enja, 1990) is a bit too impressive a debut to be called prototypical, the origins for what would become the meat of the guitarist's stylistic identity lie in “One Of Two." Along with its companion piece (the cleverly-titled “Two Of Two"), this solo performance is arguably the first recorded appearance of the bespoke and revolutionary approach that cemented Krantz into a guitar icon. ...

31
Interview

Krantz / Carlock / Lefebvre: Touching The Stars

Read "Krantz / Carlock / Lefebvre: Touching The Stars" reviewed by Mike Jacobs


Guitarist Wayne Krantz has had a long, interesting and (some would say) iconic career. Along the way, he has reshaped his own style, delved heavily into the compositional and improvisational ends of the spectrum (often blurring the lines between them), and built a catalog that redefined what is possible both on his instrument and as a part of a group. But even in a career rife with left turns, reinventions and revolutionary periods, his KCL trio with bassist Tim Lefebvre ...

3
Radio & Podcasts

Wayne Krantz, Mark Lettieri, Jan Hammer and Aurora Clara

Read "Wayne Krantz, Mark Lettieri, Jan Hammer and Aurora Clara" reviewed by Len Davis


New York guitarist Wayne Krantz, from San Francisco Mark Lettieri, a new album from Jan Hammer Seasons 2, German drummer Anika Nilles' latest Opuntia, Aurora Clara from Spain, a classic Billy Cobham from Inner Conflicts, plus Kick The Cat and Vasil Hadzimanov Band.Playlist Wayne Krantz “U Can't Touch This" from Good Piranha Bad Piranha (Abstract Logix) 00:00 Mark Lettieri “Spark and Echo" from Spark and Echo (Ropeadope) 07:00 Jan Hammer “Summer Solstice" from Seasons 2 (Country & Eastern) ...

15
Live Review

Krantz, Carlock, Lefebvre At Bop Stop

Read "Krantz, Carlock, Lefebvre At  Bop Stop" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan


KCL: Wayne Krantz, Keith Carlock, Tim Lefebvre Bop Stop Cleveland, OH February 25, 2022 Back in the late '90s, chameleon-like guitarist Wayne Krantz started building a reputation by banding together with bassist Tim Lefebvre and drummer Keith Carlock for a residency at The 55 Bar in New York. By sharing their homemade, downloadable recordings of these regular gigs, a wider audience grew beyond the home environs. A studio album in 2009 further solidified their growing ...

12
Album Review

Wayne Krantz: Music Room 1985

Read "Music Room 1985" reviewed by Mike Jacobs


When it comes to lost recordings, unpublished novels or newly unearthed art of any sort, receptions tend to be somewhat mixed. This may be because, in many cases, those responsible for these works are usually dead and/or mythologized to a degree, so the expectational ante gets upped accordingly. Also involved—and perhaps more important—is the ability (or inability) to receive them in their proper context years after the fact. Which is why one of the nicer aspects of Wayne ...

14
Album Review

Wayne Krantz: Write Out Your Head

Read "Write Out Your Head" reviewed by Mike Jacobs


What do you want from Wayne Krantz anyway? It's a particularly relevant question when new release time rolls around for the guitar icon(oclast). Not that Krantz himself seems to give the question much thought. He's more known for being preoccupied with things like inventing (and reinventing) himself, exploring and capturing ineffable group mojo, or pushing the envelope toward things he has yet to try or accomplish. And, as many longtime Krantz fans would surely tell you, rightfully so. ...

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Performance / Tour

Wayne Krantz, Keith Carlock, Tim Lefebvre, Aka KCL Kicks Off Tour Next Week In New York City

Wayne Krantz, Keith Carlock, Tim Lefebvre, Aka KCL Kicks Off Tour Next Week In New York City

Source: Souvik Dutta

KCL, aka Wayne Krantz (Steely Dan, Michael Brecker), Keith Carlock (Steely Dan, Toto), Tim Lefebvre (Tedeschi Trucks, David Bowie) are a genre-defying iconic band firmly positioned at the vanguard of their craft, pushing their stylistic roots in rock, jazz, fusion & blues beyond their boundaries. Cutting live recordings from the club and posting them online in the early days of the internet and touring only sporadically, KCL developed a thoroughly original style of interactive group improvisation inspired in part by ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Wayne Krantz

Jazz Musician of the Day: Wayne Krantz

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Wayne Krantz's birthday today!

Ex-sideman with Steely Dan, Michael Brecker, Billy Cobham and others, has made six albums under his own name since 1991; three on the Enja label ("Signals", “Long to Be Loose" and “2 Drink Minimum"), one on the Alchemy label ("Separate Cages") and, most recently, the self-produced CDs “Greenwich Mean" and “Your Basic Live". Wayne\'s two recording bands during that time... Read more.

Place our Musician of the Day widget on your ...

1

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Wayne Krantz

Jazz Musician of the Day: Wayne Krantz

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Wayne Krantz's birthday today!

Ex-sideman with Steely Dan, Michael Brecker, Billy Cobham and others, has made six albums under his own name since 1991; three on the Enja label ("Signals", “Long to Be Loose" and “2 Drink Minimum"), one on the Alchemy label ("Separate Cages") and, most recently, the self-produced CDs “Greenwich Mean" and “Your Basic Live". Wayne\'s two recording bands during that time... Read more.

Place our Musician of the Day widget on your ...

1

Event

Maverick Guitarist Wayne Krantz Announces Fall Tour With 2x Salvation

Maverick Guitarist Wayne Krantz Announces Fall Tour With 2x Salvation

Source: Abstract Logix

Wayne Krantz, the innovative and improvisational guitarist, announces his FALL 2016 US “Undercover Pop Tour." This time out Krantz brings his unique sensibilities to the works of a wide cross-section of musicians: Sonic Youth, Talib Kweli & Mos Def, Paul McCartney, Ryuichi Nakamoto, Jethro Tull and others. Taking two different bands on the road for this tour, Krantz will perform October 4-9 and October 25-November 2 with 2x Salvation, with Star Truck playing the October 12-23 leg. This fall the ...

1

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Wayne Krantz

Jazz Musician of the Day: Wayne Krantz

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Wayne Krantz's birthday today!

Ex-sideman with Steely Dan, Michael Brecker, Billy Cobham and others, has made six albums under his own name since 1991; three on the Enja label ("Signals", “Long to Be Loose" and “2 Drink Minimum"), one on the Alchemy label ("Separate Cages") and, most recently, the self-produced CDs “Greenwich Mean" and “Your Basic Live". Wayne\'s two recording bands during that time... Read more.

Place our Musician of the Day widget on your ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Wayne Krantz

Jazz Musician of the Day: Wayne Krantz

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Wayne Krantz's birthday today! Ex-sideman with Steely Dan, Michael Brecker, Billy Cobham and others, has made six albums under his own name since 1991; three on the Enja label ("Signals", “Long to Be Loose" and “2 Drink Minimum"), one on the Alchemy label ("Separate Cages") and, most recently, the self-produced CDs “Greenwich Mean" and “Your Basic Live". Wayne\'s two recording bands during that time... Read more. Place our Musician of the Day widget on your ...

3

Event

Wayne Krantz 2015 World Tour Announced!

Wayne Krantz 2015 World Tour Announced!

Source: Abstract Logix

Known for his uncompromising musical vision, unique rhythms and deep reserves of soul, guitarist Wayne Krantz ventures beyond the guitar’s limitations to create an identifiably original style and sound. On the heels of a sold-out Ronnie Scott’s show in jny: London, Krantz sets to embark on his Good Piranha/Bad Piranha World tour, starting on February 11th in jny: Nashville and running through April 4th in jny: Indianapolis. Featuring three trios across the tour, Krantz kicks off his travels in the ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Wayne Krantz

Jazz Musician of the Day: Wayne Krantz

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Wayne Krantz's birthday today! Ex-sideman with Steely Dan, Michael Brecker, Billy Cobham and others, has made six albums under his own name since 1991; three on the Enja label ("Signals", “Long to Be Loose" and “2 Drink Minimum"), one on the Alchemy label ("Separate Cages") and, most recently, the self-produced CDs “Greenwich Mean" and “Your Basic Live". Wayne\'s two recording bands during that time... Read more. Place our Musician of the Day widget on your ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Wayne Krantz

Jazz Musician of the Day: Wayne Krantz

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Wayne Krantz's birthday today!

Ex-sideman with Steely Dan, Michael Brecker, Billy Cobham and others, has made six albums under his own name since 1991; three on the Enja label ("Signals", “Long to Be Loose" and “2 Drink Minimum"), one on the Alchemy label ("Separate Cages") and, most recently, the self-produced CDs “Greenwich Mean" and “Your Basic Live". Wayne\'s two recording bands during that time... Read more.

Place our Musician of the Day widget on your ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Wayne Krantz

Jazz Musician of the Day: Wayne Krantz

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Wayne Krantz's birthday today!

Ex-sideman with Steely Dan, Michael Brecker, Billy Cobham and others, has made six albums under his own name since 1991; three on the Enja label ("Signals", “Long to Be Loose" and “2 Drink Minimum"), one on the Alchemy label ("Separate Cages") and, most recently, the self-produced CDs “Greenwich Mean" and “Your Basic Live". Wayne\'s two recording bands during that time... Read more.

Place our Musician of the Day widget on your ...

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Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Keep Swingin'

Outside in Music
2024

buy

Music Room 1985

Abstract Logix
2021

buy

Write Out Your Head

Abstract Logix
2020

buy

Good Piranha Bad...

Abstract Logix
2014

buy

Howie 61

Abstract Logix
2012

buy

Krantz Carlock...

Abstract Logix
2009

buy

Howie 61

From: Howie 61
By Wayne Krantz

Holy Joe

From: Krantz Carlock Lefebvre
By Wayne Krantz

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