Jazz Articles about Wayne Krantz

About Wayne Krantz

Live Review

Krantz, Carlock, Lefebvre At Bop Stop

by C. Andrew Hovan
March 8, 2022

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 ...

Album Review

Wayne Krantz: Music Room 1985

Read "Music Room 1985" reviewed by Mike Jacobs

by Mike Jacobs
June 12, 2021

When it comes to lost recordings, unpublished novels or newly unearthed art of any sort, receptions tend to be somewhat mixed.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 ...

Album Review

Wayne Krantz: Write Out Your Head

Read "Write Out Your Head" reviewed by Mike Jacobs

by Mike Jacobs
May 9, 2020

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. ...

Album Review

Wayne Krantz: Good Piranha Bad Piranha

Read "Good Piranha Bad Piranha" reviewed by Ian Patterson

by Ian Patterson
January 21, 2015

If Wayne Krantz seemed to be embracing vocals on Krantz Carlock Lefebvre (Abstract Logix, 2009), where he sang on a third of the tracks, then the transition seemed complete on Howie 61 (Abstract Logix, 2012), where he sang on eight of the ten tracks, with the guitar--at least as an improvisational tool--taking a back seat to more melodic concepts. Good Piranha Bad Piranha marks Krantz' return to instrumental territory and reunites him with long-standing sparring partners, Keith Carlock and Tim ...

Catching Up With

Wayne Krantz: Inspired Transition

by Ian Patterson
June 20, 2012

It's taken guitarist Wayne Krantz the guts of twenty years to pen a CD of songs with lyrics and sing them. Howie 61 (Abstract Logix, 2012) is a departure from the music he has recorded previously, though Krantz, Carlock, Lefebvre (Abstract Logix, 2009) hinted at this new direction. There's less guitar work than might be expected from Krantz on this striking collection of compositions, but that maybe goes hand-in-hand with greater compositional depth. It's certainly got something to do with ...

Album Review

Wayne Krantz: Howie 61

Read "Howie 61" reviewed by Ian Patterson

by Ian Patterson
May 25, 2012

It's rarely been the norm to talk about guitarist Wayne Krantz's singing, as the focus of his music has long been instrumental. That began to change with the sizzling Krantz, Carlock, Lefebvre (Abstract Logix, 2009), where Krantz sang on a third of the tracks. On Howie 61 Krantz sings on eight of the ten numbers. The notable evolution in Krantz' songwriting--which fuses composition and improvisation--is also heard in his increasingly melodic guitar playing. “I don't wanna follow a King I ...

Extended Analysis

Wayne Krantz: Howie 61

by John Kelman
May 10, 2012

Wayne KrantzHowie 61Abstract Logix2012He's long been a musician's musician and a guitarist's guitarist--there's a reason Steely Dan's Donald Fagen recruited him for his last solo disc, Morph the Cat (Reprise, 2006), and saxophonists David Binney and Chris Potter called him up for Graylen Epicenter (Mythology, 2011) and Underground (Sunnyside, 2006), respectively. Krantz's instantly recognizable, head-cocking idiosyncracies, combined with his distinctive harmonic language and effortless ability to groove, even at his most oblique, ...