Wayne Krantz

Krantz was born in Corvallis, Oregon. In the late 80s he started as a sideman in New York City, working with Carla Bley, Michael Brecker, Billy Cobham, Leni Stern and others. He released his first album, "Signals," in 1990, with Dennis Chambers, Don Alias, Anthony Jackson, Jim Beard and Hiram Bullock.

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 and blues club in New York City. In 1997, after playing with Steely Dan for several years, Krantz formed a new trio with bassist Tim Lefebvre and drummer Keith Carlock.

Krantz's first three solo albums were released on the Enja Records label. His next three albums, 1999's "Greenwich Mean," 2003's "Your Basic Live," and 2007's "Your Basic Live '06" were all released independently. 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 2006. He was featured on tenor saxophonist Chris Potter's 2006 release, "Underground."

Krantz released his first studio record in over fifteen years, "Krantz Carlock Lefebvre," in 2009. 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.

In 2020, Krantz released "Write Out Your Head," featuring Gabriela Anders, Keith Carlock, Will Lee, Orlando le Fleming, Tim Lefebvre, Pino Palladino and Chris Potter. In '21, he released a previously unreleased solo project, "Music Room 1985." His current release, 2025's "Player-Songwriter," is a 13-song solo record featuring his own guitar and vocal.

Dial and DeRosa: Keep Swingin'

Read "Keep Swingin'" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
March 30, 2024

Keep Swingin', a splendid new album from pianist Garry Dial and drummer Rich DeRosa, features “the music of Charlie Banacos." Charlie who? you may ask. And the answer is, there are jazz educators, and then there was Charlie Banacos, whose talent and ingenuity in the classroom influenced and inspired countless jazz musicians for more than fifty years. During that time, he designed more than a hundred courses of study and wrote half a dozen books on composition and improvisation.

Radio & Podcasts

Dieter Ilg, Jane Getter, Marc Guillermont, David Hines

by Len Davis
August 25, 2023

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 ...

Play This!

Wayne Krantz: One Of Two

by Mike Jacobs
August 9, 2023

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. ...

Interview

Krantz / Carlock / Lefebvre: Touching The Stars

by Mike Jacobs
September 19, 2022

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 ...

Radio & Podcasts

Wayne Krantz, Mark Lettieri, Jan Hammer and Aurora Clara

by Len Davis
September 9, 2022

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) ...

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 ...

Performance / Tour

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

Source: Souvik Dutta
September 6, 2022

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 ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Wayne Krantz

Source: Michael Ricci
July 26, 2018

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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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Wayne Krantz

Source: Michael Ricci
July 26, 2017

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

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

Event

Maverick Guitarist Wayne Krantz Announces Fall Tour With 2x Salvation

Source: Abstract Logix
September 28, 2016

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 ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Wayne Krantz

Source: Michael Ricci
July 26, 2016

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

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

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Wayne Krantz

Source: Michael Ricci
July 25, 2015

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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Event

Wayne Krantz 2015 World Tour Announced!

Source: Abstract Logix
February 5, 2015

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 London, Krantz sets to embark on his Good Piranha/Bad Piranha World tour, starting on February 11th in Nashville and running through April 4th in Indianapolis. Featuring three trios across the tour, Krantz kicks off his travels in the United States with ...
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Birthday