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Wayne Krantz
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Key Information
Wayne Krantz is an American guitarist and composer. He has performed and recorded with Steely Dan, Michael Brecker, Donald Fagen, Billy Cobham, Chris Potter, David Binney, and Carla Bley. Since the early 1990s, Krantz has focused primarily on his solo career, mostly as the leader of various trio combinations.
Career
[edit]A native of Corvallis, Oregon, Krantz began playing guitar at 14. Initially playing in local rock bands, he heard a jazz record in his father's album collection and became interested in the genre.[1] Moving East after high school, his first international touring experience was with the Carla Bley Sextet.[1] He released his debut solo album, Signals, in 1991.[1] He formed a trio with Lincoln Goines and Zach Danziger and recorded an additional two albums with the Enja label, "Long To Be Loose" and "2 Drink Minimum." His next steady trio was with Tim Lefebvre and Keith Carlock, with whom he recorded three albums, "Greenwich Mean," "Your Basic Live" and "Krantz Carlock Lefebvre."
He has also worked with Billy Cobham, Michael Brecker, Chris Potter, Steely Dan and Donald Fagen.
Krantz worked with record label Abstract Logix to release Krantz Carlock Lefebvre in 2009. In 2012, Krantz released Howie 61 (a reference to Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited), which includes John Patitucci, Charley Drayton, Tal Wilkenfeld, Vinnie Colaiuta, Anton Fig, Jeremy Stacey, Paul Stacey, Pino Palladino, Gabriela Anders, Kenny Wollesen, Nate Wood, Henry Hey, and Owen Biddle.[2]
Krantz has written two books, "An Improvisor's OS," and with James Muller, "TABs On Krantz." He also created an app with Amit Lissack designed to increase tempo awareness, "Humanome."
Discography
[edit]As leader
[edit]- Signals (Enja, 1990)
- Long to Be Loose (Enja, 1993)
- 2 Drink Minimum (Enja, 1995)
- Greenwich Mean (East River Joint, 1999)
- Your Basic Live (East River Joint, 2002)
- Your Basic Live '06 (East River Joint, 2006)
- Krantz Carlock Lefebvre (Abstract Logix, 2009)
- Howie 61 (Abstract Logix, 2012)
- Good Piranha / Bad Piranha (Abstract Logix, 2014)
- Write Out Your Head (East River Joint, 2020)
- Music Room 1985 (East River Joint, 2021)
- Player-Songwriter (East River Joint, 2025)
As sideman
[edit]With David Binney
- Balance (ACT, 2002)
- Aliso (Criss Cross, 2010)
- Graylen Epicenter (Mythology, 2011)
- Anacapa (Criss Cross, 2014)
With Leni Stern
- Secrets (Enja, 1989)
- Closer to the Light (Enja, 1990)
- Ten Songs (Lipstick, 1992)
- Separate Cages (Alchemy, 1996)
With others
- Robby Ameen, Days in the Life (Two and Four, 2009)
- Gabriela Anders, Cool Again (Evj! 2015)
- Jay Anderson, Next Exit (DMP, 1992)
- Fahir Atakoglu, Istanbul in Blue (Far & Here, 2007)
- Fahir Atakoglu, Faces & Places (Far & Here, 2009)
- Victor Bailey, Bottom's Up (Atlantic, 1989)
- Victor Bailey, Low Blow (ESC, 1999)
- Ranjit Barot, Bada Boom (EMI, 2010)
- John Escreet, The Age We Live in (Mythology, 2011)
- Donald Fagen, Morph the Cat (Reprise, 2006)
- Michael Formanek, Wide Open Spaces (Enja, 1990)
- Michael Formanek, Extended Animation (Enja, 1992)
- Gary Husband, Dirty & Beautiful Vol. 2 (Abstract Logix, 2012)
- Chris Potter, Underground (Universal/Emarcy, 2006)
- Markus Reuter, Mundo Nuevo (Unsung, 2015)
- Steps Ahead, Yin-Yang (NYC, 1992)
- Jasper van 't Hof, Blau (ACT, 1992)
- Jasper van 't Hof, Blue Corner (ACT, 1996)
Further reading
[edit]- Gagne, Brian. "Your Basic Mindf***." Meniscus Magazine, August 1, 2003.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Yanow, Scott (2013). The Great Jazz Guitarists. San Francisco: Backbeat. pp. 112–113. ISBN 978-1-61713-023-6.
- ^ Cleveland, Barry (July 2012). "Wayne Krantz". Guitar Player. pp. 48–54. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
External links
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Wayne Krantz
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Early Life and Education
Childhood and Early Influences
Wayne Krantz was born on July 26, 1956, in Corvallis, Oregon.[1] Growing up in this small college town, Krantz was exposed to music early through his family environment, where his father maintained a collection of jazz records and owned an acoustic guitar that had been left in the corner of the house.[10] As a child, he was forced to take piano lessons but disliked them intensely, which contrasted with his growing curiosity about the guitar.[11] At the age of 14, Krantz was inspired to pick up the guitar after hearing The Beatles, marking the beginning of his self-taught journey on the instrument.[1] This initial spark led him to experiment with the family acoustic guitar, focusing on rock influences that dominated his teenage years.[11] Shortly before finishing high school, he delved deeper into his father's jazz record collection, discovering artists like guitarist Barney Kessel, which introduced him to improvisational and harmonic complexities beyond basic rock structures.[10] Krantz's early playing experiences centered on local bands in Oregon, where he honed basic skills in country and rock genres, performing covers and simple originals.[10] These formative years built his rhythmic foundation and stage presence, while his exposure to progressive rock groups like Jethro Tull and Chicago began incorporating jazz fusion elements, blending electric guitar grooves with more adventurous harmonies and rhythms.[1] This period laid the groundwork for his later move to structured musical education in New York.[12]Formal Training and Early Bands
Wayne Krantz received limited formal jazz education, attending Berklee College of Music where he studied under guitarist Mick Goodrick, a renowned mentor to many jazz artists. There, he absorbed foundational jazz vocabulary and language, though much of his development was self-directed, building on earlier rock influences from his teenage years. After Berklee, Krantz relocated from Corvallis, Oregon, to New York City in the mid-1980s, immersing himself in the competitive jazz environment to reinvent his style. Upon arrival, he initially sounded much like Pat Metheny, a phase he later described as needing a complete purge to develop his own voice, blending self-taught improvisation with the city's vibrant local scenes.[5][13] In Oregon, Krantz had played in rock and country bands during his early development, shifting toward jazz-oriented groups upon arriving in NYC. This transition marked his entry into professional sideman work, including his first major tours in the late 1980s with Carla Bley's band, where he honed skills in navigating complex chord changes.[10]Career
Sideman Collaborations
Krantz established himself as a sought-after sideman in the late 1980s New York jazz scene, performing and recording with fusion pioneers including drummer Billy Cobham and saxophonist Michael Brecker.[12] His early work with Cobham highlighted his rhythmic precision in high-energy fusion contexts, while collaborations with Brecker showcased his improvisational agility alongside one of jazz's leading voices.[11] Around this time, Krantz also performed with Carla Bley's Sextet in 1986, contributing guitar to live ensembles featuring Bley on organ, alongside Larry Willis on piano, Steve Swallow on bass, and drummers Victor Lewis and Don Alias, blending jazz and fusion elements in international festivals.[14][6] By the 1990s, Krantz joined Steely Dan's touring band for their 1993–1994 and 1996 reunions, delivering intricate guitar parts and solos that complemented the band's signature sophistication during live performances captured on albums like Alive in America.[15] He also contributed to Donald Fagen's solo project Morph the Cat (2006), providing a notable guitar solo on the track "The Great Pagoda of Funn," which blended rock, jazz, and pop elements.[16] Throughout the 1990s, Krantz formed a significant partnership with guitarist Leni Stern, appearing on her albums Secrets (1989), Closer to the Light (1990), Ten Songs (1992), and the collaborative Separate Cages (1996).[17] On these recordings, his electric guitar work added layered textures and dynamic interplay to Stern's eclectic fusion style, emphasizing melodic interplay and groove-oriented rhythms.[18] This period underscored Krantz's versatility in supporting roles, where his contributions enhanced the leaders' visions without overshadowing them. Krantz's association with saxophonist David Binney spanned over a decade, beginning with Balance (2002) and continuing through Aliso (2010), Graylen Epicenter (2011), and Anacapa (2014).[19] In Binney's quartets, Krantz's guitar provided harmonic depth and improvisational drive, particularly on Aliso, where his lines intertwined with Binney's alto saxophone amid complex rhythms from bassist Eivind Opsvik and drummer Dan Weiss.[20] These projects exemplified Krantz's role in modern jazz fusion, focusing on collective improvisation and textural innovation. In jazz fusion circles, Krantz also lent his talents to saxophonist Chris Potter's Underground (2006), where his guitar anchored the bass-less quartet alongside Potter's tenor saxophone and Craig Taborn's Fender Rhodes.[21] Here, Krantz's contributions emphasized pulsating grooves and spontaneous interplay, reinforcing his reputation for elevating ensemble dynamics in Potter's avant-garde explorations.Solo Projects and Trio Formation
Krantz transitioned from sideman roles to bandleading in the early 1990s, releasing his debut solo album Signals in 1990 on Enja Records. The album showcased his compositional skills and guitar work alongside notable collaborators, including drummer Dennis Chambers on tracks such as "Faith in the Process" and "Signals," as well as keyboardist Jim Beard and bassist Anthony Jackson.[4][22] This release marked Krantz's emergence as a leader in jazz fusion, emphasizing intricate arrangements and rhythmic drive.[4] In the late 1990s, Krantz formed his signature trio, Krantz Carlock Lefebvre (KCL), with bassist Tim Lefebvre and drummer Keith Carlock, beginning regular performances at New York City's 55 Bar in 1997. This collaboration solidified his focus on interactive improvisation, capturing live energy in releases like Greenwich Mean (1999, independent), a double-disc set documenting unscripted sets from the venue that blended composed heads with extended solos.[4][23] The trio's chemistry further appeared on Your Basic Live (2003, independent), a live recording that highlighted their ability to navigate genre boundaries through spontaneous interplay.[4][24] Krantz continued documenting the trio's evolution with the studio album Krantz Carlock Lefebvre (2009, Abstract Logix), his first full studio effort in over a decade, which explored polished compositions rooted in the group's residency performances.[4][25] In 2012, he expanded beyond the core trio for Howie 61 (Abstract Logix), incorporating guests such as bassist John Patitucci on "The Bad Guys" and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta on "Check Yo Self," while maintaining the project's emphasis on improvised and composed works that fuse jazz harmony, rock grooves, and funk rhythms.[4][26] Throughout these projects, Krantz prioritized conceptual depth over rigid structures, using effects-laden guitar tones to drive collective exploration.[4]Recent Tours and Releases
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted Wayne Krantz's live performances in 2020, halting his longstanding Thursday-night residency at 55 Bar in New York City and canceling tours with his KCL trio featuring Keith Carlock and Tim Lefebvre.[27] In response, Krantz pivoted to remote collaborations for his album Write Out Your Head, composing via Sibelius software without initial guitar input and recording musicians separately to click tracks, which were later synced in Pro Tools; this process emphasized structured composition over his typical improvisation-heavy approach.[27] He described the adaptation as challenging yet productive, noting the software's "instant feedback with sounds that offer a half-assed representation of the real instruments."[27] The album, released via Bandcamp, featured contributions from artists like Chris Potter on saxophone, who added solos remotely.[28] Krantz resumed live touring with the kickoff of his Golden Days World Tour on February 18, 2022, exactly two years after the pandemic's onset, beginning with shows at The Bitter End in New York City on February 18 and 19.[29] The tour continued across the U.S. in February and March, including stops at Ardmore Music Hall in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, on February 20 and City Winery in Boston on February 21, before extending to Europe and Asia later that year.[29] This resurgence marked a return to his interactive, risk-embracing performance style after the isolation of remote work.[29] In 2025, Krantz released his album Player-Songwriter on May 23 via Bandcamp, a solo effort blending guitar and vocals with personal lyrics across genres like blues and country, featuring tracks such as "Hey," "Manhattan Fantasy," and "All Right."[7] The album represented a departure from his instrumental focus, with Krantz handling all elements himself, including foot-tapping rhythms, and included a bonus jam after the track "Pebbles."[7] Krantz maintained an active performance schedule in 2025, including a residency at The Bitter End every other Tuesday starting September 23.[30] On October 7, he performed with his trio alongside bassist James Genus and drummer Josh Dion at the same venue, delivering a set captured in photos highlighting their dynamic interplay.[31] Additional shows followed, such as on October 20 with drummer Josh Dion and guitarist Brad Adam Miller, on November 3 with drummer Cliff Almond and bassist Evan Marien, and on November 18 with bassist James Genus and drummer Cliff Almond, underscoring his ongoing commitment to live improvisation in New York as of November 2025.[32][33][34]Musical Style and Technique
Key Influences
Wayne Krantz's musical journey began with rock influences that ignited his passion for the guitar. At age 14, he was inspired by The Beatles, whose innovative songwriting and ensemble dynamics prompted him to pick up the instrument and join local bands. This initial spark evolved into an appreciation for progressive rock, particularly the complex arrangements and horn-infused energy of bands like Jethro Tull and Chicago, which broadened his conception of rhythmic interplay and compositional depth.[1] Krantz's exposure to jazz stemmed from his father's extensive record collection, which introduced him to the genre during his high school years and laid the groundwork for his fusion interests. This foundation in jazz standards and bebop phrasing fueled his transition toward hybrid styles, blending rock's drive with jazz's harmonic sophistication. In the 1980s, as Krantz honed his craft at Berklee College of Music and in early professional settings, he emulated Pat Metheny's lyrical fusion approach, incorporating clean tones and expansive phrasing into his own sound before evolving toward a more distinctive, rhythmically displaced style. Broader influences from John McLaughlin, whose Mahavishnu Orchestra performances Krantz witnessed as a teenager, profoundly impacted his conception of high-energy rock-jazz integration, emphasizing virtuosic interplay and global rhythmic elements. These fusion pioneers, alongside figures like Mike Stern and Jim Hall, shaped Krantz's ability to merge genres without losing improvisational spontaneity.[13][35]Guitar Techniques and Innovations
Wayne Krantz employs a highly syncopated, chord-based approach to guitar playing, emphasizing rhythmic displacement and interlocking patterns that create a conversational flow between instruments. This method draws on his "grid" system, which organizes notes into rhythmic cells to generate syncopated comping and solos, allowing for unpredictable yet cohesive phrasing that accentuates off-beats for a funky edge.[36] His right-hand technique varies extensively to achieve diverse attacks and percussive elements, incorporating hybrid picking—such as downstrokes combined with fingerpicking—and avoiding conventional funk scratch strumming in favor of subtler muting and open-string resonances for added texture and tension.[37] Krantz favors a clean tone from a Stratocaster-style guitar, specifically selecting the bridge and middle pickup positions to produce an "out-of-phase" quack that enhances clarity and bite without distortion, often amplified through a Marshall setup for live punch. This setup supports his emphasis on funk and rock grooves rather than traditional swing rhythms, where complex polyrhythmic improvisations unfold over straight-eighth foundations inspired by artists like James Brown and Prince, prioritizing tight, interlocking parts that drive the ensemble forward.[27][38] Among his innovations, Krantz has pioneered fully improvised albums that capture unscripted trio performances, such as editing hours of live sessions into cohesive streams-of-consciousness tracks that mimic composed structures through on-the-fly tempo shifts and interactive cues. He blends pop references—evident in his rhythmic nods to contemporary hooks—with jazz complexity, using notation software like Sibelius to pre-compose polyrhythms before layering guitar improvisations, resulting in music that transcends genre boundaries while maintaining rigorous harmonic depth.[39][38]Discography
As Leader
| Year | Album | Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Signals | Enja | Debut studio album featuring Anthony Jackson (bass), Dennis Chambers (drums), Jim Beard (keyboards), Don Alias (percussion), Leni Stern (guitar on select tracks), and Hiram Bullock (bass and drum programming on one track). Blends fusion grooves and intricate arrangements.[22][40] |
| 1993 | Long to Be Loose | Enja | Trio album with Lincoln Goines (bass) and Zach Danziger (drums). Explores complex rhythms and harmonies.[4] |
| 1995 | 2 Drink Minimum | Enja | Follow-up trio recording with Goines and Danziger, emphasizing live energy and improvisation.[41] |
| 1996 | Separate Cages (with Leni Stern) | Alchemy | Co-led acoustic-electric duo album focusing on dual-guitar dialogues.[17][42] |
| 1999 | Greenwich Mean | Self-released | Live improvisations from 55 Bar residencies with Keith Carlock (drums) and bassists Tim Lefebvre and Will Lee alternating. Highlights spontaneous trio interplay.[23][43] |
| 2003 | Your Basic Live | Self-released | Double-disc live set documenting trio sessions with Carlock and Lefebvre from 55 Bar, focusing on extended groove-based improvisations. Minimal production to preserve gig immediacy.[44][3] |
| 2007 | Your Basic Live '06 | Self-released | Live trio recordings from 2005–2006 at 55 Bar with Carlock and Lefebvre (or James Genus on bass for some tracks), capturing stylistic explorations like rock, blues, and reggae grooves.[45][46][47] |
| 2009 | Krantz Carlock Lefebvre | Abstract Logix | Studio debut of core trio with Lefebvre (bass) and Carlock (drums); includes Krantz's vocals on hook-driven tracks fusing jazz and pop. Recorded in New York.[25][48] |
| 2012 | Howie 61 | Abstract Logix | Large-ensemble studio album with rotating musicians including Vinnie Colaiuta and Keith Carlock (drums), Tal Wilkenfeld, Pino Palladino, James Genus, John Patitucci (bass), and Henry Hey (keyboards). 16 tracks balancing polish and improvisation.[49][50] |
| 2014 | Good Piranha / Bad Piranha | Abstract Logix | Instrumental trio album with Carlock and Lefebvre, revisiting groove-oriented fusion with rhythmic complexity.[51][52] |
| 2020 | Write Out Your Head | Self-released | Trio-based album emphasizing intricate rhythmic divisions and group interplay, without guitar leads from Krantz.[53][28] |
| 2021 | Music Room 1985 | Abstract Logix | Archival release of home-recorded instrumental tracks from 1985, showcasing early compositional style.[54][55] |
| 2025 | Player-Songwriter | Self-released (Bandcamp) | Solo electric guitar and vocals album with 12 tracks using foot-tapping percussion and a single looped element; intimate compositions released May 23, 2025.[7][4] |
As Sideman
Krantz's sideman recordings include contributions to projects by Leni Stern, David Binney, Donald Fagen, Chris Potter, Billy Cobham, and Michael Brecker. Key appearances:- Leni Stern: Secrets (1989, Enja), rhythm and lead guitar. Closer to the Light (1990, Enja), guitar on tracks 1, 2, 4–9. Ten Songs (1992, Lipstick), guitar throughout.[17]
- Donald Fagen: Morph the Cat (2006, Reprise), guitar solos on tracks including "What I See." Also live with Steely Dan on 1996 Art Crimes tour (no studio album).[56][57]
- David Binney: Balance (2002, ACT), electric guitar on all tracks. Aliso (2010, Criss Cross Jazz), guitar in quartet. Graylen Epicenter (2011, ArtistShare), electric and acoustic guitar. Anacapa (2014, Criss Cross Jazz), layered guitar with guest Adam Rogers.[58][19][59][60]
- Chris Potter: Underground (2006, Sunnyside), electric guitar in quartet with Craig Taborn (keyboards) and Nate Smith (drums).[61]
- Billy Cobham and Michael Brecker: Various live and studio contributions in the 1990s and early 2000s as guitarist in their ensembles.[62]