Wayne Krantz

Wayne Krantz

Wayne Krantz in Chicago, 2012
Background information
Born (1966-07-26) July 26, 1966
Corvallis, Oregon, United States
Genres Jazz, Modern Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Free Improvisation
Occupation(s) Musician, songwriter, composer
Instruments Electric guitar, acoustic guitar,
Associated acts David Binney, Steely Dan, Chris Potter, Michael Brecker, Carla Bley, Donald Fagen
Website http://www.waynekrantz.com

Wayne Krantz is an American modern jazz guitarist and composer praised for his utilization of complex rhythmic and harmonic concepts.[1] He has performed and recorded with artists such as Steely Dan, Michael Brecker, Billy Cobham, Chris Potter and David Binney, but since the early 1990s has focused primarily on his solo career, mostly as the leader of a trio.[2][3]

Biography

Wayne Krantz was born in Corvallis, Oregon July 26, 1966. 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 periodically at the 55 Bar, a jazz club in New York City. In 1996, Krantz released an acoustic album with Leni Stern, dubbed Separate Cages. Krantz formed a new trio in 1997, Tim Lefebvre on bass and Keith Carlock on drums, playing a style of music that he later announced would no longer fit small clubs; on June 28, 2007, he played his final regular Thursday night gig at New York's 55 Bar.

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 Keith Carlock on drums, Tim Lefebvre on bass, and Wayne on guitar. 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.[4]

Equipment and sound

Krantz is most identified with a Stratocaster-type electric guitar, his early favorite being a 1973 Fender Stratocaster[5] he acquired in 1980, which he said it is "not a particularly good guitar" though he liked the neck. Recently he has played a Suhr Classic model manufactured by John Suhr Guitars. Early in his career (including on Signals) he used a chorus effect, but in 1993 began playing with less effects, using analog pedals including overdrive, wah-wah, an octaver, and a Moogerfooger ring modulator, in addition to Boss and El Capistan delays. For amplification, Krantz has used both Fender Deluxe Reverb and, more recently, Marshall amplifiers (a Marshall 2553), and for the Howie 61 sessions began using a Tyler JT46 amplifier.[4] and completed using a Suhr S(trat) style loan guitar from John Suhr[6] Which as of 2015 is still his main instrument.

Personal life

Krantz is married to vocalist Gabriela Anders.

Discography

As leader

Year Title
1990 Signals
1993 Long To Be Loose
1995 2 Drink Minimum
1996 Separate Cages (with Leni Stern)
1999 Greenwich Mean
2003 Your Basic Live
2007 Your Basic Live '06
2009 Krantz Carlock Lefebvre
2012 Howie 61
2014 Good Piranha / Bad Piranha

As sideman

With Donald Fagen

Year Title
2006 Morph the Cat

With Chris Potter

Year Title
2006 Underground

With Tal Wilkenfeld

Year Title
2007 Transformation

With David Binney

Year Title
2002 Balance
2010 Aliso
2011 Graylen Epicentre
2014 Anacapa

With John Escreet

Year Title
2007 The Age We Live In

References

  1. ↑ Nastos, Michael G. (1956-07-26). "Wayne Krantz - Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-05-13.
  2. ↑ "Wayne Krantz @ All About Jazz". Allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved 2013-05-13.
  3. ↑ "Wayne Krantz: Back on Track". Allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved 2013-05-13.
  4. 1 2 Cleveland, Barry (July 2012). "Wayne Krantz". Guitar Player. pp. 48–54. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  5. ↑ Chapman, Charles H. (2001). Mel Bay presents: Interviews with The Jazz Greats - and more. Mel Bay. p. 39. ISBN 9780786659463.
  6. ↑ Bohlinger, John. "Rig Rundown: Wayne Krantz". Premier Guitar.

Further reading

External links

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