WAYNE KRANTZ

Jazz Rock/Fusion • United States

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Wayne Krantz biography
Born 26th July 26 1956, WAYNE KRANTZ was raised in Corvalis, Oregon, Krantz. He discovered the Beatles at 14, and soon after started playing guitar. Having previously been subjected to piano tuition and hated it, KRANTZ found with the guitar he enjoyed not being told to practice. Early musical development included playing in rock and country groups. Shortly before leaving high school he discovered jazz in his father's record collection, in particular guitarist BARNEY KESSEL: this music became his main interest. To quote from KRANTZ's own web biography: "My first musically important job was with a band in Boston, the D SHARP GROUP - which also had guitarist BILL FRISELL. Afterwards I went on the road with CARL BLEY and that's where I really learned how to play chord changes. LENI STERN heard me playing at a club with CARLA and started hiring me to play gigs around town and later I went to Europe with LENI for several tours, clubs and festivals.

Guitar-wise I guess I have been influenced one way or another by all the guys I respect. In that long list have to be TERRY HAGGERTY (The SONS OF CHAMPLIN), MICK GOODRICK, PAT METHENY, MIKE STERN, BILL FRISELL, KEVIN EUBANKS and JOHN SCOFIELD. Way off in the distance, the mountains that inspire all of us are JOHN MCLAUGHLIN and GEORGE BENSON; those are the guys that have taken their own the farthest. The immediate goal for me is to fulfill the promise of making my own music".

In 1991 WAYNE KRANTZ released his first solo album, 'Signals', which included a number of well known session jazz musicians. He then formed his own trio with LINCOLN GOINES (bass) and ZACH DANZIGER (drums), recording 'Long To Be Loose' (1993), and the first of several live albums the excellent '2 Drink Minimum', (1995). During this period through to the mid noughties, WAYNE KRANTZ gained the reputation of being a New York guitar-fusionist, playing periodically at the 55 Bar jazz club in New York City. In 1996, KRANTZ released an acoustic album with LENI STERN, 'Separate Cages' (1996).

WAYNE KRANTZ formed a new trio in 1997, which further demonstrated his outstanding guitar abilities complimented with a huge bag of jazz and rock riffs, allowing attractive improv to be played live night after night. In fact to use the term 'riffs' is far from precise when KRANTZ has outlined in his book, 'An Improviser's Operating System', his approach to improvisation, which relies not on licks or memorised fretboard patterns but an awarenes...read more

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WAYNE KRANTZ discography

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WAYNE KRANTZ top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.50 | 6 ratings

Krantz Carlock Lefebvre
2009

0.00 | 0 ratings

Music Room 1985
2021

WAYNE KRANTZ Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.83 | 4 ratings

2 Drink Minimum
1995

WAYNE KRANTZ Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

WAYNE KRANTZ Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

WAYNE KRANTZ Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

WAYNE KRANTZ Reviews

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2 Drink Minimum by KRANTZ, WAYNE album cover

Live, 1995
3.83 | 4 ratings
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2 Drink Minimum
Wayne Krantz Jazz Rock/Fusion

Review by Dick Heath
Special Collaborator Jazz-Rock Specialist

This was first Wayne Krantz album I heard and still my favourite and one of my top 30 jazz fusion albums. Further this was my first improv jazz album I warmed to, in part (as I've crudely put it before) Wayne Krantz has a huge bag of jazz and rock riffs** committed and with his sympathetic rhythm section(s), can conjure up some delightful melodic jazz rock fusion apparently at the drop of a hat. I've seen him play at the former Ronnie Scott's Club in Birmingham and can confirm that there is a mix of the familiar and the dangerous new appearing for the first time, right here and now!

'Whippersnapper' - one of my essential fusion tracks - kicks off the proceedings. It is upbeat, medium fast paced tune and should ensure most new listeners will want more. It also should tell the discerning fusion fan, that even in the mid 90's jazz rock still was being played with great enthusiasm and vigour, while adding something new. Overall a well balance selection of tunes, through the slower paced and again back to the fast. An excellent album for the fans of guitar lead jazz rock. Other live albums were to come for various line-ups of Wayne Krantz Trios but IMHO as an introduction to Wayne Krantz, the guitar virtuoso, this is the one to start.

(4 stars for PA, 5 stars for established jazz rock fans)

**See my biography in PA for a correction to this statement and clarification of what Wayne Krantz's musical philosophy really is!!!

Thanks to dick heath for the artist addition.