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Wayne Krantz (1964-)

by Steve Raegele

Hailing from Corvallis, Oregon, Wayne Krantz arrived in NYC in the mid 1980s
sounding (by his own admission) a lot like Pat Metheny. It was this self-awareness that
propelled him to change things up and really start investigating a personal style.

"For a while I sounded like a cross between Pat Metheny and Jim Hall.
I had a Mike Stern period, too. But when I moved to New York in '85 I
purged myself of everything and everyone and started over."
His highly idiosyncratic sound has emerged from a very regimented practice routine
that places emphasis on practicing within very strict self-imposed limits, and making as
much music out of the materials that are available in that context. One such example is
his four fret routine, wherein he improvises within a set tonality (anywhere from 1 to 12
notes) and limits himself to a 4 fret area of the guitar. As an example: 1-b2-5-6-7 with C
as 1. (C, Db, G, A, ) This ve note tonality (or formula as Wayne Krantz terms them...)
would be the basis for the improvising exercise.

These geographic limits force the hands and brain out of scale patterns and into more
intervallic and "registral" exploration, as well as opening up (almost by necessity) the
use of rhythm to create material.

International Career

His career has led to stints in the band Steely Dan, as well as associations with Leni
Stern, the Brecker Brothers and David Binney, to name a few. Mostly though, Wayne
Krantz has forged ahead on a path de ned by a need to create a language and art all
his own through playing in a guitar/bass/drum format.

His trio (which at various times has included Zach Danziger, Cli Almond, Keith Carlock,
Tim Lefevbre, Anthony Jackson, Will Lee...) held a weekly gig at the fabled 55 Bar in
Greenwich Village for roughly 10 years where the group worked out a sound based on
rhythmic precision, groove, improvisation, and constant reinvention.

Gear: Guitars, Amps, Pickups and E ects

For many years, Wayne Krantz favoured a '73 Strat through a blackface Fender Deluxe
amp. (non-reverb) with a Boss Blues Driver, Boss Delay, Cry Baby wah, Boss OC-2, etc.
More recently he has used a Tyler super strat style guitar through a Marshall Silver
Jubilee head and a Tweed Deluxe amp, as well as a Moogerfooger Ring Mod. His sound
is bright and clear, with a characteristic out of phase quack associated with single coil
pickups in the 2 and 4 positions. The Tyler is tted with a bridge humbucker for more
overdriven sounds.

Playing Style + Transcription

Much of Wayne Krantz' modus operandi is laid out in his excellent book "The
Improvisor's OS". Pick it up. He also o ers mp3 lessons and recordings at his website.

Here is a transcription of Wayne Krantz's solo on Donald Fagen's "The Great Pagoda Of
Funn" from the album Morph The Cat. It's a harmony rich ballad that gives an
interesting look into how WK navigates more conventional changes than we are used to
hearing in his own work. Which is also harmonically deep, but much less related to
standard jazz harmony. It's its own thing.

Here's an mp3 audio sample (just Wayne's solo) ...

This transcription and audio sample are presented here as study materials of Wayne's
playing style only. Do not copy, distribute or playback this track in public.

Wayne Krantz Transcription

The best way to tackle this solo is to listen to it a lot, and get Wayne's rhythmic sense
into your ears. A lot of what he's doing is very subtle and doesn't notate well without a
lot of notational busy-ness, so use it as a guide and listen for how he bends and slurs
di erent notes and uses grace notes and appogiaturas. It's very deep. So trust your
ears, even though I think the transcrition is pretty accurate.

Wayne Krantz 5 Latest Albums

1. Bad Piranha (2014)

2. Howie 61 (2012)
3. Krantz Carlock Lefebvre (2009)
4. Your Basic Live
5. Greenwich Mean (1999)

Video of Wayne on Solo - The Jazz Club Highlights 1990

Wayne Krantz Solo

 
Steve Raegele is a guitarist based in Montreal. He’s played many styles of music
(except Bluegrass) in dozens of cities across 4 continents. He enjoys playing jazz, rock,
R&B and improvising creative music. As a sideman Steve has played the music of Thom
Gossage, Isaiah Ceccarelli, Nicole Lizée, Christine Jensen, and many others. His trio
record, Last Century, is available from Songlines.

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 pat metheny
 Vic Juris (1953-)
 Yesterdays - Chord Melody, Single-Note Solo, & Chord Shapes

Roy Kressin
9/25/2017, 1:36:30 PM

very nice for studying how Krantz negotiates these interesting chord changes

Reply to Roy Kressin

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