Born: July 26, 1956 Primary Instrument: Guitar
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, a trio with Zach Danziger and Lincoln Goines from '92-'95 and a trio with Tim Lefebvre and Keith Carlock from '97-'03, have toured occasionally in Europe and the US, though they have always been most easily found at NYCs 55 Bar on Thursday nights.
Without the excess of promotional hype, the music has found a devoted, underground, international audience who, with their growing support, keep the music moving forward.
Besides running his website, waynekrantz.com, which offers all of his CDs, live Mp3 downloads of his current gigs and a sort of method book he has written called “An Improviser's OS”, Wayne is performing in New York (and recently in Japan and Europe) with his current band, featuring Anthony Jackson, Cliff Almond, Ari Hoenig and others.
Wayne is also featured as a sideman on Chris Potter's 2006 release, “Underground”, and on Donald Fagen's latest, “Morph The Cat”. A month of US dates in Fagen's band took place in March '06.
Wayne Krantz is in the process of creating a new project that will, no doubt, continue to undermine Establishment complacency at every turn. The shape, color and personality of that project is, at present, shrouded in secrecy.
Previous Employers (abridged): Steely Dan, Victor Bailey, Mike Brecker, Carla Bley, Tania Maria, Billy Cobham, D. Sharpe, Leni Stern, Bluth, David Binney, Chris Potter, Donald Fagen.
