New Album from guitar maverick Wayne Krantz. Features three longest lasting bandmates- Keith Carlock, Tim Lefebvre, Nate Wood.
Known globally for his uncompromising musical vision, staggering virtuosity and deep reserves of soul, Wayne Krantz is one of very few modern guitarists to venture beyond the instrument’s limitations and create an identifiably original style and sound. “Good Piranha/Bad Piranha” is his full-throttle double-take on four contemporary pop and hip-hop songs, from which he plunders the textural, rhythmic and harmonic intrigue that has come to define each of his unique projects.
Following 2012’s critically acclaimed “Howie 61″—a record packed with cleverly arranged, hard-hitting original songs and a small army of masterful sidemen—Krantz has scaled back the setting and material for his tenth outing as a leader. “Good Piranha/Bad Piranha” finds his trio in the studio revisiting a selection of cover tunes they performed during legendary recent appearances at the 55 Bar in Greenwich Village.
Presenting two distinct versions each of Pendulum’s “Comprachicos,” M.C. Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This,” Ice Cube’s “My Skin is My Sin” and Radiohead vocalist Thom Yorke’s “Black Swan,” Krantz extracts and serves up a surprising range of nuance by switching up musicians and applying his inimitable instrumental inventiveness. Each song’s multiple takes allow the group(s) to reimagine the material from unexpected angles, making use of subtle rhythmic and melodic shifts to frame a dazzling display of the guitarist’s revered melodic and chordal innovations; he intertwines his stark, elastic tones with the familiar tunes’ snaky rhythmic skeletons and insistent basslines to create wholly new works.
Joining Krantz on “Good Piranha/Bad Piranha” are his longtime trio mates Keith Carlock (Steely Dan, Sting) on drums and Tim Lefebvre (Tedeschi Trucks Band) on bass. Recent cohort Nate Wood (Kneebody) reprises his chameleonic role in Krantz’ touring band, appearing here on bass for the first versions of the four tunes and then on drums for the second. The material is delicately enhanced by occasional vocal interjections courtesy Gabriela Anders.
Since the late ’80s Wayne Krantz has been revered as one of the world’s great guitarists, working alongside such rock legends as Steely Dan (both as a bandmember and later on solo projects by Donald Fagen), jazz saxophonists Michael Brecker, Chris Potter and David Binney, composer Carla Bley and drum icon Billy Cobham. In addition to his influential studio albums as a leader, Krantz has released several recordings of his celebrated live trio performances, which have become major concert draws worldwide for fans of powerfully adventurous improvised music.
Format: CD
Cat No.: ABLX 047
Barcode: 700261409993
Line up
Wayne Krantz (Electric Guitar), Nate Wood (Bass / Drums), Tim Lefebvre (Bass Guitars) and Keith Carlock (Drums).
Track list
01. Black Swan
02. My Skin Is My Sin
03. Comprachicos
04. U Can’t Touch This
05. Black Swan
06. My Skin Is My Sin
07. Comprachicos
08. U Can’t Touch This
Recording information
Recorded by Aaron Nevezie at The Bunker, New York
Mixed by Ken Freeman
Mastered by Nate Wood
Executive Producer: Souvik Dutta
Produced by Wayne Krantz
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Wayne Krantz
RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 18, 2014
All About JazzReview by Ian Patterson Read More
“If Wayne Krantz seemed to be embracing vocals on Krantz Carlock Lefebvre (Abstract Logix, 2009), where he sang on a third of the tracks, then the transition seemed complete on Howie 61 (Abstract Logix, 2012), where he sang on eight of the ten tracks, with the guitar—at least as an improvisational tool—taking a back seat to more melodic concepts. Good Piranha Bad Piranha marks Krantz’ return to instrumental territory and reunites him with long-standing sparring partners, Keith Carlock and Tim Lefebvre. The music is rhythmically driving—with Krantz displaying all his old fire and invention—but this is, nevertheless, an unusual album in Krantz’ discography.”
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From the artist
“My playing was shaped by an intentional step away from the influences that I’d had up to the time that I got really serious about playing, because I realized that the lesson all of those guys were teaching me was to not be like them—the whole point was to try to find my own thing. So I realized I couldn’t go on expressing my love for them through my playing anymore, and I had to begin a search for something else.”
Wayne Krantz