Krantz Carlock Lefebvre

The boldly inventive improvisations of maverick guitarist Wayne Krantz have long held a fascination for fans of dynamic, uncompromised music. Ex-Sideman with Steely Dan, Donald Fagen, Michael Brecker, Billy Cobham and many others, Krantz has focused on live performance for nearly two decades, holding down a residency at New York City's 55 Bar.  Now, with Krantz Carlock Lefebvre, his first album for the hip, artist friendly music label Abstract Logix, he is returning to a recording studio to document his own music for the first time in over fifteen years.

Krantz Carlock Lefebvre features Krantz as one-third of a longstanding trio that also includes virtuoso drummer Keith Carlock (Sting, Steely Dan, James Taylor) and bassist extraordinaire Tim Lefebvre (Chris Botti, Uri Caine), which was first convened in 1997.

'Giving this band a voice in the context of a studio is a big deal for us,' Krantz says.  'Everything we've ever released together has been some kind of live album. Now we have the clarity and concision of the studio along for the ride.' Cut live in the studio and then augmented by overdubs, the result is Krantz's most personal statement yet, more strongly rooted in composition while still rich with the improvisational nuances that make his live performances so riveting.

In 1996 he toured around the world with the revived Steely Dan, which he regards as an improvisational challenge that further sharpened his time-feel and sense of groove. 'I loved it,' he said of the experience, 'but at the end of the day it's a sideman gig, and as great as it was, it still can't compare to what I have with my own band.'

That thrill - the sound of three musicians both in synch and unafraid to challenge one another - is captured with gripping immediacy on Krantz Carlock Lefebvre, an album that handily defies categorization.