Guitar Not Required

OVER A TWO-DECADE, Thursday-night residency at New York City’s legendary 55 Bar, Wayne Krantz developed one of the most distinctive voices on the electric guitar. His highly syncopated, chord-based approach employs a Strat-style guitar set to the clean, “out-of-phase” tone of the bridge and middle pickups together. However, it’s his brilliantly creative, funky and often dissonant improvisations for which he is known best. Whether performing with one of his trios at 55 Bar, or on tour as KCL, with drummer Keith Carlock and bassist Tim Lefebvre, Krantz puts on an improv performance as nimble as that of a tightrope walker.

But when it came to making his latest album, (Bandcamp), Krantz decided to switch gears and put out a means being creative now, not making the same record over and over again,” he says. “I wanted to see if I could write without the guitar. Also, my last record, [] , was 98 percent improvised in the studio. Although I’m playing differently now, just doing another live document didn’t seem timely.”