Krantz Carlock Lefebvre: War-Torn Johnny

Id wager that on average, when Wayne Krantz gets together with long-time trio mates Tim Lefebvre (bass) and Keith Carlock (drums), seven of every ten music-making minutes are collectively improvised. Throughout their many years of gigging at Krantzs Thursday night residency at the 55 Bar in NYC, the trio thrived after the main head was played, when Krantz would conduct this tightest of groups through multiple, spontaneous tempo shifts and groove makeovers within a single tunes ten-to-fifteen-minute open yet purpose-driven jamming sections.

War Torn Johnny, like the rest of the recently released Krantz Lefebvre Carlock, is a bit of a departure from the abovementioned agenda in that it is a bit more of a compact electric fusion record. Their signature straight-and-swung grooves, blinding chops, and collective improvisations are still present, but the desire to present a slightly more musically (commercially?) available record is undeniable.

Johnny is an instrumental (there are vocals from Krantz elsewhere) that perhaps best combines the previous candidness of the Krantz experience with a slight nudge towards user-friendliness. Note the epitome of the modern Krantz sound in the A section, a B section that sounds like it's borrowed from his work in the early 90s, and the New Orleans-inspired breakdown groove that dominates the proceedings beginning at 01:30. A fine example of one of the most under-heralded trios of the last decade thats sure to reach a wider audience with this new record, and deservedly so.