Wayne Krantz’s Greenwich Mean: A Masterclass in Deconstructed Fusion
Released in 1999, Greenwich Mean stands as a pivotal artifact in the catalog of guitar virtuoso Wayne Krantz. Captured primarily as a document of improvised segments from his legendary, long-running residency at the 55 Bar in Greenwich Village, New York, this self-released album defies standard genre boundaries, merging jazz, funk, rock, and unbridled sonic experimentation.
The Sound of the 55 Bar
During the late 1990s, the 55 Bar was an incubator for some of the most forward-thinking instrumental music on the planet. Wayne Krantz anchored this scene, stripping away the traditional conventions of jazz-fusion and rebuilding them from the ground up.
Greenwich Mean is not a traditional studio record filled with pristine, overly polished arrangements. Instead, it feels raw, alive, and intensely spontaneous. It captures a tight-knit unit operating on telepathic synergy, where composition and improvisation bleed into one another until the distinction disappears entirely.
The Power Trio (and Beyond)
A massive part of the album’s success lies in its rhythm section. The record features powerhouse drummer Keith Carlock, alongside bassists Tim Lefebvre and Will Lee.
- Keith Carlock: Known for his hyper-dynamic, intricate pocket-grooves and explosive accents, Carlock locks in with Krantz to create a shifting landscape of tension and release.
- Tim Lefebvre & Will Lee: Providing the low-end anchor, their basslines provide both deep funk foundations and fluid counter-melodies that allow Krantz’s guitar to float, dart, and fragment freely above.
A Mosaic of Micro-Grooves
Clocking in with a dense tracklist (including miniatures alongside sprawling cuts like “Infinity Split” and “Marble Maker”), the album moves at a breathless pace. Tracks range from brief, punchy rhythmic sketches to expansive excursions. Krantz’s playing on Greenwich Mean is defined by:
- Harmonic ambiguity: Favoring jagged chords, open strings, and unconventional voicings over traditional jazz-scale runs.
- Rhythmic displacement: Playing around, ahead, and behind the beat in ways that challenge the listener’s sense of downbeat.
- Fearless deconstruction: Treating melodies as elastic concepts that can be stretched, torn apart, and reassembled on the fly.
Legacy and Influence
For guitarists, jazz fusion enthusiasts, and adventurous music fans, Greenwich Mean remains a cult classic. It serves as a vital bridge between Krantz’s earlier straight-ahead jazz-rock tendencies and the intensely rhythmic, groove-heavy power trio formats (such as his subsequent work with Krantz Carlock Lefebvre) that would cement his reputation as a true iconoclast of modern guitar.
- Wayne Krantz – Greenwich Mean Full Album Audio — Listen to the full 1999 release to experience the raw, live-infused improvisational energy of Krantz, Carlock, and Lefebvre.
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