The Guitar Channel

Favorite Albums of 2012

2012 was a tremendous year for progressive guitar music. Here are my favorite releases of the year, in no particular order.

 

Michael Landau - Organic Instrumentals

Landau's first instrumental album since 1990's Tales From The Bulge is one of my favorite guitar records in many years, let alone this one. Awesome tones, dynamic playing, deep writing. A must-have for serious guitar geeks.

Wayne Krantz - Howie 61

Krantz took a bold new step with this album, and the results are rich and engrossing. A fantastic production filled with heady writing, and an amazing lineup of musicians.

Jimmy Herring - Subject To Change Without Notice

Awesome follow-up to 2008's Lifeboat. Highly textured with killer playing and grooves.

Alex Machacek, Raphael Preuschl, Herbert Pirker - FAT

Adventurous and dynamic with a great variety of guitar tones. Further proof that Machacek is among the most forward-thinking modern jazz composers of his generation.

Kurt Rosenwinkel - Star of Jupiter

Can't get enough of this one. Uber-deep jazz record, filled with great writing and improvisation.

Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats - Live Meat And Potatoes

Funky, energetic live release with killer guitar work from Jeff Kollman. Nobody grooves like the Meatbats.

OHMPhrey - Posthaste

Stellar recording from the OHM-meets-Umphrey's McGee supergroup. Loaded with great riffs and playing. Everybody shines here, but the twin guitar attack of Chris Poland and Jake Cinninger is particularly awesome.

Scott Henderson, Jeff Berlin, Dennis Chambers - HBC

What a band. Killer disc packed with guitar-driven trio versions of fusion classics. Henderson is amazing as always.

Karizma - Perfect Harmony

A 3-disc smorgasbord from keyboardist/composer David Garfield's classic west coast jazz band. Features a who's-who of the genre's luminaries, including Michael Landau.

The Aristocrats - Boing, We'll Do It Live!

Amazing live CD/DVD release with insane playing and band interplay. Guthrie Govan's guitar work is both musical and mind-blowing.

Other favorites from 2012:

Prashant Aswani - Visions
Chris Poland, Frank Catalano, Sean O'Bryan Smith, Jim Gifford - Polcat
Tribal Tech - X
Tohpati Bertiga - Riot
John McLaughlin & the 4th Dimension - Now Here This
Paul Gilbert - Vibrato
Gary Husband - Dirty & Beautiful, Vol. 2
OHM - Tsunami Jams
Ed DeGenaro - Holiday In Madras
Flying Colors
Chad Wackerman - Dreams, Nightmares and Improvisations
Chris Buck - 3 Crows
Jason Sadites - Broken
Renegade Creation - Bullet
Led Zeppelin - Celebration Day
Van Halen - A Different Kind of Truth (Ed note: \m/)

See Also:

Favorite Albums of 2011
Favorite Albums of 2010
Favorite Albums of 2009
Favorite Albums of 2008
Favorite Albums of 2007
Favorite Albums of 2006

Videos: Wayne Krantz Interview for Guitar Player

New 4-part interview with Wayne Krantz courtesy of Barry Cleveland from Guitar Player.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

 

Review and Photos: Wayne Krantz, Keith Carlock, Nate Wood - Live in Chicago, IL October 11th 2012

On October 11th 2012 at Martyrs' in Chicago, iconic guitarist Wayne Krantz demonstrated - as he has time and again - that he is easily one of the most forward-thinking, adventurous improvisers on the jazz-rock-whateveryoucallit scene today. Joining Krantz for this gig were drummer Keith Carlock - a frequent Krantz cohort, and double-duty Nate Wood on both bass AND drums (often at the same time!). Throughout the trio's lengthy set, they consistantly showcased an uncanny ability to utilize any song or riff as a launching point for fearless group improvisation. Their stirring version of Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke's "Black Swan" was a prime example. Krantz's interpretation involved delivering the song's simple, infectious melody over a busy Carlock and Wood groove, then using that head to bookend a fiery kinetic jam. Also of note was the way Krantz adapted some his own music from his latest disc Howie 61 for a live trio format. The band's takes on the album's title track and "U Strip It," for example, were nearly unrecognizable from the originals given their retooled grooves and vocal arrangements.

From the first tune to the last, the common thread of the evening was spontaneity. Every song had at least one "Wow" moment where the band's improvisational hive-mind came together on something that made your jaw drop. One of the coolest aspects of the night for me was how "on board" the crowd was with the band's explorations. An engaged listener reaps the most rewards from a Krantz live performance, and it was great to see such a high level of buy-in from the audience. This was especially heartening given that this was the first time Krantz had ever performed in Chicago with his own band. New York-area musos are used to Krantz's unique group improv stylings by now, but Chicagoans are not. Here's hoping the warm reception given to Krantz, Carlock and Wood last week will grease the skids for more Chicago appearances in the future.

Follow the link below for my photos from this amazing show.

Photos: Wayne Krantz, Keith Carlock, Nate Wood - Live at Martyrs' - Chicago, IL 10/11/12

Videos: Wayne Krantz - Live at Johnny D's 9/20/12

Wayne Krantz with Keith Carlock (drums) and Nate Wood (bass), live at Johnny D's in Sommerville Massachusetts on 9/20/12.

War Torn Johnny

Why

Video: Wayne Krantz - Live in Paris 8/24/12

Wayne Krantz killing it in Paris on August 24th 2012 with drummer Nate Wood, and bassist Tim Lefebvre.

Videos: Wayne Krantz, Keith Carlock, Tim Lefebvre - Live in Korea 2010

Three Four excellent videos featuring Wayne Krantz with Keith Carlock and Tim Lefebvre live at EBS Space in Seoul, Korea in 2010.

Rugged Individual

War-Torn Johnny

Rushdie

Rock

Wayne Krantz 2012 Tour Dates for US, Japan and Korea

Wayne Krantz will be playing the following gigs in the US plus Japan and Korea this year in support of his new album Howie 61. Joinng Krantz for these dates will be Keith Carlock and Nate Wood. I'll post updates if they are announced. See Krantz's gigs page for more info.

Update: 8/4/12 - New dates added for US, Japan and Korea

09/20/12     Boston    Johnny D's
09/21/12     New York     Highline Ballroom
09/24/12     Tokyo, Japan   Billboard Live
09/25/12     Tokyo, Japan   Billboard Live
09/26/12     Seoul, Korea   Dong-Ah Institute of media and art
09/27/12     Seoul, Korea  Mapo Art Center
09/29/12     Nashville  3rd and Lindsley    
10/02/12     Seattle     Jazz Alley
10/03/12     Seattle     Jazz Alley
10/04/12     Santa Cruz     Kuumbwa Jazz
10/07/12     San Francisco     Yoshis
10/09/12    Los Angeles     Catalinas Jazz
10/10/12    Los Angeles     Catalinas Jazz
10/11/12    Chicago  Martyrs'

 

Videos: Wayne Krantz - Live at The Iridium 2010

Nice series of videos of Wayne Krantz performing solo at the Iridium in NYC in 2010.

Wayne Krantz Interview For The Grateful Web

The Grateful Web has a new interview up with Wayne Krantz. Krantz discusses his new album Howie 61, his upcoming European tour, and more.

The Grateful Web Interview: Wayne Krantz

Wayne Krantz European Tour Dates

Wayne Krantz European summer tour dates with Geoff Keezer (piano & keys), Anthony Tidd (bass) and Nate Wood (drums).

08/20/12  London, UK - Ronnie Scott’s
08/21/12  London, UK - Ronnie Scott’s
08/22/12  Paris, France - Sunside
08/23/12  Paris, France - Sunside
08/24/12  Malguenac, France - Malguenac Festival
08/25/12  Monaco - La Note Bleue

Videos: Wayne Krantz with Cliff Almond - Live at the Iridium

Watch live streaming video from iridiumlive at livestream.com

 

Watch live streaming video from iridiumlive at livestream.com

 

Wayne Krantz sitting in with the Les Paul Trio, and jamming with drummer Cliff Almond - Live at the Iridium 4/9/12.

Video: Wayne Krantz Live at The Iridium - Full Show

Watch live streaming video from iridiumlive at livestream.com

Watch live streaming video from iridiumlive at livestream.com

 

Full Iridium Live broadcast from last night's Wayne Krantz gig with Keith Carlock (drums) and Tim Lefebvre (bass).