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K3 | 04.02.04 | Tribeca Rock Club | New York, NY
For the last six or seven years Wayne Krantz has been quietly making a new name for himself in and around New York City, parts of Europe, and certain other music circles. But there's been one problem with Krantz's music--no one can define it, not even the bandleader himself. In fact, ask him about it and you'll likely get what is almost an answer, something to the effect of, "Well, we've been doing this thing here for a while, trying to mix all different kinds of things, so it's really hard to... Why does it need to be defined?" Frankly, he just doesn't know what it is, and so much the better.
The crucial matter is no other band has ever done what K3 does. No other band can do it, and none that I've seen has even tried. Sure, other bands occasionally do similar things, but for the most part, Wayne's trio K3 is a world apart.
Wayne has been writing songs for years, but over the last five the music has transformed from mere fusion rock to a new form of "club" fusion rock. The culprit, uberbassist Tim Lefebvre, decided that people needed to hear what music could be like in the 22nd century. Once Wayne "surrendered to the flow," which I hear is the trick, he found his music taking a new form and a defiant stand against definition. Couple this bold experimentation with the fact that Keith Carlock is the best drummer I've ever seen and you begin to understand the genius of K3. (Note: I hear drummers' names get tossed around all the time, from Neil Pert to Dennis Chambers to Jack Dejohnette to Bill Bruford to Art Blakey, but for my money it's all about Keith Carlock. There's a reason this 32 year old is playing with Sting, Steely Dan, and of course K3.) It's club music, it's drum 'n' bass, it's Bitches Brew. It's all these things, but it's none of them as well. Given the diversity of influences each of these monsters brings, one can't be sure if we should be hearing this music at the 55 Bar or Studio 54.
After a short hiatus from each other, the three men came back together to perform at the Tribeca Rock Club in downtown Manhattan. It was a much anticipated-show to those in the know. It was also an opportunity for us hardcore fans to get those newcomers who've been on the receiving end of our non-stop barrage of complements on board. I highly doubt there was a single person in the club who was not in awe of what went down.
The band wasted no time falling into old habits of precisely noodling their way through much of Wayne's written material, and falling comfortably into the zone of pure, unadulterated absurdity. Each song had uniqueness to it, separated by the progressions, rhythms, choruses, or just the intention. The music was apex-oriented in that a buildup developed, a plateau was established, and eventually a resolve came. Songs rarely just went from Point A to B. It's more like Point A to L back to Point A maybe over to Q almost to Point B, a little more X, and then Point B, maybe. There was always perfect resolve in the end, and inevitable smiles.
Like many bands and musicians who don't sing, it was sometimes difficult to grasp the differences between songs. Regardless, at one point the sounds just take over and you are carefree to titles, words, and definitions. To the fans who do know the many songs, Friday's show was borderline flawless. Fan favorites like "Shirts Off" and "Infinity Split" were breathtaking, invigorating, and most importantly, reassuring. Often times the diehards have a hard time recollecting how good this trio is, then suddenly it's right there in front of you. One fan commented, "I can't believe how insane it is. I almost forgot." Another exclaimed, "It used to be the sickest thing ever, and now it's better than that!"
Writing about music has never been my thing because I find it difficult to express sound in words, but for the last several years I've tried to convey that what has transpired at the 55 Bar is something beyond special, something more than just unique. It seems these three are so ahead of the game one wonders how many years it will take for others to even catch on. On this night, it was pretty apparent that it will be quite a while. They're the only band that forces me to put words on paper.
I think for me, as fan first, reviewer rarely, this show was an affirmation. I believe I can speak for the fans of K3--many of us have been proud to watch the development of this special band. Often people get snippy when "their band" gets press and gather a nice following, but with K3 that's not the case. The faces that I have seen attending these shows for years seemed to be in agreement that it's long past due others have caught on. The feeling of "our" something getting big is a welcome emotion, which is rare. K3 deserves the acclaim.
Being in and around New York City, seeing music for over 15 years, I've registered many bands as blips on my radar screen. Occasionally those blips turn into X-Wing fighters like John Zorn's Masada, sometimes Star Destroyers like Medeski Martin & Wood, but this band is the absolute Death Star of bands.
Do yourself the favor, make sure you see K3 because you'll one day hear the recordings, like those live Jaco Pastorius shows from the 55 Grand, and you'll be less than happy to have missed the moment, especially when the music still seems new in the year 2040.
Musicians Wayne Krantz, Keith Carlock, and Tim Lefebvre also perform with many other outfits. Krantz can still be heard at the 55 Bars on any given Thursday. Carlock recently just ended a tour with Steely Dan, and is now playing with Sting. Lefebvre plays with his other band Boomish and with Uri Caine's Bedrock 3, as well as various weddings!
David Weintraub
JamBase | New York
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