HEERNT @ Rose Live Music, 8/5/09
and MARK GUILIANA - WAYNE KRANTZ DUO @ The Stone, 8/14/09
AUG, 2009 -- BROOKLYN/MANHATTAN: On August 14th I saw Wayne Krantz and Mark Guiliana at the Stone in Manhattan. How do I even begin? If you haven't heard Krantz live, the first time for me was a shocking ordeal, almost hilariously so. It was like a wild, raucous dream - the precise, angular grace of Krantz flirting his guitar through rhythmic variations. And this time the feeling was no different, sitting on the floor of the completely packed Stone, surrounded by drooling jazz acquaintances, and witnessing an hour of improvisation by musicians truly at play. I caught many audience members counting along - we all know it's in 4/4, but try to keep up and they'll probably fuck you up.
Guiliana's crisp drum playing was explosive to say the least, and to see, or hear rather, the relationship with Krantz develop was a thing of beauty. There were only three breaks in the set, and occasionally Krantz would direct improvisations with single words, such as "me," indicating a Krantz solo (there were plenty of times when Guiliana had his way too), or "one," indicating that they would finally actually land on the first beat of the measure, or "fast," which needs no explanation. It was a night that will never be repeated, even if the same two musicians were to play for the same room'a unique experience defined by musicians expressing themselves freely in the moment, and the funky conversation that unfolded.
Only a week before I had the pleasure of hearing Guiliana for the first time with his band Heernt live at Rose in Brooklyn. Electric bassist Neal Persiani started off the set with a Ray Charles sample, then shocked the audience by suddenly falling into the first of a slew of nasty grooves. Persiani's playing is precise, directed, and purposeful - he too would be at home improvising with Krantz. The rhythm machine of Persiani and Guiliana was assisted by the sax and synth playing of Zac Colwell, whether playing spaced out, dissonant chords on Juno-60, motivic sax solos, or sparce rhythmic unisons (as on the tune "Locked in a Basement"). Heernt is experimental music that has a solid grounding in pop, funk, rock, or whatever genre you call it (and jazz too), and fantastic musicianship to keep audience members all ears.
Heernt played controlled improvisations in tight tunes; Krantz and Guiliana played tight improvisations with considerably less pre-determined direction. Vastly different musical experiences, but the overlap between the two was in the conviction and creativity of the players, and of course the excited audience members hungry for musical energy.
