KCL (Krantz Carlock Lefebvre)

KCL, the iconic, genre-bending powerhouse trio led by visionary guitarist Wayne Krantz and featuring drummer Keith Carlock (Steely Dan, Sting, John Mayer) and bassist Tim Lefebvre (Tedeschi Trucks Band David Bowie), held a Thursday-night residency at NYC’s 55 Bar throughout the first decade of the new millennium. Cutting live recordings from the club and posting them online in the early days of the internet and touring only sporadically, KCL developed a thoroughly original style of interactive group improvisation inspired in part by the great Miles Davis Quintet of the 60s, but played out in spontaneously generated contexts of heavy funk, rock and electronica instead of straight-ahead swing.

As other instrumental bands of the day dabbled in derivative fusion and retro-jazz, KCL became an underground phenomenon, cultivating an international following of devoted fans of every stripe looking for an alternative creative music that served the mind, body and spirit. Relentlessly grooving, always innovative, never complacent-KCL made contemporary music that resonated beyond category.

Other sideman obligations sidelined the band soon after their Abstract Logix release, “Krantz Carlock Lefebvre,” in 2010, but their reputation continued to expand globally through fan circulation of the band’s many live videos and recordings. Now, in 2020, KCL re-ignites to tour with incendiary shows throughout the USA, Europe and Asia.