WAYNE KRANTZ

Howie 61

waynekrantz.com

Among other things—lots of other things, actually—Howie 61 is a taking-stock record. On “I’d Like to Thank My Body,” this New York City jazz-fusion guitarist gives props to his brain and vascular system, rating his earthly frame a “more or less acceptable container for living” over an elastic funk beat. If that doesn’t prove there’s plenty of life left in this chameleonic player, Krantz takes the bold step of rapping on the title cut, busting rhymes to a groovy prog-blues backing suitable for latter-day Steely Dan. He goes on to cover Grandmaster Flash by way of Ice Cube (“Check Yo Self”) and crawl inside a cuckoo clock for the expressive “beLls.”

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