KICKIN' OUT THE JAZZ!

Wayne Kramer's Lexington Arts Ensemble performs Chasing a Fire Engine live. It's on his first recording in 12 years, LEXINGTON on his own Industrial Amusements label. Wayne is one of modern music's most original guitarists. He played rock as a teen, and formed The MC5 and played the some of the highest energy, most creative and socially relevant music through out his 50 year career. In the early 70's, after the MC5 disintegrated, Wayne was in prison in Lexington, KY on a drug charge. While in prison, he met some great Jazz musicians and started to play jazz. But, his playing was always more of a link between free jazz and rock. Much more influenced by Sun Ra and Coltrane than by Hendrix. He was already playing his own distinctive style when Hendrix appeared, so, maybe you could say that Kramer is the missing link between Chuck Berry, Pharoah Saunders and Sun Ra! I don't have a problem with that.  During the last 10 years, he created the Jail Guitar Doors program with British musician, Billy Bragg.  JGD gives instruments and provides musical instruction to prison inmates all over America. The organization was inspired by a song by The Clash, who wrote it when Wayne was in prison. Years later, Wayne realized that The Clash had written it about him.