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Wolfgang Muthspiel is an Austrian guitarist, composer, and founder/owner of Material Records. His intuitive, probing style has made him a first-call sideman since the 1980s. He has worked with Gary Burton, Youssou N'Dour, Gary Peacock, Paul Motian, and dozens more, pursuing everything from straight-ahead jazz to pop to electronic to world music. Muthspiel's sound, whether on electric or nylon-string acoustic guitars, is notable for its soft touch and elegant chords interspersed with fluid, single-string playing. His unaccompanied album Solo (2004) revealed Ornette Coleman's influence adapted for guitar. Muthspiel's trio dates From a Dream (2009) and Travel Guide (2013), with guitarists Slava Grigoryan and Ralph Towner, along with larger group outings such as Rising Grace (2016), reveal a melodic approach to harmony that is as accessible as it is indelible. He formed a trio with bassist Scott Colley and drummer Brian Blade, and they released Angular Blues in 2020 and Dance of the Elders in 2023.
Muthspiel, the younger brother of trombonist/composer Christian Muthspiel, with whom he has collaborated often, began formal music studies with the violin at age six and switched to classical guitar at 14. After graduating from secondary school, he attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston on a full scholarship. His study of extended harmony with guitarist and composer Mick Goodrick proved influential. In 1985, Wolfgang released the first of three duo albums with Christian, Duo Due Schneetanz; Duo Due Focus It followed in 1987, and Duo Due Tre arrived in 1989.
Muthspiel began a two-year touring stint with Gary Burton in 1988 (Goodrick was also part of this group), establishing a stellar reputation among jazzmen as well as audiences. In 1989, he issued his Polygram debut, Timezones, and followed it in 1990 with The Promise; they both featured Bob Berg in the saxophonist's chair. In the mid-'90s, the guitarist relocated to New York City, where he lived until 2002. He spent the remainder of the decade issuing albums for Polygram that featured sidemen such as Tom Harrell, Don Alias, Larry Grenadier, and Kenny Wollesen, among others. He also played on recordings by Patricia Barber, Peacock, Marc Johnson, Gabrielle Goodman, and Motian. He was named Austrian Jazz Musician of the Year in 1997.
Muthspiel founded Material Records in 2000, and his early projects for it were collaborations with Christian -- including their acclaimed electronic project Echoes of Techno -- and three albums with Norwegian jazz vocalist Rebekka Bakken (the standout is the gorgeous duet set Beloved). Wolfgang Muthspiel also recorded for Quintron during this period, issuing collaborative titles with the Vienna Concert Jazz Orchestra and 2004's Air, Love & Vitamins, his first recorded association with drummer Brian Blade. Muthspiel also released Solo, an album of treated guitar pieces that would become another of his sonic trademarks in studios and on-stage. Other notable collaborative albums on Material during the decade included Glow, with oudist Dhafer Youssef; From a Dream, the 2009 recorded debut from the trio MGT with Slava Grigoryan and Ralph Towner (they had been playing and touring together since 2005); and Live at the Jazz Standard with Goodrick.
Though he had composed "Tonspiel (The Play of Tones)" back in 1986, the 21st century also saw Muthspiel accepting further commissions of the type. He wrote for contemporary ensembles such Klangforum Wien and the Hugo Wolf Quartet, New Music/Zürich, the Austrian Ministry of Arts, the Boston-based ensemble Marimolin, violinist Beni Schmid, and the Austrian Esterházy Foundation.
In 2011, Material released the self-titled Drumfree trio album, with the guitarist in the company of saxophonist Andy Scherrer and bassist Larry Grenadier. In June of the following year, the ever-restless Muthspiel released Vienna, Naked, the first volume of an original song cycle showcasing only his guitar and voice. In 2013, ECM issued Travel Guide by MGT. Driftwood was his first leader date for the label, where he was aided by Blade and Grenadier. The following year saw the issue of Vienna, World, from Material. The second offering in his song cycle, this project was cut internationally with a variety of musicians in several configurations. It included duets with pianist Billy Childs and vocalist Becca Stevens, the guitarist playing with bands from Argentina and Switzerland (the latter including the Lindvall brothers from a-ha), and a string trio with cello and violin. Muthspiel's next leader date for ECM was 2016's Rising Grace. With Blade and Grenadier, it expanded the trio to a quintet that included trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and pianist Brad Mehldau. The essence of that group -- with drummer Eric Harland added -- carried the story forward two years later with the September 2018 release of Where the River Goes; recorded at Studios La Buissonne in February and produced by Manfred Eicher, it featured six compositions by Muthspiel and one by Mehldau, as well as freely improvised pieces from the band. ECM issued the guitarist's Angular Blues in March 2020, with bassist Scott Colley replacing Grenadier.
In February 2022, Muthspiel, Colley, and Blade entered a recording studio in Oakland, California. They emerged with seven completed tunes -- two covers and five composed by the guitarist. Titled Dance of the Elders, the album was released by ECM in November 2023. ~ Thom Jurek
