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Wolfgang Muthspiel
Born in 1965, guitar player Wolfgang Muthspiel lives in Vienna. 30 CDs with mainly his own compositions document his work as bandleader and co-leader.
Being trained as a classical musician he approaches the acoustic guitar with the same ease as improvisation and jazz. His Mozart-loving father encouraged him to start with violin playing at age six. At the age 14, he switched to guitar and started to create his own music with his brother Christian. His interest for improvisation led on to jazz.
He moved to Boston/Massachusetts and attended the Berklee College of Music on a full scholarship in 1986 where Mick Goodrick introduced him to complex harmonic worlds. In 1988 he started a 2-year touring period with the Gary Burton Band and acquired an outstanding reputation in the jazz scene. In the mid-nineties he arrived in the capital of Jazz, New York City, where he lived and worked until 2002. This city offered him a unique platform for pursuing different projects. Together with the singer Rebekka Bakken he explored the world of the singer/songwriter while with his brother he pursued their common electronic project Muthspiel/Muthspiel. At the same time he acted as a reliable and ingenious sideman for Trilok Gurtu, Dhafer Youssef, Youssou N’Dour, Maria João, Dave Liebman, Peter Erskine, Paul Motian, Bob Berg, Gary Peacock, Don Alias, Larry Grenadier, John Patitucci, Dieter Ilg, the Vienna Art Orchestra and many others.
After 16 years in the country of boundless possibilities he moved back home in 2002, settling down in Vienna, now being in demand as a virtuosic and creative co-leader and sideman in Europe. In 2002 he founded the label “material records” where he publishes and produces his own recordings as well as albums of other artists. After having toured Europe with his new 4tet (2008) and the duo-project with the drummer Brian Blade (2008) Wolfgang Muthspiel focusses on the trio MGT (Muthspiel – Grigoryan – Towner). In addition to his jazz projects, Muthspiel is active composing for contemporary classical ensembles like the Klangforum Wien or the Hugo Wolf Quartet. Most recently he received commissions from the Austrian Esterházy foundation (Haydn Year 2009). Furthermore Wolfgang Muthspiel is a Professor at the Hochschule für Musik in Basel, Switzerland.
Among his current projects is the Duo „Friendly Travelers“ with drummer Brian Blade, the Wolfgang Muthspiel Trio, MGT From a Dream with Slava Grigoryan and Ralph Towner, the Drumfree Trio (with Scott Colley and Mark Turner) as well as an ever-changing Solo Performance incorporating many different guitars and loops. Since 2009 the collaboration with Turkish pianist Aydin Esen has led to yet another project by the name of “dream cycle” bringing together contemporary aesthetics of both the classical and the jazz world. In 2012 Wolfgang released Vienna, Naked his first album as a singer/songwriter. He is currently working on new Trio recordings with Brian Blade and Larry Grenadier as well as a new Song Project by the name of “Vienna. World.”
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Wolfgang Muthspiel Sextet: Dance (4 Prince)
by Mike Jacobs
As an avid mixtaper from way back, I subjected (read: introduced) my younger drummer brother to many an unsolicited, 90-minute collection of artists and tunes. Happily, these reportedly did turn him on to a lot of new musical avenues and expanded his horizons. But alas, to reciprocate, I fear he had the much more daunting task of finding music his older brother was unfamiliar with (and was impressed by). This Wolfgang Muthspiel burner from 1992 was a memorable “mission accomplished." ...
Continue ReadingWolfgang Muthspiel: Tokyo
by Doug Collette
Even a mere cursory perusal of Wolfgang Muthspiel's discography reveals how his playing has evolved over the years, populating a body of work that is roundly eclectic, but nonetheless focused. That very summary might well also apply to this third outing with the aforementioned high-profile rhythm section of bassist Scott Colley and drummer Brian Blade (ECM, 2023) because on Tokyo, the Austrian guitarist sounds as liberated as in this combo context as on Angular Blues (ECM Records, 2020) and Dance ...
Continue ReadingWolfgang Muthspiel: Etudes / Quietudes
by Mario Calvitti
Per il suo nuovo CD il chitarrista austriaco Wolfgang Muthspiel lascia la label tedesca ECM, che ha ospitato la maggior parte dei suoi album più recenti, per affidarsi a una piccola ma ambiziosa etichetta indipendente svizzera, la Clap Your Hands. Il lavoro, realizzato in completa solitudine, è una raccolta di studi per chitarra classica composti dallo stesso Muthspiel, che mette in mostra il suo lato più classico di cui aveva già occasionalmente dato prova in altre incisioni. Per ...
Continue ReadingJazz & Wine of Peace 2024 - Part 2
by Luca A. d'Agostino
A collection of photos from the Jazz&Wine of Peace 2024 in Cormòns (Italy) from October 23, 2024 to October 27, 2024 featuring Wolfgang Muthspiel, Joe Locke, Camilla George, Samuel Blaser, Marc Copland, Hamid Drake, Anthony Joseph, Erik Friedlander, Kurt Rosenwinkel and other ...
Continue ReadingWolfgang Muthspiel / Benjamin Koppel / Scott Colley / Brian Blade: Complements Incarnate
by Doug Collette
The inveterate musiclover knows all too well how the attraction(s) of certain musician(s) names invariably leads to the satisfaction of hearing them, live or on record, as leaders or accompanists. Bassist Scott Colley and drummer Brian Blade are two such musicians whose listing in the credits of any album or showbill invariably invites observation: appearing together and separately on stage and in the studio with saxophonist/composer Benjamin Koppel on Mulberry Street Symphony (Unit Records, 2022) or touring with Julian Lage ...
Continue ReadingCarlo Mombelli: Lullaby for Planet Earth
by Dan Bilawsky
Carlo Mombelli's patience is profound. Long a believer in allowing music to unfold at its own pace, the veteran South African bassist/composer demonstrates incredible composure in his every pursuit. Always unforced and forever bound to both the natural and spiritual realms, his art reflects a purity linking the concepts of self- command and surrender. In that respect, in using his own unique voice, he speaks to universal hope and possibilities. There's already plenty of evidence to support ...
Continue ReadingGuitars, Rarities, and New Sounds
by Bob Osborne
This time a dip into the archive for a couple of tracks featuring Wolfgang Muthspiel plus more guitar with a new solo album from Brian Citro. There's a preview of a stunning new album from Nate Wooley, which features two more guitarists, Mary Halvorson and Susan Alcorn. Plus new music from La Pompe Attack, classic British Jazz from John Taylor, a debut from Julius Rodriguez, rare Dave Brubeck and some early Oregon. There's also new self released music from Eyal ...
Continue ReadingJazz Musician of the Day: Wolfgang Muthspiel
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Wolfgang Muthspiel's birthday today!
Born in 1965, guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel lives in Vienna. 30 CDs with mainly his own compositions document his work as bandleader and co-leader. Being trained as a classical musician he approaches the acoustic guitar with the same ease as improvisation and jazz.
His Mozart-loving father encouraged him to start with violin playing at age six. At the age 14, he switched to guitar and started to create his own music with ...