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Wolfgang Muthspiel: Angular Blues
ByLong time collaborator drummer Brian Blade knows the above characteristics well. So he becomes the center of gravity around which Muthspiel goes with or against the unalterable pull on the provocative Angular Blues, Muthspiel's fourth for ECM, following up the widely heralded quintet release, Where The River Goes (ECM, 2018). Dance-animated bassist Scott Colley returns to record with Muthspiel after nearly thirty years and falls right into all the sonic mobilities, echoing, chasing, embroidering his sound to lift and/or ground his wide-ranging cohorts.
Mercurial on both acoustic and electric guitars, the album first three tracks not only highlight Muthspiel's warm, graceful, wooded tone and intimate command, but, with generous space given for Blade and Colley to stretch their inherent dynamic logic, also serve as vivid suggestions of Driftwood (ECM, 2014), his last trio date with Blade and bassist Larry Grenadier. The spacious, spacial "Wondering" finds Colley flashing his finest from the very start, while Muthspiel dances up a flurry of attention grabbing melodics leading seamlessly to the sharp corners and rhythmic get-arounds of the hotly interactive title track.
The delicately folkloric "Huttengriffe" is an intriguing introduction to the pensive, electric flexibility of "Camino" and the energized bebop of "Ride" and Cole Porter's whimsical "Everything I Love." Speaking of excitable, listen to Blade and Colley coax Muthspiel's inner rock guitar god out of hiding on the fiery, jazz-rocking "Kanon in 6/8." It's a real treat, just like the whole.
Track Listing
Wondering; Angular Blues; Hüttengriffe; Camino; Ride; Everything I Love; Kanon in 6/8; Solo Kanon in 5/4; I'll Remember April.
Personnel
Album information
Title: Angular Blues | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: ECM Records
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About Wolfgang Muthspiel
Instrument: Guitar
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Mike Jurkovic
ECM Records
Angular Blues
Wolfgang Muthspiel
Brian Blade
Charlie Haden
Larry Grenadier
Cole Porter