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About Wolfgang Muthspiel

Live Review

Wolfgang Muthspiel Quintet alla Casa del Jazz di Roma

by Mario Calvitti
August 10, 2017

Wolfgang Muthspiel Quintet Summertime 2017 Casa del Jazz Roma 13.07.2017 Unica data italiana a Roma per il quintetto del chitarrista austriaco Wolfgang Muthspiel nel corso del recente tour europeo. Il musicista ha proposto i brani del suo ultimo album Rising Grace, pubblicato dalla ECM alla fine dello scorso anno. Della formazione all-star che lo ha inciso è presente solo il contrabbassista Larry Grenadier, mentre il pianista Brad Mehldau, il trombettista Ambrose Akinmusire e il ...

Album Review

Wolfgang Muthspiel: Rising Grace

Read "Rising Grace" reviewed by Mark Sullivan

by Mark Sullivan
October 28, 2016

Austrian guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel made a big splash early in his career, playing with vibraphonist Gary Burton and recording for PolyGram Records (including 1990's The Promise, produced by Burton). Since founding his own label Material Records in 2000 he has had a somewhat lower profile, although in addition to a number of his projects the label released From A Dream (2009), the stunning debut of the cooperative trio MGT (with fellow guitarists Slava Grigoryan and Ralph Towner). Muthspiel made his ...

Extended Analysis

Wolfgang Muthspiel: Driftwood

by John Kelman
June 16, 2014

Since studying at Berklee College of Music and returning to his home in Austria--though not before releasing a number of American-based recordings either on his own or as a member of bands led by people like Gary Burton, Marc Johnson and Patricia Barber--guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel has largely been focusing on his career through Material Records, the label he founded at the turn of the millennium. And while he's released no shortage of fine recordings for the label--including both studio and ...

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Album Review

Wolfgang Muthspiel: Drumfree

Read "Drumfree" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose

by Raul d'Gama Rose
July 15, 2011

Drumfree contains some of the most stimulating three-way counterpoint written and played in a long time. All of the compositional credit goes to Wolfgang Muthspiel, the composer; but making it all come alive is Muthspiel, the guitarist, and his chosen partners for this date: saxophonist Andy Scherrer and bassist Larry Grenadier. Muthspiel leads from the front with the warmth and splendor of his authoritative voice. The guitarist is deeply rooted in the harmonic ideas of European music, with phrases fully ...

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Album Review

Wolfgang Muthspiel: Drumfree

Read "Drumfree" reviewed by Jack Huntley

by Jack Huntley
July 6, 2011

Wolfgang Muthspiel is a hypnotically adept guitarist who seems to have a penchant for exploring the percussion-less musical setting. His previous album, Live At The Jazz Standard (Material Records, 2010), was a technically impeccable guitar duo with Mick Goodrick, and in some ways, Drumfree is a natural extension of the ideas investigated on that album. But here there is an added emotional intensity somewhat overlooked before. Joined by saxophonist Andy Sherrer and bassist Larry Grenadier, the trio explores a range ...

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Album Review

Wolfgang Muthspiel / Mick Goodrick: Live at the Jazz Standard

Read "Live at the Jazz Standard" reviewed by Jack Huntley

by Jack Huntley
June 24, 2010

The worry, when two distinctive musicians play in a duo setting, is that one will display a heavy-handedness that brings down the combined feel. The urge to fill in the openness is ever-tempting. Luckily, both Wolfgang Muthspiel and Mick Goodrick are not only talented guitarists, but well-schooled in the art of supporting others musically, while maintaining their own creative voices. Live at the Jazz Standard is a textbook case of how to combine talents in creating a unified musical landscape. ...

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Album Review

Wolfgang Muthspiel / Mick Goodrick: Live at the Jazz Standard

Read "Live at the Jazz Standard" reviewed by John Barron

by John Barron
June 23, 2010

Guitarists Wolfgang Muthspiel and Mick Goodrick are two like-minded explorers of fretboard possibilities. Goodrick, the elder, has been a renowned performer and educator for over forty years, working with the likes of Gary Burton, Jack DeJohnette and Steve Swallow. Muthspiel, Goodrick's former student at Berklee College of Music has performed with Peter Erskine, Paul Motian and Norwegian jazz singer Rebekka Bakken, among others. On Live at the Jazz Standard, an intimate duo recording from 2008, both guitarists generate ...