The WOLFGANG MUTHSPIEL TRIO was featured in Claire Martin’s Jazz Line-Up programme on BBC Radio 3 on Saturday 21 March 2015. The programme is still available to listen to. This live performance of Wolfgang Muthspiel’s ‘American’ Trio, featuring Larry Grenadier on double bass and Brian Blade on drums, was recorded at the Vienna Konzerthaus, in 2014 by Austrian radio.
In September 2014, I was lucky to hear Wolfgang Muthspiel playing as a guest artist with the British pianist Gwilym Simcock in the Joshua Redman jazz series at Wigmore Hall in London. Needless to say, the playing was superb.
Wolfgang Muthspiel trained as a classical guitarist with Leo Witoszynskyj at University of Music and Dramatic Arts in Graz, Austria. He then went to the United States to further his studies and there at New England Conservatory and the Berklee College of Music his focus moved more towards jazz. He was soon given the job of playing in Gary Burton’s band (a spot previously filled by Pat Metheny), which he continued for years.
The list of his musical collaborations continues to be impressive: he plays and has played with so many of the top jazz musicians. Wolfgang Muthspiel eventually moved back to Austria and in recent years has also been performing in a trio with Slava Grigoryan and Ralph Towner; their 2013 recording Travel Guide is on ECM records.
Wolfgang Muthspiel has a substantial and ever-growing recording output; in fact, he set up his own recording company a number of years ago called Material Records. Although his recording, Driftwood, in a trio with Larry Grenadier and Brian Blade, is also on ECM records.
On 17 April 2015, Material Records will release Wolfgang Muthspiel’s new album, Vienna, World. The 13-track album is the second instalment in his Vienna song-cycle, which has been recorded around the world with his friends and new musical companions. A full-length video documentary is currently being created and the project has a dedicated website called Vienna, World.
© Thérèse Wassily Saba 2015