Muthspiel ranks among the top bracket of European musicians and is a world-class operator. Heck, he even has his own office, staffed by a secretary!
With this, his third collaboration with Colley and Blade, he has created a musical environment that seems likely to be one he will be most remembered among audiences beyond Austria. In the past, performing in a variety musical configurations it was not unreasonable, as a fellow jazz commentator remarked at a gig in Europe, ‘Who is the real Wolfgang Muthspiel?’
Well, in this trio configuration, he is front and centre, whether on electric or acoustic guitars as on ‘Flight,’ ‘Diminished and Augmented,’ ‘Traversia,’ ‘Strumming,’ and ‘Weill You Wait.’ It’s difficult to imagine better accompanists more attuned to Muthspiel’s episodic ideas that move forward in a series of sighs, such as ‘Abacus.’
While heads are turned to the United States and flavour of the month Julian Lage, who rightly deserves attention for his remarkable ability, it is worth pausing for a moment and reflecting on Muthspiel’s playing, more subtle for sure and not as declamatory, but a wholly absorbing alternative that can easily be mentioned in the same breath.
AloJapan.com