Wolfgang Muthspiel

Wolfgang Muthspiel, an Austrian guitarist and composer who established and runs Material Records, developed an intuitive and probing approach that positioned him as a sought-after collaborator beginning in the 1980s. Across decades he partnered with Gary Burton, Youssou N'Dour, Gary Peacock, Paul Motian, and many others, moving fluidly among straight-ahead jazz, pop, electronic music, and world traditions. Whether playing electric or nylon-string acoustic instruments, Muthspiel favors a soft touch that blends elegant chords with flowing single-line passages. The solo recording Solo from 2004 demonstrated how he had reshaped Ornette Coleman’s ideas for guitar. Trio projects such as From a Dream (2009) and Travel Guide (2013), both recorded with guitarists Slava Grigoryan and Ralph Towner, and the larger-ensemble effort Rising Grace (2016) display a melodic harmonic sensibility that remains both immediately engaging and deeply memorable. Forming a trio with bassist Scott Colley and drummer Brian Blade, he issued Angular Blues in 2020 and Dance of the Elders in 2023.

The younger brother of trombonist and composer Christian Muthspiel, with whom he has frequently collaborated, Wolfgang began serious musical training on violin at age six before turning to classical guitar at 14. After secondary school he enrolled at Berklee College of Music in Boston on a full scholarship; lessons in extended harmony with guitarist and composer Mick Goodrick left a lasting mark. In 1985 he issued the first of three duo albums with Christian, Duo Due Schneetanz, followed by Duo Due Focus It in 1987 and Duo Due Tre in 1989.

A two-year tour with Gary Burton that began in 1988 (with Goodrick also in the band) helped cement Muthspiel’s standing among both musicians and listeners. His Polygram debut, Timezones, appeared in 1989 and was succeeded the next year by The Promise; both featured Bob Berg on saxophone. Relocating to New York City in the mid-1990s, where he remained until 2002, he continued releasing Polygram albums that included contributions from Tom Harrell, Don Alias, Larry Grenadier, Kenny Wollesen, and others. Additional sideman work during this period encompassed sessions with Patricia Barber, Peacock, Marc Johnson, Gabrielle Goodman, and Motian. In 1997 he received the Austrian Jazz Musician of the Year award.

Founding Material Records in 2000, Muthspiel’s initial releases on the label included further collaborations with Christian, among them the well-received electronic project Echoes of Techno, and three albums with Norwegian vocalist Rebekka Bakken, of which the intimate duet collection Beloved stands out. During the same span he also recorded for Quintron, producing projects with the Vienna Concert Jazz Orchestra and the 2004 album Air, Love & Vitamins, marking his first documented work with drummer Brian Blade. Solo, a set of treated-guitar pieces that later became another signature sound in both studio and concert settings, also appeared. Other notable Material releases from the decade comprised Glow with oudist Dhafer Youssef; From a Dream, the 2009 debut of the MGT trio alongside Grigoryan and Towner (who had already been performing and touring together since 2005); and Live at the Jazz Standard with Goodrick.

Although he had written “Tonspiel (The Play of Tones)” as early as 1986, Muthspiel accepted additional commissions in the new century, creating works for ensembles including Klangforum Wien, the Hugo Wolf Quartet, New Music/Zürich, the Austrian Ministry of Arts, the Boston-based group Marimolin, violinist Beni Schmid, and the Austrian Esterházy Foundation.

Material issued the self-titled Drumfree trio album in 2011, featuring saxophonist Andy Scherrer and bassist Larry Grenadier. In June of the following year Muthspiel released Vienna, Naked, the opening installment of an original song cycle presented solely with his guitar and voice. ECM brought out Travel Guide by MGT in 2013. Driftwood became his first leader date for the label, supported by Blade and Grenadier. The next year saw Vienna, World on Material, the second volume of the song cycle, recorded across multiple countries with varied lineups that included duets with pianist Billy Childs and vocalist Becca Stevens, performances with bands from Argentina and Switzerland (the latter featuring the Lindvall brothers from a-ha), and a string trio employing cello and violin. Rising Grace, issued by ECM in 2016, expanded the core trio with Blade and Grenadier into a quintet that also featured trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and pianist Brad Mehldau. Retaining the group’s essential character while adding drummer Eric Harland, the September 2018 release Where the River Goes was recorded at Studios La Buissonne in February, produced by Manfred Eicher, and contained six Muthspiel compositions, one piece by Mehldau, and freely improvised selections. ECM followed with Angular Blues in March 2020, now with bassist Scott Colley in place of Grenadier.

In February 2022 Muthspiel, Colley, and Blade convened in a studio in Oakland, California, completing seven tracks—two covers and five originals by the guitarist. The resulting album, Dance of the Elders, appeared on ECM in November 2023.