Wolfgang Muthspiel Angular Blues

Wolfgang Muthspiel

Angular Blues

ECM

Austrian guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel leads an exceptional trio of Scott Colley on bass and Brian Blade on this new ECM recording. Recorded in Japan during a tour by the trio, "Angular Blues"

showcases Muthspiel's craft as a composer as well as a guitarist of considerable interest. With scintillating runs mixed with carefully placed chords, he is complemented by Colley's bass anchoring this trio as well as taking his melodic solos while Blade, perhaps this writer's favorite drummer, accenting the drums with a deft touch.

Performances include the opening "Wondering" with its free-flowing dreamy structure, the title track with its quirky theme and use of stop-time, and the pensive "Hüttengriffe," where he plays acoustic guitar. Muthspiel's austere playing here is complemented by Colley's spare bass lines and Blade's light touch with the brushes. "Camino" is another performance in a reflective vein with Muthspiel's light, deliberate improvisation, which subtly builds in intensity with Blade deftly adding his rhythmic coloring. "Ride" is a spirited, effervescent bop-inflected performance with energetic solos from Colley and Blade. There are marvelous renditions of the standards "Everything I Love" and "I Remember April" (the latter number has an exceptional bass solo with his display of a marvelous technique, imaginative construction of his solos, and a splendid sense of dynamics and of tone. 

Then there are the two renditions of 'Kanon." A trio version is done in 6/8 time, while a solo version is in 5/4 time. The solo performance comes off as a captivating free-flowing improvisation where Muthspiel's use of electronic delay creates a sense of this performance being a guitar duet. Like the rest of this recording, it showcases Wolfgang Muthspiel's imaginative and adept playing that is enhanced by the splendid contributions of Colley and Blade. The result is a superb modern jazz guitar album.

I received a download to review from a publicist. Here is Wolfgang Muthspiel with a slightly different trio.