Wolfgang Muthspiel, Scott Colley, Brian Blade – Dance of the Elders (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 45:32 minutes | 852 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © ECM
Wolfgang Muthspiel and his trio with Scott Colley on bass and Brian Blade on drums reaches a new creative peak on Dance of the Elders – the group’s follow-up up to the much lauded Angular Blues, which The Times called a “quietly impressive album”. Here Wolfgang’s successful stride continues, with his unique compositional signature on the one hand and the particularly vibrant interchanges with his trio colleagues on the other. The guitarist’s writing and approach to jazz is heavily folk-induced but equally inspired by classical music – both aspects are presented clearly throughout the album. Brian’s floating percussive injections and Scott’s nimble counterpoint on bass complement Wolfgang’s acoustic and electric playing in fluid interplay over intricate polyrhythms and adventurous harmonic landscapes.
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Wolfgang Muthspiel, Scott Colley, Brian Blade – Angular Blues (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 53:54 minutes | 985 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © ECM
Wolfgang Muthspiel, whom The New Yorker has called “a shining light” among today’s jazz guitarists, returns to the trio format with Angular Blues, the Austrian’s fourth ECM album as a leader, following two acclaimed quintet releases and his trio debut.
Like Driftwood the 2014 trio disc that JazzTimes dubbed “cinematic” and “haunting” Angular Blues finds Muthspiel paired with longtime collaborator Brian Blade on drums; but instead of Larry Grenadier on bass, it’s Scott Colley, whose especially earthy sound helps give this trio its own dynamic. Muthspiel alternates between acoustic and electric guitar and, along with his characteristically melodic originals including such highlights as the bucolic “Hüttengriffe” and pensive “Camino” he essays the first standards of his ECM tenure (“Everything I Love” and “I’ll Remember April”), as well as his first-ever bebop rhythm-changes tune on record (“Ride”). Angular Blues also features a single guitar-only track, “Solo Kanon in 5/4,” with Muthspiel’s electronic delay imbuing the baroque-like rounds with a hypnotic glow.
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