(Review
by Hugh Cochrane)
Driftwood,
the début CD for ECM as leader from Wolfgang Muthspiel, comes
with full jazz credentials and features Larry Grenadier on bass and
Brian Blade on drums. This album is the first time that these three
musicians have come together as a trio, but Muthspiel has played with
each of the other members of the triumvirate individually over many
years.
Muthspiel,
Austrian by birth, is schooled in both the classical and jazz guitar
traditions and as well as his jazz projects, writes for contemporary
classical music ensembles. On this disc he plays both acoustic and
electric instruments. The disc, recorded in Oslo, is very much in
the ECM landscape, and indeed Muthspiel was thinking about Manfred
Eicher's sound aesthetic when composing for the album.
The
disc has eight tracks, coming in at just over 43 minutes in total.
After the
darkly melodic first
track, Joseph
(after fellow Austrian Joe Zawinul) comes the upbeat Uptown.
The
moody Cambiata
follows
– it almost feels like we have entered the deserted set of a
Western. The tempo hots up again in Highline,
with some beautiful bowed bass from Larry Grenadier. The title
track, Driftwood,
follows - this is a free improvisation with Muthspiel on acoustic
guitar. Lichtzelle
is
a free
spirited duet between Muthspiel on electric and Blade on percussion –
composed on the spot as Blade had never heard the piece before.
Madame Vonn
is a ballad composed by Muthspiel for the olympic skier Lindsey Vonn
following a terrible crash in a race. The final track Bossa
for Michael Brecker is
a tribute to the late saxophonist's playing style, much admired by
Muthspiel.
The
overall feel of this disc is deeply atmospheric, in line with the ECM
style and the moody packaging of the product. The subtlety of
interplay between the three musicians is very evident. This would be
a great gig in the round in Hall 2 at Sage Gateshead (Ros Rigby take
note!).
There
are plans for a European tour next year by the Dino Saluzzi group.
To hear Wolfgang Muthspiel, however, it will be necessary to travel
to Australia at the beginning of the forthcoming antipodean spring –
shame, eh?
Hugh C.
Hugh C.
ECM.
Catalogue No. 375 6400 now available.
1 comment :
Yes, it would have been nice to hear Muthspiel in the UK.
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