Wolfgang Muthspiel’s Continuing Explorations

Interview, From the Magazine, Wolfgang Muthspiel

By Josef Woodard I Jan. 19, 2026

Wolfgang Muthspiel, left, with trio mates Scott Colley and Brian Blade.
(Photo: Nino Fernandez)

In its remarkable 56-year history, ECM Records has released more than 1,800 albums by countless artists from around the globe, all under the discerning gaze and guidance of founder Manfred Eicher. The venerable enterprise has all disseminated from the label’s disarmingly humble but functional headquarters in Munich, Germany, but has featured surprisingly few Germanic artists on its roster.

One notable exception is the commanding and versatile Austrian guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel, who has built up a stellar ECM catalog leading up to his new trio album, Tokyo. So named for generous appreciation of his work in the country of Japan — and particularly his empathic trio with drummer Brian Blade and bassist Scott Colley — Tokyo is the third and strongest album yet by a trio sounding evermore mature, yet ready for a new challenge. This is still a young-ish trio, dating back five years ago to the album Angular Blues and returning with Dance Of The Elders in 2023. Clearly, as heard on Tokyo, the threesome is deepening its ensemble bond.

Muthspiel explains, “We all think in terms of ensemble sound, and we listen to each other deeply. There’s a constant musical conversation happening, which has grown stronger over time. For me, that way of interacting has become almost essential to making music today.”

Was there a core concept at work in creating the songbook for this album? Yes and no. Muthspiel asserts, “My goal was simply to create music that we genuinely want to play together — music that comes from the heart.”

Tokyo can be viewed as the portrait of the artists, reflecting varied interests and skill zones. Acoustic and electric guitar are deployed on a range of compositions, from lyrical balladry to contemporary swing ventures, pinches of rock fire and more experimental outings, all of which his trio-mates fold naturally into.

“At this point, both electric and acoustic guitar have become equally important to me. I tend to write specifically for one or the other, and that naturally shapes the repertoire I want to record. As for the range of moods, yes, I wanted a wide palette of colors, tempos, grooves and harmonies. I still think in terms of albums, and the 50-minute journey really matters to me.”

Muthspiel has worked beyond the borders of jazz, per se, as with his commissioned work for the avant-garde contemporary music ensemble Klangforum Wein. Some of that extra-jazz impulse is heard on Tokyo, as on the Kurt Weill tribute with the winking pun of a title, “Weill You Wait,” and tonal cluster-blitz of “Diminished And Augmented.”

He confesses that, despite his clear gift for melodic writing, “after spending time with more triadic or simpler material, I often start to crave more extended harmony. Overall, the album presents many of the musical aesthetics I love, so I didn’t want to limit it to a single expression. The piece I wrote for Klangforum Wien, on the other hand, was actually a 12-tone composition with an improvising soloist: a very different territory.”

Muthspiel’s link to ECM goes deeper than a business deal, as elements of the label’s storied artists have found a sympathetic ear and left a bold influence on his musicality. In some of his playing, it is easy to detect echoes of former ECM staple Pat Metheny in Muthspiel’s phrasing and compositional leanings (especially in the realm of balladry). And in his acoustic work, hints of Ralph Towner (who he recorded with on 2013’s Travel Guide) find their way in. On Tokyo, the label’s imprint is touched on through his interpretations of Keith Jarrett’s “Lisbon Stomp” and Paul Motian’s “Abacus,” which literally frame the album’s sequence: Both Jarrett and Motian have had deep associations in ECM’s orbit.

“Since I discovered jazz through ECM recordings, it feels completely natural to include pieces by Jarrett and Motian. They’re both major influences,” Muthspiel said. “I had the privilege of playing with Paul quite a bit, and I’ll never forget the feeling of standing next to his cymbal and experiencing his creative force.”

In another cross-reference to a guiding influence in his music, Muthspiel — who has returned to live in Vienna after years in New York and Boston — dips into the rugged Austrian jazz-folk patois of Weather Report’s Joe Zawinul on the tune “Christa’s Dream.” As Muthspiel readily admits, “Joe was certainly a huge hero and influence. His story is still unbelievable. I think part of his aesthetic draws from Austrian harmonic language and the accordion with its different sound registers. The ballad ‘Christa’s Dream’ on the album is definitely a nod to him.”

Another significant Austrian in his life is his own brother, the pianist, composer and big band leader Christian Muthspiel. The brothers recorded together in Wolfgang’s early, post-Berklee student days starting in 1985, and including the 2003 album Early Music, with a particular family-tied theme.

“Early Music was an album my brother and I recorded as an homage to our father,” he explains, “using samples from his choir recordings and building our own music around them. As children with classical training, we improvised together constantly, without knowing anything about jazz.

“When we discovered that there was an entire music dedicated to improvisation, we were hooked. We played all the instruments and gadgets available in the house, and in many ways that early creative freedom still shapes the way both of us compose.”

Fast-forward to now. At age 60, Muthspiel has built up an impressive and wide-ranging body of work to date and is established as a jazz guitar force to reckon with, not to mention creating some beautiful, unabashedly lyrical music.

Does he look back reflectively on the journey so far, and look forward to things to come? “I see a continuous path of immersion in music, and I still enjoy the fundamentals — practicing, composing, playing concerts, recording. If I had to summarize the journey so far, it would be something like: Music is endless. Let me go deeper.” DB