Wolfgang Muthspiel

Austrian jazz guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel will be giving a concert on 8 November at CentroCentro. Accompanied just by his acoustic guitar, the musician is performing as part of JAZZMADRID25, Madrid’s International Jazz Festival.

After becoming familiar with the violin and receiving classical training, Wolfgang Muthspiel honed his knowledge and technique at the New England Conservatory, and later at Berklee College, before going on tour with Gary Burton.

In the early 2000s, he launched his own record label Material Records, and formed a duo with the talented drummer Brian Blade. From that association came the album Friendly travelers. Restless by nature, Muthspiel also formed a relationship with the Kazakh guitarist Slava Grigoryan and together with American musician Ralph Towner, they decided to create the guitar trio MGT. Their album Travel Guide marked the trio’s début with the German label ECM, which has been working with Muthspiel to this day, producing half a dozen outstanding albums, including MGT’s record.

Muthspiel’s most recent album Dance of the elders (2023) is still heralded by many critics as his best ever, and in the meantime, he has continued to collect awards and accolades: the Hans Koller Award for Musician of the Year, and European Jazz Musician Award in 2003.