the air …
Wolfgang Muthspiel, Marc Johnson, Brian Blade. The lineup already sounds like the Who Is Who of jazz. But more than this – this is a really exciting trio. Not often you will find a small group that can sound so rich and intimate at the same time.
„Air, Love & Vitamins“, the new album of the trio, is the successor to their highly respected record „Real Book Stories“, an album of well known jazz standards. The tunes on this new album differ: Modern compositions of today’s composers, and a few originals of Wolfgang Muthspiel, too. They vary from slow ballads with a somewhat folk music reminding song writing quality like Vince Mendoza’s „Panis Angelicus“ to hard swinging, even rocking tunes like Wolfgang Muthspiel’s „After 6“ to free improvisations on Carla Bley’s „Floater“. But this is not just a collection of single tunes, no. It is a real „album“ thanks to the way the tunes are played: Open, fresh, with a lot of air around every tune, which makes it a real joy to dig deep into the music.
… about love …
Today the big challenge for way to many musicians in jazz seems to be to invent something completely new. And then in the end the music turns out not to be new at all, in most cases. Or they try to copy the big names of old days. Just few dare to try and find their own, personal way. And even more rare to find would be a group with it’s own style.
Well: Here it is. Three musicians who just love to play jazz, who just love to improvise, who love to experience the music. Not as three single „jazz stars“, but as a band where everybody really enjoys listening to the others, too. This trio really has three centre points.
… and a lot of vitamins!
All this could be anaemic without the right sound. But Wolfgang Muthspiel, Marc Johnson and Brian Blade bring in a lot of vitamins to this excellent jazz diner. The singing heritage guitar of Wolfgang Muthspiel or the rich acoustic sound of his framework guitars. The warm, gentle sound of Marc Johnson’s double bass, and Brian Blade’s spectrum of playing, ranging from soft and melodic to very heavy and impulsive.
That’s the flavour of the vitamins we like, if life is supposed to go the really healthy way!
Line-Up
Wolfgang Muthspiel – guitar
Marc Johnson – double bass
Brian Blade – drums
