Drum master Brian Blade was a member of a trio with Jeff Denson on bass and Romain Pilon on guitar that recorded one of my favorite CDs of 2019. He’s back again in another guitar trio led by veteran guitar slinger Wolfgang Muthspiel, with the unerringly supportive bassist Scott Colley rounding out the group on Angular Blues. The trio’s warm and sympathetic approach to the music is a reflection of the fact that Blade and Muthspiel have collaborated on ten released projects since they first performed together on Rebekka Bakken’s Daily Mirror Reflected back in 2000, including several trio releases and a pair of duo albums, Friendly Travelers (2006) and Friendly Travelers Live (2007). Colley also played on the Bakken CD, and in 2001, he joined Blade and Muthspiel to play on Mike Holober’s Canyon. The trio recorded this set in Tokyo, after a three night run at a jazz club. Not surprisingly, the overall feel is that of the last set of a long night, with everyone loose and relaxed as the music practically plays itself in an extended three-way conversation. Particularly fine are the elegiac Hüttengriffe, one of three pieces to feature Muthspiel on acoustic guitar, the trio’s joyous dissection of Cole Porter’s Everything I Love and their madly swinging treatment of Muthspiel’s Kanon in 6/8. Definitely recommended.
ECM 2655; Wolfgang Muthspiel (ac* & el g) Scott Colley (b) Brian Blade (d); Tokyo, Japan, August 2018; Wondering*/ Angular Blues*/ Hüttengriffe*/ Camino/ Ride/ Everything I Love/ Kanon in 6/8/ Solo Kanon in 5/4/ I’ll Remember April; 53:54. www.ecmrecords.com
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