Wolfgang Muthspiel, a composer and jazz guitarist from Austria, was born 2 March 1965 in Judenburg. He is the brother to Christian Muthspiel, the pianist and trombonist. At six years old, he began playing the violin and started studying the guitar as an adult. He studied jazz and classical guitar in Graz and then continued his studies at the New England Conservatory as well as the Berklee College of Music. He was a well-respected musician who replaced Pat Metheny’s band in Gary Burton’s early years. Muthspiel was a frequent collaborator with many jazz musicians over the years, including Maria Joao and Dave Liebman, Peter Erskine and Paul Motian. The collaboration was later extended to the Norwegian jazz singer Rebekkabakken. Muthspiel was back in Vienna in 2002 when he founded Material Records. This record label focuses not only on his own music but also those of young aspiring musicians. He is currently collaborating with Brian Blade on the project “Friendly Travelers”, and Ralph Towner, Slava Grigoryan, in a new Guitar Trio called MGT. He was awarded the European Jazz Prize in 2003. From Wikipedia
