​​WOLFGANG MUTHSPIEL – CHAMBER TRIO

 

In May 2026, the Wolfgang Muthspiel Chamber Trio will release its new album ATLAS. Featuring the distinctive lineup of guitar, trumpet, and piano, the trio creates a richly textured sonic landscape that moves fluidly between jazz and chamber music. Wolfgang Muthspiel, Colin Vallon, and Mario Rom engage in a truly egalitarian musical dialogue, marked by subtle interaction, playful improvisation, and a refined sense of tone color.

 

The album’s ten compositions were written primarily by Wolfgang Muthspiel, with the exception of Spring, composed by Colin Vallon. On five tracks, Muthspiel performs on classical concert guitar, while on the remaining pieces he plays a semi-acoustic electric guitar, further broadening the ensemble’s expressive range.

 

Muthspiel describes the trio’s concept as follows:
“The Chamber Trio sees itself as a musical network that preserves the intimacy and clarity of chamber music while embracing the rhythmic energy and improvisational freedom of jazz.”

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ATLAS was recorded by Roland Baumann at Tonstudio Baumann in Steinakirchen, Austria, and mixed by Patrik Zosso. The album will be released on the ClapYourHands label and will be available both digitally and in physical formats.

 

Austrian guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel is widely regarded as one of the leading voices in contemporary jazz. Known for his nuanced and multifaceted playing, he creates open musical spaces that invite deep interaction. Together with Colin Vallon—internationally acclaimed for his ECM recordings—and Mario Rom, an expressive trumpeter with a strong melodic sensibility, Muthspiel has formed a trio of exceptional musical cohesion. In this drumless configuration, the ensemble achieves remarkable rhythmic density and drive. Years of shared musical experience are clearly audible, resulting in a sound defined by trust, precision, and curiosity.

 

The cycle of compositions opens with “Guacho Schubert”, in which Wolfgang Muthspiel artfully weaves together two seemingly opposing worlds: the pulsating rhythms of Argentine folk music and the lyrical songcraft of Franz Schubert.

 

With “Atlas”, another composition by Muthspiel, a fast-paced, modal piece follows in a quick, asymmetrical 5/8 meter. Driven by rhythmic momentum, this archaic-sounding sound world unfolds through the improvisational contributions of the three musicians, expanding the musical space and opening windows onto unexpected sonic dimensions.

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As the third piece, the trio presents the ballad “Might This Be The End”, which from its very first chords opens up a wide, melancholic landscape in which an intense musical dialogue takes shape.

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After these three pieces, in which Muthspiel plays the classical guitar, the electric guitar is heard for the first time, combined with loops: “Lionel”, dedicated to the Benin-born musician Lionel Loueke, with whom Muthspiel also collaborates in the project Confluence. A joyful, grooving dance whose B section gives Mario Rom room for an expansive trumpet solo, supported by a richly layered background of voice, piano, and guitar.

 

Together, these four pieces form the first part of the album and already reveal the full range of the Chamber Trio—its alert, highly interactive musicality and its ability to make the music bloom and groove without a conventional rhythm instrument.