Towner, Muthspiel, Grigoryan - Travel Guide (ECM 2310)

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I heard the beautiful baritone saxophonist Claire Daly play recently. And she quipped that she wished the world could be run by jazz musicians. She was referring to their ability to listen, to understand, to create beauty and cooperate. It was a joke, but also a deep insight, especially considering music like Travel Guide. Here we have a recording of breathtaking sound, created by three master guitarists from three very different cultures and backgrounds, speaking the universal language of music. The legendary Ralph Towner hails from the United States, Wolfgang Muthspiel from Germany and Slava Grigoryan from Kazakhstan. But on Travel Guide, they seem like three brothers, highlighting and finishing each other's musical sentences, adding just the right touch to make this music fly.

The three guitarists first toured together in 2005, when they played solo, then in duets, then as a trio. And they have continued the relationship ever since. They first recorded together on Muthspiel's label, Material Records. The result was the 2009 album From a Dream. And now, Towner has brought the project to ECM. They recorded in Lugano, Switzerland, last year under the production of Manfred Eicher. And the results are just lovely. Travel Guide is a quietly intense album. Do not expect a cutting contest, where three guitarists enter and one leaves. Rather, Travel Guide offers a richly textured quilt of music that blends jazz improvisation with classical beauty and worldly influences from all three players. Think of this record as six hands playing as two. With songs written by Towner and Muthspiel, both flawless composers, some of my favorites are Towner's "Father Time" and "Travel Guide" as well as Muthspiel's "The Henrysons" and the driving "Nico und Mithra." But don't stop there—the entirety of Travel Guide makes for a road trip of pure joy.

Frank Alkyer, DownBeat, October 2013


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