Austrian guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel (1965) has a quintet that he regards as a 'dream team'. And rightly so! Trumpeter Ralph Alessi has worked a lot with pianist Uri Caine and is a leading musical stylist, pianist Gwilym Simcock has played with Joshua Redman, and bassist Larry Grenadier as well as drummer Jeff Ballard have proven their mastery of their instruments for years with pianist Brad Mehldau. Muthspiel lived in New York for several years but in 2002 he moved back to Vienna, which is now his home base. He has worked with artists like Dhafer Youssef, Dave Liebman, Paul Motian, Gary Peacock, John Patitucci, and the Vienna Art Orchestra. He has composed a brand new repertoire for the Wolfgang Muthspiel Quintet. Muthspiel is classically trained and sometimes even sings his own pieces. In 2003, in Austria, he was named European Jazz Musician of the Year. His most recent album is Rising Grace (2016, ECM Records).
