Mwendo Dawa trio - Melodic Hope (2025)

"MELODIC VOICE is the second release with MWENDO DAWA as a trio after Ove Johansson, tenorsax, passing away. The group has a long history but still finds new expressions and the trio has found a language of its own.

The music has always been searching new paths in the world of Jazz - freeform - fusion - avant garde - electro acoustic music. Improvised music where live electronics smoothly integrates with the acoustic instruments. Music that requires concentrated listening, but also music with a great portion of humour and exciting ideas.

2025 is also a 50 year celebration of the forming of MWENDO DAWA as group.

The first edition of MWENDO DAWA was working with inspiration of African music, here comes the origin of the name. The setting was saxophone, Fender Rhodes, guitar, electric bass and three drummers. MWENDO DAWA got from the start a lot of attention and started touring internationally. 1978 MWENDO DAWA was reconstructed to a quintet, released the first LP on the SONET label and had a big break at the Jazz festival of Montreux 1979, a live LP was recorded there as well as a video. At the time you could find bass player Anders Jormin och guitar player Ulf Wakenius in MWENDO DAWA. There was much touring first in Europe but from 1982 also in USA. But now the group was reduced to a quartet and on bass you could find the Swede Lars Danielsson. At the end of the 80th and the years to come the group toured a great deal in USA and Canada.

Around 2000 MWENDO DAWA turned into free improvisation where computers act in an improvisational way together with the acoustic instrumentens. Sound files with sounds designed like over tone series sampled down to listenable area, live electronics mixed with free improvisation of acoustic instruments and computers. Whenever the group used compositions as a base for improvisation MWENDO DAWA started to use twelve tone technique to get away from a harmonic center. The group has performed at many important festivals like Montreux, Montreal, North Sea, Beijing, Vilnius and many, many more. And that leads us to MWENDO DAWA trio of today.

MWENDO DAWA Trio:
Susanna Lindeborg, piano, electronics
Jimmi Roger Pedersen, double bass
David Sundby, drums

TRACKLIST

1. Mwendo Dawa trio - Deep Slope
2. Mwendo Dawa trio - Grainy Weather
3. Mwendo Dawa trio - Growl
4. Mwendo Dawa trio - Melodic Hope
5. Mwendo Dawa trio - Open Path
6. Mwendo Dawa trio - Spacerun
7. Mwendo Dawa trio - Bass Stroll
8. Mwendo Dawa trio - Detroit
9. Mwendo Dawa trio - Short Step
10. Mwendo Dawa trio - Slow Breath