Mambo Noir Trio

On their self-titled debut album, Mambo Noir Trio brings together the resonance of dark exotica and sway of 60´s latin jazz into the melodic timbre of the Swedish archipelago.

Recorded live in Matti Bye’s Studio Barnängen, fittingly located in the Hammarby harbour in Stockholm, the album features nine tracks of sure-handedly improvised music for piano, percussion and vibraphone. From the Manciniesque opening track “Noir” to the shifting lullaby mood of “Fin” that bookend the record through the waltzy “Clouds”, the music and dramaturgy unfold, painting slow seductive circles of faintly recognizable memories.

Mambo Noir Trio treats its source material with a tentative playfulness that allows vibraphone timbres time to diffuse and roll out, while double bass loops keep the musical movement grounded. This approach is somewhat reminiscent of the American composer and “father of exotica” Martin Denny, with the harmonic nuances and melodic accessibility of jazz pianist Jan Johansson. Rhythmically the record brings to mind the bluesy, freewheeling sound of the Ethiopian singer, pianist and nun Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou.

Mambo Noir Trio is Matti Bye on piano and electronics (well know for his scores to contemporary films as well as vintage silent movies), Vilhelm Bromander (Saigon, Musette, Joe Davolaz, Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation) on double bass and Dennis Egberth (Saigon, Joe Davolaz, Taxi Taxi, Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation) on drums and percussion. The recordings were influenced and colored in by Anders af Klintberg, whom produced and mixed the record.

Press:

“This is mambo for the 21st century: harmonic, freewheeling, bluesy, and with a touch of super cool jazz.  Stunning stuff”
HiFi Choice Magazine (5/5)

“Gripping, fascinating and a wonderful drama roll… Are you ready for your new favourite band?”
Gaffa Magazine (5/5)

“Mambo Noir Trio deftly drop kicks the traditional kitsch stylings of the Cuban genre into touch, replacing it with an altogether cooler, smokey jazz club vibe by way of a David Lynch-type darkness…”
R2 Magazine