Live in Turku Dawda Jobarteh & Stefan Pasborg

• 1Folkman (Live)05:23
• 2Better Get Hit In Your Soul (Live)07:14
• 3Togo (Live)05:58
• 4Communication Of A Kind (Live)05:35
• 5I Met Her By The River (Live)03:59
• 6Highlander 74 (Live)04:46
• 7Mali (Live)04:24
• Total Runtime37:19

Info for Live in Turku

Gambian kora virtuoso Dawda Jobarteh and Danish master drummer Stefan Pasborg join forces to release their exhilarating live album, ‘Live In Turku’. A captivating fusion of traditional West African sounds and contemporary improvisation, the record is set to release on April Records on May 17th.

Jobarteh was born and raised in Brikama, Gambia into a musical legacy – his uncle and grandfather before him are recognized as great masters of the kora. Initially learning calabash and all other kinds of percussion at the feet of his uncle, it wasn’t until Dawda’s travels to Denmark that he picked up the 21-stringed kora. He’s since gone on to tour worldwide with the famous Pierre Dørge & New Jungle Orchestra and release five albums under his own name to rave reviews from leading magazines such as Songlines.

Stefan Pasborg is a world class drummer with a deep understanding of African music few western musicians possess, evidenced by his many collaborations with the likes of Morocco’s Majid Bekkas and their joint project Magic Spirit Quartet.

Drawing on their rich musical backgrounds and extensive experience, Jobarteh and Pasborg deliver an electrifying performance that transcends borders and genres. Recorded during a mesmerizing live set at a festival in Turku, Finland in April of 2023, the album captures the essence of their collaborative spirit and explorative energy.

A followup to their landmark 2016 release ‘DUO’, at the heart of ‘Live In Turku’ lies a deep connection between two extraordinary musicians. Jobarteh brings his soul-stirring melodies and innovative approach to the traditional instrument – going electric and drawing from the explosive energy of Jimi Hendrix in jangling improvisations soaked in psychedelic futurism. Meanwhile, Pasborg, renowned for his dynamic drumming style and eclectic musical palette sits somewhere between Art Blakey, Mitch Mitchell and John Bonham, providing a rhythmic foundation that propels the music to new heights.

The album’s repertoire spans a diverse range of influences, from traditional West African rhythms to contemporary jazz and beyond. Tracks such as ‘Togo’, first recorded in 1979 by a band of Ornette Coleman alumni, pay homage to the Jazz’s origins in African music, while originals like ‘Communication of a Kind’ showcase the duo’s improvisational prowess and boundless creativity.

Dawda Jobarteh, kora
Stefan Pasbord, drums, percussion

Dawda Jobarteh & Stefan Pasborg
are unique on many levels. The duo is beyond genre and at times quite far reaching. The emotionally and electrically charged cover pieces are aggressive, shifting and challenging as they deconstruct sound and create an organic alternative to conventional expectations. The more customary pieces still manage to merge

African tradition, world-beat percussion and unusual instrumentation to produce a fundamentally innovative and expressively stimulating sound.

Dawda Jobarteh
was born in the Gambia in 1976 in a griot family. He started playing the drums at age seven and from age 12 he started to go and play concerts with his uncle Malamin Jobarteh and his cousins Pa Bobo Jobarteh and Tata Dindin Jobarteh’s Salaam Band. Around this time he also started to teach tourists playing the drums. In 1996 Dawda was on his first tour outside West Africa in France and Germany, and in 1997 he was on a big tour arranged by WOMAD. In 1999 Dawda moved to Denmark where he is still living. In Denmark Dawda took up his family instrument, the kora and little by little made it his main instrument. Today Dawda is mainly a kora player and composer inspired by both traditional and modern West African music as well as influences from all over the world. In 2011 Dawda released his debutalbum Northern Light Gambian Night which was evaluated as one of the best albums of the year by Songlines. In 2012 the album was nominated as best album at Danish Music Awards World.

Stefan Pasbord
One of the most personal and versatile young European drummers / bandleaders – from groove to abstract! Three time Danish Music Awards-winner Stefan Pasborg is a highly energetic drummer from the melting pot of Copenhagen, and after getting a snare drum, a cymbal and a high-hat at the age of three from renowned jazz drummer Alex Riel, he has developed into a very personal musician on the European jazz scene... And has toured the most of Europe and in USA, Canada, Africa and Asia - in more than 30 countries, on 5 continents, from Shanghai to Vancouver, from Monte-Carlo to Moscow, from Varanger to Casablanca, and from New York to São Paulo - both as a leader and as a sideman. ... Pasborg has won prices like f.ex. the Soloist-prize at ʻ16th European Jazz Contestʼ in Germany, the 1st Prize at ʻ5th European Tournament of Improvised Musicʼ in France, ʻJazznytprisenʼ in Denmark...

This album contains no booklet.