African Jazz & Grand Kalle - Parafifi (1957)

From the album 'Congo: Rumba on the river'

Wikipedia:

Grand Kalle et l'African Jazz (often referred to simply as African Jazz) was perhaps the first full-time, professional band in what was then called Belgian Congo, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was founded by Joseph Kabasele Tshamala, popularly know as Grand Kalle. Pablo Machine,Kumwimba sabiti makangira.

Among their most popular songs was "Independence Cha Cha"[1] (1960) the pan-African hit which, like much of their recorded output, used Latin American rhythms like the Cuban chachachá. They were, together with among others Franco Luambo's OK Jazz band, pioneers of the African variant of rumba, that later evolved into Soukous.

Band members Dr Nico Kasanda, Tabu Ley Rochereau and Sam Mangwana were later successful with their own bands.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• african
• jazz
• grand
• kalle
• congo
• rumba
• manu
• dibango

[piken79]

great music!

[wasupthere]

GORGEOUS !

[STONEBEADMAKER]

THE PERFECT COMPANION.......to this wonderful disc is Gary Stewart's book of the same title. It is a very readable introduction to the golden age of Congolese rumba, and all the personalities and politics that were formative to the music, including the rise of Mobutu, and the subsequent exile of many of the biggest stars first to Abidjan, and then on to Paris, thus giving birth to a large part of what today goes under the title of world music, but was essentially Latin, and African.