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The Kinshasa - Abidjan Rumba Sessions
The Congolese rumba is to Africa what the son is to Cuba, the bossa nova to Brazil and the morna to Cape Verde. Discreet elegance, flushing emotion, haunting, melancholy melodies and a refined sound mix, all contribute to the universal character of this music.
In the fifties, thanks to its pioneers Wendo Kolosoy and Antoine Moundanda, the rumba blossomed in Kinshasa and Brazzaville, the respective capital cities of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo, separated by the river of the same name. Kolosoy and Moundanda were the voice of the pre-independence and independence years. Worshipped since their youth, they have been through many turmoils, wars and dictatorships, and experienced both glory and oblivion. They made a strong comeback at Abidjan’s MASA festival in 1999. Wendo Kolosoy, accompanied by the Victoria Bakolo Miziki, and Antoine Moundanda with his Likembé Géant performed on stage and recorded at the famous JBZ studio (where all the great African stars have recorded) during two memorable night sessions. Two years later, the whole team that took part in the Abidjan adventure met again at the M’eko studio, in one of the lowest-income districts of Abidjan. The young instrumentalists and composers of the Rumbanella Band also joined the party. This double CD is the ultimate testimonial to the golden age and quintessence of classic Congolese rumba. Wendo KolosoyBeing an orphan, Wendo Kolosoy was a wanderer and worked as a sailor, a boxer and a longshoreman before he became a singer, almost by chance. Reputed for his supreme elegance, ‘Papa’ Wendo is a living monument of Congolese music and a founding father of the rumba. His suave voice has rocked generations of music lovers. This noble elder, now aged 85, went on performing until 2005. With his regular band, the Victoria Bakolo Miziki, he has played the stages of Kinshasa and toured throughout Africa, Europe and the USA. Antoine MoundandaHailing from Brazzaville, on the other bank of the Congo River, Antoine Moundanda, four years Kolosoy’s junior, is the other epochal figure of the Congolese scene. He plays the likembe thumb piano better known as the sanza. His humour and his warm, beautifully resonant voice work wonders on these recordings where he meets up again with his old-time rival and colleague. Moundanda is accompanied by his band, the Likembé Géant. Rumbanella BandFounded in 1986 in Kinshasa by Madou Lebon Mulowayi, this voice and guitar trio has specialized in the interpretation and rereading of the great classic songs of such legendary stars as African Jazz, African Fiesta and Tabu Ley Rochereau, among others. |
