manu dibango. photo: unknown...And this time, we're heading for Africa. Not much true-form rock'n'roll on this continent, but they have done a lot of interesting rhythm-driven stuff in the soul-funk genre, so let's talk about that. In this post and the following ones, we'll be having pit-stops in Cameroon, Ethiopia and Nigeria.
First up: Manu Dibango. This saxophonist spent the first fifteen years of his life in Cameroon, and only started to play music when he moved to France in 1949. Surprisingly, his first love for music didn't come from Africa either, but from the Duke Ellington tracks he heard in Paris. Fueled by Ellington's playing, Dibango's initial shot at composing was on a piano, but soon he realised it wasn't his thing and, inspired by American blues albums, skipped to saxophone. In 1954, only 21 at the time, Dibango moved to Brussels, where he also learned to play the vibraphone. His musical style began to take shape here, yet he moved back to Cameroon in the early sixties.
And this didn't go down well: as he was the offspring of a mixed couple (his father was from Yabassi, his mother from Douala), he was considered an outcast by both sides. That's probably why he moved back to France in 1965. At this stage, Dibango became a globetrotter without a motherland, with Paris at the epicentre of his travels. First he started out as a bandleader for Nino Ferrer, but it didn't take long before he started jamming with his own group. Although their live sets were like an early version of crossover-afrofunk, their first releases were less inspired variations on soul and New Orleans r'n'b: pretty much rip-offs of Booker T. and The Meters. Finally, in 1972, he found his true form with the now classic 'Soul Makossa' track, in which he mixed his African roots with all the jazzy, soulful and bluesy tunes he'd been hearing in the West - and sure enough it made for an explosive cocktail.
Posted here is that legendary track, as well as a reggae/disco version of it from Dibango's 1979 'Gone Clear' album. In the next post, we're stopping by in Ethiopia to pay Mulatu Astatke a visit, so stay tuned!
First up: Manu Dibango. This saxophonist spent the first fifteen years of his life in Cameroon, and only started to play music when he moved to France in 1949. Surprisingly, his first love for music didn't come from Africa either, but from the Duke Ellington tracks he heard in Paris. Fueled by Ellington's playing, Dibango's initial shot at composing was on a piano, but soon he realised it wasn't his thing and, inspired by American blues albums, skipped to saxophone. In 1954, only 21 at the time, Dibango moved to Brussels, where he also learned to play the vibraphone. His musical style began to take shape here, yet he moved back to Cameroon in the early sixties.
And this didn't go down well: as he was the offspring of a mixed couple (his father was from Yabassi, his mother from Douala), he was considered an outcast by both sides. That's probably why he moved back to France in 1965. At this stage, Dibango became a globetrotter without a motherland, with Paris at the epicentre of his travels. First he started out as a bandleader for Nino Ferrer, but it didn't take long before he started jamming with his own group. Although their live sets were like an early version of crossover-afrofunk, their first releases were less inspired variations on soul and New Orleans r'n'b: pretty much rip-offs of Booker T. and The Meters. Finally, in 1972, he found his true form with the now classic 'Soul Makossa' track, in which he mixed his African roots with all the jazzy, soulful and bluesy tunes he'd been hearing in the West - and sure enough it made for an explosive cocktail.
Posted here is that legendary track, as well as a reggae/disco version of it from Dibango's 1979 'Gone Clear' album. In the next post, we're stopping by in Ethiopia to pay Mulatu Astatke a visit, so stay tuned!
MP3: Manu Dibango - Soul Makossa
MP3: Manu Dibango - Reggae Makossa
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