Rumba Chronicles

THE GUITAR PHILOSOPHY OF CONGOLESE RUMBA

September 16, 2024 - 04:33 PM THE GUITAR PHILOSOPHY OF CONGOLESE RUMBA Every ensemble has a specific genre of music they specialize in. It is the type of music the band does that determines the guitar arrangements. Congolese rumba features a minimum of three guitars: the bass, the rhythm, and the solo. The music also features percussions and drums as part of the major ingredients, and saxophones, trumpets, clarinets, trombones, keyboards, additional guitars, and others follow in as spices. The guitars are very easy to differentiate. The bass guitar is played from a special, four-stringed (five, six, or even more in some cases, as is the case with my good friend Sammy Kasule's) instrument. The product is what comes......

MORRIS "MORENO" BATAMBA

August 26, 2024 - 09:06 AM Morris "Moreno" Batamba Wenda, best known for his deep bass voice, was born in Kisangani, Zaire, Congo, in 1955. He quit school in 1971 to join Orchestre Maquis Sasa Bata. He moved to Uganda in 1974 and joined Orchestra Bana Moja of singer Jojo Ikomo. He later moved to Nairobi and the group was renamed Bana Ngenge, the name depended on who was in charge of the group. The group broke up in 1975 and Moreno & Jojo joined Les Noirs. Sadly, Moreno died young too young, in 1993 in Nairobi at just 38 years old, just as he was on the rise to stardom, with an album riding high in the Kenyan charts and a solid fan base throughout East Africa who appreciated his sultry, silky-smooth, bass......

BIOGRAPHY OF VICKY LONGOMBA

August 18, 2024 - 04:25 AM "Vicky" (Longomba Besange Lokuli, Victor) Outstanding Congolese singer and band leader, Vicky was born in Kinshasa on December 13, 1932, and passed away in Kinshasa on March 12, 1988. Vicky began his career in 1953 at the CEFA recording studio in colonial Léopoldville (now Kinshasa). Singing tenor, often in combination with other studio singers Roger Izeidi and François Engbondu as Les Trois Caballeros, Vicky recorded songs in the emerging Congolese rumba style. Among his early recordings were "Chérie Awa" (Darling Awa) and "Congo ya Sika" (New Congo). As CEFA verged on bankruptcy in 1955, Vicky moved to the Loningisa studio. There, in 1956, he joined guitarist......

BIOGRAPHY OF QUATRE ETOILES (FOUR STARS)

August 16, 2024 - 02:22 AM Congolese rumba band, formed 1982. Bopol Mansiamina (born Kinshasa, June 27, 1949; bass, guitar), Syran M'Benza (born Kinshasa, May 31, 1950; guitar), Nyboma Mwan Dido (born Nyoki, Congo-Kinshasa, Dec. 24, 1952; vocal), Wuta Mayi (born Kinshasa, Aug. 3, 1949; vocal).The Quatre Etoiles came together in Paris in 1982 under the auspices of producer Ouattara Moumouni. Bopol and Syran had been working off and on in Paris ever since the African All Starssplit up in 1979. At their urging, former Bella Bellasinger Nyboma left Togo, where he had been working with other remnants of the All Stars, and moved to Paris at the beginning of 1982. The trio became a quartet with the addition of O.K.......

LEARN THESE LINGALA PHRASES FROM THE SONG MBONGO BY DJO MPOYI, COMPOSER [SIMARO].

August 10, 2024 - 02:44 PM Bomengo tozali komona na mokili etonda makambo.The wealth that we see in this world is full of issues. Mosusu mbongo na ye moko ya mitoki, mpo otika ye asakana.One gets his money out of his own sweat, let him celebrate/be joyful. Mosusu heritage akuta na katia fami, olanda ye té okoiba.Someone else got an inheritance from his family, and if you follow him, you will steal. Mosusu mieke asilisa bato na fami, olanda ye té okotikala yo moko!Another used charms to finish his family, you follow him, you'll remain there alone! Mosusu escroquerie na mbogo ya leta... Another is out of swindling the government's money...The translation is provided to facilitate understanding......

MBUTA LIKASU BIOGRAPHY

August 07, 2024 - 08:52 AM MBUTA LIKASU comes from Congo Brazzaville. his real name is Ngimbi Malonda, his stage name became so famous in the mid-1990s because he combined music and comedy.He started his career first not as a musician, but as a comedian back in 1992 in Brazzaville. As young guys around the Ouenze suburbs were forming musical groups, Mbuta was always around doing comedy parts on occasions like funerals and weddings following some of his musical wannabe comrades... in 1993 some of his friends eventually formed the group that came to be known as Extra musica! but he never ventured into music despite having very good vocal abilities.In 1997, He came up with a full musical 10 tracks album SAUVE QUI......

ORCHESTRA LES NOIRS

July 29, 2024 - 02:16 PM Orchestra Les Noirs was formed in Kinshasa in 1966 and released two albums in East Africa in the early 1970s. There are speculations that the band may have had two branches, one based in Congo and one on tour, as well as a possible merger with an East African band called City Five, led by Chuza Kabaselle. The band members included:Hassan Omari Kalonzi Braink Kuka Mwana Bitala Makwanzi Duki Mukaputu Kalembi N'Dala Mobangi N'Talu Nkatu Ndongo Amani Teka Seke Chuza Kabaselle Mbawo Mutella Weteto.Yassin Juma: I think some are confusing between Les Kinois and Les Noirs (The Blacks).Steve Osieyo Opines "They were in Nairobi for Saturday TV program Salamu Zenu. At the same time, they......

AFRICAN ALL STARS MEMBERS

April 20, 2024 - 09:45 PM AFRICAN ALL STARSBiography of African All Stars. Influential but short-lived Congolese rumba band, formed 1978; disbanded 1979. Théo Blaise Kounkou (born Brazzaville, 1949; vocal), Lokassa ya Mbongo(born Kinshasa, 1946; guitar), Dizzy Mandjeku (born Kinshasa, Aug. 20, 1946; guitar), Sam Mangwana(born Kinshasa, Feb. 21, 1945; vocal), Ringo Moya (born Kinshasa, 1953; died Paris, Apr. 1993; drums), Roland M'vogo (born Cameroon, bass).Band formed in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, where a number of Congo-Kinshasa (Zaire) musicians, disillusioned with economic and political conditions at home, had gone to seek a fresh start. Mangwana, Lokassa, Mandjeku and Moya, four veterans of Tabu Ley's......

THEO BLAISE KOUNKOU.

April 20, 2024 - 09:05 PM Theo Blaise Kounkou.In the Madingo-Kayes village, located in the Republic of Congo, there lived a young boy named Theo Blaise Kounkou. From the moment he could walk, he was drawn to the beat as the streets were filled with musical rhythms. Tapping his feet to the rhythm of the drums that echoed through the streets was a norm on his childhood. This unleashed his extraordinary gift of music. From a tender age, Theo was drawn to the rhythms of life around him. He would tap his feet to the beat of the rain, hum along with the wind, and mimic the melodies of the birds in the trees. His parents, recognizing his talent, gave him a small drum, and from that day on, Theo's musical journey began. As......

Rumba Chronicles

THE GUITAR PHILOSOPHY OF CONGOLESE RUMBA

MORRIS "MORENO" BATAMBA

BIOGRAPHY OF VICKY LONGOMBA

BIOGRAPHY OF QUATRE ETOILES (FOUR STARS)

LEARN THESE LINGALA PHRASES FROM THE SONG MBONGO BY DJO MPOYI, COMPOSER [SIMARO].

MBUTA LIKASU BIOGRAPHY

ORCHESTRA LES NOIRS

AFRICAN ALL STARS MEMBERS

THEO BLAISE KOUNKOU.

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Rumba Chronicles

THE GUITAR PHILOSOPHY OF CONGOLESE RUMBA

MORRIS "MORENO" BATAMBA

BIOGRAPHY OF VICKY LONGOMBA

BIOGRAPHY OF QUATRE ETOILES (FOUR STARS)

LEARN THESE LINGALA PHRASES FROM THE SONG MBONGO BY DJO MPOYI, COMPOSER [SIMARO].

MBUTA LIKASU BIOGRAPHY

ORCHESTRA LES NOIRS

AFRICAN ALL STARS MEMBERS

THEO BLAISE KOUNKOU.

News

Jabulani Library (244)

Jabulani Swahili (9)

Rumba Chronicles (29)

Programs

WEEKEND RHUMBA TWILIGHT MIX

WEEKEND SOUKOUS ODYSSEY

BENGA BLAST

RHUMBA REVIVAL

WEEKEND ZILIZOPENDWA MIX

WEEKEND RHUMBA MIX

Latest podcasts

Legend Franco Luambo Makaidi

Find us on

Contact us

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