An Archive of Early Jazz on 78 RPM
Recorded in Léopoldville, Belgian Congo on August 7, 1957.
Released as Ngoma 1799.
Credits:
Henri Tinapa – guitar, vocals
accompanied by Sefu Stephane and Louis Mongalu on bass and maracas/percussion.
The other side of this record, “Kifakiyo Siwewe” can be heard at:
https://youtu.be/WEHpjlx2Ps4
Henrique Tinapa was a guitarist, singer, and songwriter originally from Angola who found himself in Kinshasa (then Léopoldville) in 1957, where he recorded four records for Ngoma in July of that year (Ngoma 1799, 1800, 1801, and 1802).
He moved to Kisangani in 1958 where he formed the Rico Jazz Orchestra. They recorded again for Ngoma in 1963 – releasing 8 songs on two 45 rpm EPs (Ngoma No. 83 and No. 84).
He later found a career as a griot who performed at hotels in Kinshasa – and was regularly performing at the Intercontinental Hotel as recently as the 1980s.
This lilting rumba is endearing, with Tinapa’s guitar solos between verses.
Recorded in Léopoldville, Belgian Congo, on August 7, 1957.
Released as Ngoma 1800 (mx. J.3.600)
Credits:
Henri Tinapa – guitar, vocals
Sefu Stephane – bass
Louis Mongalu – maracas
The flip side of this record, “Mambo Zille”, can be heard at:
https://youtu.be/WTb6GSbIXgs
Sources:
Dictionnaire Des Immortels De La Musique Congolaise Moderne by Jean-Pierre François Nimy Nzonga, Bruylant-Academia, 2010.
Henrique Tinapa was a guitarist, singer, and songwriter originally from Angola who found himself in Kinshasa (then Léopoldville) in 1957, where he recorded four records for Ngoma in July of that year (Ngoma 1799, 1800, 1801, and 1802).
He moved to Kisangani in 1958 where he formed the Rico Jazz Orchestra. They recorded again for Ngoma in 1963 – releasing 8 songs on two 45 rpm EPs (Ngoma No. 83 and No. 84).
He later found a career as a griot who performed at hotels in Kinshasa – and was regularly performing at the Intercontinental Hotel as recently as the 1980s.
Here we hear an excellent upbeat rumba sure to get you out on the dance floor – with several dramatic starts and stops that add excitement to this tune.
Recorded in Léopoldville, Belgian Congo, on August 7, 1957.
Released as Ngoma 1800 (mx. J.3.599)
Credits:
Henri Tinapa – guitar, vocals
accompanied by Sefu Stephane and Louis Mongalu on bass and maracas/percussion.
The flip side of this record, “Rose Mke Wangu” can be heard at:
https://youtu.be/jcLh1EOs04k
Sources:
Dictionnaire Des Immortels De La Musique Congolaise Moderne by Jean-Pierre François Nimy Nzonga, Bruylant-Academia, 2010.
Edouard Masengo was born in 1933 in the village of Kafubu in the Katanga province in the southern Copperbelt region of Congo – so named for the many mining camps in the region. He started playing guitar when he was eleven.
He formed a group called JECOKE – The Young Comedians of Katanga – who first sang at the Regina Hotel in Léopoldville. One of their signature tunes was a cover of “Paper Doll”, the hit song made famous in the U.S. by the Mills Brothers. Masengo ultimately ended up in Nairobi, Kenya, where he recorded extensively with Gallotone Records and partnered with advertising agencies to promote Coca-Cola as a kind of celebrity spokesperson.
Along with his cousin, Jean Bosco Mwenda, Masengo became a dominant force in the African music scene in the 1950s and early 1960s. Both were known as progenitors of the wildly popular Katanga guitar style that also went on to greatly influence the music of Kenya and Tanzania.
The Fiesta label was a Fonior / Decca France sublabel that began in 1947 specializing in North African artists. In 1950 their focus shifted to West Africa and Congo and I believe this record was released at some point in the early 1950s.
Released as Fiesta 402.
Credits:
Edouard Masengo – guitar, vocals
Unknown artists – saxophone, bass, glass bottle
The flip side of this record, “Mapendano” can be found at:
https://youtu.be/Bc6zpxgpLYA
Sources:
“Revisiting the Katanga Guitar Style(s) and Some Other Early African Guitar Idioms” by David Racanelli, Black Music Research Journal, Vol 36, No. 1. Spring 2016.
Amazing interview with Edouard Masengo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOtwTNBy1o8
Edouard Masengo was born in 1933 in the village of Kafubu in the Katanga province in the southern Copperbelt region of Congo – so named for the many mining camps in the region. He started playing guitar when he was eleven.
He formed a group called JECOKE – The Young Comedians of Katanga – who first sang at the Regina Hotel in Léopoldville. One of their signature tunes was a cover of “Paper Doll”, the hit song made famous in the U.S. by the Mills Brothers. Masengo ultimately ended up in Nairobi, Kenya, where he recorded extensively with Gallotone Records and partnered with advertising agencies to promote Coca-Cola as a kind of celebrity spokesperson.
Along with his cousin, Jean Bosco Mwenda, Masengo became a dominant force in the African music scene in the 1950s and early 1960s. Both were known as progenitors of the wildly popular Katanga guitar style that also went on to greatly influence the music of Kenya and Tanzania.
The Fiesta label was a Fonior / Decca France sublabel that began in 1947 specializing in North African artists. In 1950 their focus shifted to West Africa and Congo and I believe this record was released at some point in the early 1950s.
Released as Fiesta 402.
Credits:
Edouard Masengo – guitar, vocals
Unknown artists – saxophone, bass, glass bottle
The flip side of this record, “Bibiy Ako” can be found at:
https://youtu.be/Wc-dEbHzuv4
Sources:
“Revisiting the Katanga Guitar Style(s) and Some Other Early African Guitar Idioms” by David Racanelli, Black Music Research Journal, Vol 36, No. 1. Spring 2016.
Amazing interview with Edouard Masengo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOtwTNBy1o8
Another excellent track by Léon Bukasa with a perfectly iconic intro – a delightful guitar line by Papa Noël.
Recorded in Léopoldville, Belgian Congo on May 6, 1957.
Released as Ngoma 1789.
Credits:
Léon Bukasa – guitar, vocals
Kalombo Albino – vocals
Antoine Nedule aka Papa Noël – guitar
Mwena Joseph – bass
The flip side of this record is a great tune, “Monique Wa Baba” – which can be heard at:
https://youtu.be/Zl6hNQ0xtv8
If you are also a fan of Rumba Congolaise, you will want a copy of this release:
https://planetilunga.bandcamp.com/album/the-soul-of-congo-treasures-of-the-ngoma-label-1948-1963
If you’d like to hear more, be sure to check out my interview with producer Alastair Johnson:
https://youtu.be/2BSsWpb49AA
When I first heard this track by Léon Bukasa on the amazing Planet Ilunga release “The Soul of Congo – Treasures of the Ngoma label (1948-1963)” I was immediately a huge fan.
From the first bass line, you know this is going to be a good. and then when the guitar joins in, you realize it’s even better.
I despaired at probably never being able to locate a copy of this amazing record but was incredibly lucky to find a very decent copy earlier this year.
Sung in the Tshiluba language spoken in the central Kasai region.
Recorded in Léopoldville, Belgian Congo on May 6, 1957.
Released as Ngoma 1789.
Credits:
Léon Bukasa – guitar, vocals
Kalombo Albino – vocals
Antoine Nedule aka Papa Noël – guitar
Mwena Joseph – bass
The flip side of this record, “Francisque Wa Ngai” can be heard at:
https://youtu.be/TtOofKHKWoA
If you are also a fan of Rumba Congolaise, you will want a copy of this release:
https://planetilunga.bandcamp.com/album/the-soul-of-congo-treasures-of-the-ngoma-label-1948-1963
If you’d like to hear more, be sure to check out my interview with producer Alastair Johnson:
https://youtu.be/2BSsWpb49AA
I know very little about this wonderful Congolese guitarist.
The tune follows a familiar format: fingerstyle guitar, two harmonizing vocals, and a glass bottle accompaniment.
Released as Gallotone CO.163.
The flip side, “Alesi”, can be heard here:
https://youtu.be/GnQgakuJC1A
I know very little about this wonderful Congolese guitarist.
The tune follows a familiar format: fingerstyle guitar, two harmonizing vocals, and a glass bottle accompaniment.
Released as Gallotone CO.163.
The flip side, “Kuwowa Wata Kuwowa”, can be heard here:
https://youtu.be/ad65J30nR3U
George Mukabi was a guitarist from western Kenya credited with inventing the sukuti guitar style – a syncopated fingerstyle technique that combines rhythm and lead parts in a way that rhythmically imitates the sound of sukuti drums used in traditional Luhya music. His music was often accompanied by a glass bottle (or two) and sometimes by Jack Malenya, a second vocalist who harmonized in a higher register.
“Happiness with Guitar” seems an apt translation for this beautiful tune – but the lyrics discuss an apparent kidnapping of three girls and a subsequent death. The chorus somewhat ironically suggests “If you want to look for happiness – go and make friends with any guitarist” [translation from liner notes of Mississippi Records release noted below]
This record is not in the best shape but I was quite thrilled to get a copy.
Released as AGS 149 on the African Gramophone Stores (AGS) label.
To hear more of Mukabi’s work, check out Mississippi Records’s excellent release “Furaha Wenye Gita” produced by Cyrus Moussavi:
https://mississippirecords.bandcamp.com/album/furaha-wenye-gita