Some of the giants of Congolese rumba appear on this double cd 31 track cd recorded in 3 separate sessions in 1997, 1999 and 2002 in Kinshasa Congo, one of the hotbeds of this music. In a sense this reunion is just as important as the Buena Vista Social Club, as after years in obscurity they return to deliver a nostalgic testimonial to the golden years of rumba in pre independence Congo. It’s a genre that was renowned across Africa, beginning in the late 30’s simultaneously side by side in French and Belgian Congo. It rose to prominence in the 50’s with its breezy jazzy grooves and Cuban influenced percussion. Vocalist Wendo Kolosoy (also known as Papa Wendo) who appears here, had his first hit in 1948 Marie Louise (which he sings here) though disappeared for three decades post independence, only being rediscovered in the 90’s. He appears alongside thumb piano legend Antoine Moundanda, a veteran of 30+ albums who began in the fifties, and other veterans including Likembe Geant and the newer blood such as The Rumbanella Band, who formed in 1986 to keep the classic rumba sound alive. These sounds are nothing short of incredible, the way the music sensually snakes itself around a groove, the cyclical guitars, tinkering percussion and melodic vocal simply defies logic and these aging legends are simply masterful in their execution.
-Bob Baker Fish
