Afro Latin Via Kinshasa

In the first half of the 20th century, the carving up of much of Africa by the European powers imposed modernity across the continent. In its cities and ports, Africa bristled with a newfound hustle and bustle, while electricity began to make a slow appearance. With the boom in maritime transport, the American 78s brought back by Latin-American and in particular Cuban sailors had a lasting influence on new musical trends along Africa's coastlines. As early as the 1940s in coastal cities like Saint-Louis, Dakar, Conakry, Abidjan, Cotonou, Porto Novo, Lagos, Douala or Luanda, local bands picked up by ear the 78s that Cuban sailors played on their gramophones in small cafés in exchange for a coin or two. Ports, capitals and cities began to resound with guajiras, boleros, pachangas, biguines, merengues, cha-cha-chas and the like. All of these tempos shaped the new dances in fashion in many African towns. In the Congo, those dances became a must under the generic heading of "rumba." Over time, Cuban but also Caribbean music, jazz and rhythm'n'blues were given a new take. Many dances and rhythms drawn from African traditions evolved as they came into contact with cities, but also with modern instruments -- especially saxophones and trumpets in particular -- and amplified guitar from the late 1940s onwards. Joseph "Grand Kallé" Kabasele's African Jazz (which evolved into African Fiesta and African Team) -- the heroic ensemble livening up the Leopoldville nights -- perfectly synthesised the fusion of African and Cuban music, while laying the foundations of much of modern Congolese music, known as rumba. The influence of African Jazz and the number of careers it inspired is quite simply incalculable. Guitarist Nico Kasanda gradually established himself as a key player in Congolese music. He became a leading influence in the modernist trend by assimilating foreign playing techniques. In Brussels, in 1960, a radio journalist nicknamed him "docteur" because of his guitar skills. He was to use the nickname for the rest of his career. Even more imposing than African Jazz or African Fiesta, OK Jazz epitomised modern Congolese and African music, with the orchestra recording hundreds of songs between 1956 and 1989. Former African Jazz member Rochereau was inspired by a visit from James Brown to Kinshasa and formed the Rocherettes, and in 1970, he became the first black African artist to play at prestigious Parisian venue the Olympia. From town to town and port to port, this Via collection aims to give an account of the grandiose musical fusions that occurred between Cuban and African music, reflecting constantly shifting musical scenes, characterized by performances steeped in candor, depth of feeling and sincerity.