Biography
Joseph Kabasele played a pivotal role in igniting the emergence of contemporary Zairean sounds. As the founder and guiding force behind African Jazz—the ensemble that first showcased guitarist Dr. Nico, vocalist Tabu Ley Rocherau, and saxophonist Manu DiBango—he earned the nicknames “Le Gran Kalle” and “the father of rumba.” Shortly after Kabasele’s passing in 1983, the prominent Zairean artist Franco Luambo Makiadi recalled in conversation that “(Kabasele) was the founder of Zairean music and, although we were in competition, he made many things possible for me.” Among the small number of Zairean performers who completed secondary schooling, Kabasele launched his career performing with Georges Doula’s group. He established African Jazz in 1953 and steered the outfit to worldwide acclaim. In January 1960 the band accompanied Belgian Congo representatives to Brussels, where they appeared at the landmark “Round Table” conference. Among Kabasele’s many works, the standout pieces proved to be “Le Table Ronde,” composed specifically for that gathering, and “Independance Cha Cha,” later embraced as a victory anthem across newly sovereign African nations. Although the ensemble attained its greatest heights in the mid-1960s before Dr. Nico, Rocherau, and DiBango departed, African Jazz sustained performances through 1970 and earned distinction as the first Congolese act to cut recordings on European soil.
Albums