Tabu Ley Rochereau

Tabu Ley Rochereau, born simply Tabu Ley, ranks among the continent’s most pivotal singers and ranks equally high among its most tireless composers. He launched his career in 1954 inside Joseph “Grand Kalle” Kabasele’s African Jazz, and from that point onward he has produced more than two thousand songs. After assembling Orchestre Afrisa International in 1970, he steered the ensemble through the decisive transition from Congolese, Cuban, and Caribbean rumba toward the brisker pulse of soukous. Wired World.3: The Global Netcast characterized the band’s sound by noting that its “high-octane soukous continues to move audiences all over the world by weaving together elements of Zairean folk music such as the lokole (log drum), the soul and drive of R&B, Latin syncopation, digital percussion and synthesizers, silken harmonies, and the crystalline guitar stylings of Tabu Ley’s longtime collaborator Huit-Kilos Bimwela Nseka, into a sophisticatedly sensual, irresistibly danceable, true world music.” Senegal conferred the honorary title of “Knight” upon him, while the Republic of Chad later appointed him Officer of the National Order. A Bayanzi from Zaire (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Rochereau first drew notice by winning a vocal competition at Kinshasa Stadium. That victory led to an invitation to front Africa Jazz, where he stayed until 1963, when he and guitarist Dr. Nico launched African Fiesta. Artistic differences prompted a split two years later, after which Rochereau established African Fiesta National, also known as African Fiesta Flash. Under his direction the ensemble became one of the most commercially dominant acts in African history, crossing the one-million-record mark by 1970. Papa Wemba and Sam Mangwana were among the notable figures who passed through its ranks. By the mid-’70s the group had expanded into Orchestre Afrisa International. In the early ’90s Rochereau relocated to the United States, where he has remained in Southern California.