Theo blaise kounkou biography for kids

Today's post covers some old ground - classic orchestras from the stable of wunderkind Kiamwuangana Mateta, aka "Verckys," the musician and producer who blew up the Congo music scene back in the 1970s. A lot of this music has been posted in other venues, in fact a couple songs were featured here previously at Likembe. Still, I thought it would be useful to post Orchestres Kamale et Kiam (Vévé-Rogers All Stars VOZ 1003, 1982), as it gives an insight into the sort of Congolese sounds that Nigerians were listening to in the '70s and '80s. This LP was licensed from Verckys' label Vévé and pressed in Nigeria by Onitsha-based Rogers All Stars.

Side One of the LP features Orchestre Kiam, Side Two Orchestre Kamale. As was often the case at the time, at least for Nigerian releases of Congo music, most of these tracks are not complete, featuring only one side of the 45 versions. If you're interested, I've provided a link at the end of this post so you can download the complete versions.

My friend Matt Lavoie, formerly of the Voice of America, currently proprietor of the essential Wallahi le Zein! blog and Orchestre Kiam fanatic, has done the monumental work of compiling an oral history of the band. Do yourself a favor by going to his site, downloading and reading it and a

•

Mariama

The singer, songwriter and composer Sam Mangwana is born on 21 February 1945 in Kinshasa. His mother is from  Angola and his father from Zimbabwe, so his family name is Zimbabwean. He starts his musical career in 1963, when he is 17 years old, in the rumba band African Fiesta, conducted by Tabu Ley Rochereau. Mangwana leaves this band and goes to Brazzaville, to play in the Negro Band and Orchestre Tembo, and to start his own band: Los Batchichas. After a while he returns to the band of Rochereau, which has

by then changed its name into L’African Fiesta National. In 1967 Mangwana forms his own orchestra, Le Festival des Maquisards, in which the guitarist Dizzy Mandjeku also plays. In 1972 he joins T.P.O.K. Jazz of Franco. In that band, he often sings compositions of the guitarist and composer Simaro Lutumba. His popularity sharply rises in this period. Mangwana leaves O.K. Jazz and briefly returns to Rochereau’s band, which is now called Afrisa. Because of his frequent changing of orchestra, Mangwana gets the nickname “pigeon voyageur” (carrier pigeon).

In 1978, in Abidjan, the capital of Ivory Coast, Mangwana started the band African All Stars, together with some other former members of Rochereau’s band Afrisa, such as Théo Blaise Kou