Zaire and Congo music reviews

Though no one has reissued a complete CD of pre 1960 Kalle on the market thst I know of, this CD gives a glimpse of the great man's work. Joseph Kasabele (better known as le Grand Kalle) started recording in the early 1950's with such musicians like Docteur Nico, Roger Izeldi, Issac Musekiwa, Jean Serge Essous (when will "Baila" be reissued from Esengo anyways?), and even Belgium sax player Fud Candrix (yes that sax player who recorded with Django in the 1940's). While the recordings here do hark back to the 1950's (the excellent recording of "Mokonzi Ya Nboka" is from around 1958 and features trumpet great Willie Kuntima), some of the older songs are retakes ("Ambiance" features Manu Dibango in the shoes of Fud's sax role). No need to worry, the sound is usually good to great (for the era) and the perfomances are stellar and give an excellent overview of the great man's work. If it was not for Kalle, we would not have OK Jazz, soukous or most of the great African band sounds save for Highlife and South Africa (Baobob's gentile rumba has roots in this wonderful music), enjoy and be transposed to a different era of world music without synth bleeps, Yves Francois