Dec 10/04
Rocamambu Rhythms
We have a guest post today, this time from an especially generous and well-traveled Benn loxo reader, Pieter.
A predecessor of Orchestre Bantous (De La Capitale), Rock A Mambo swayed fans in the late 1950s with their afrolatin tunes. Made up of the best Congolese musicians (from both sides of the river), it featured people like Kabasele and Nico (of African Jazz fame), Rossignol, Malapet, Pandi, and Essous (of OK Jazz). Rock A Mambo plays on the Ki-Kongo expression rocamambu, ‘one who looks for problems’, a reference to a folk tale of the prodigal son who leaves with nothing but returns home rich. Read Gary Stewart’s Rumba On The River and find out that Baïla was such a hit for Antonopoulos’ Esengo label that Essous got a Vespa out of it, or that (Patrice) Lumumba–then sales manager for BraCongo–hired Rock A Mambo to praise its Polar beer (but they were soon sacked after being seen drinking the rival Primus beer).
Super Cercul was one of the orchestras where Franklin Boukaka started out. Boukaka was a great composer, poet, and activist, killed in 1972 during one of the many revolutions in Brazzaville. Before creating political songs like Le Bûcheron or Pont Sur Le Congo with Cercul Jazz, he composed classic dance tunes in the early 1960s like Adelina. In Pont Sur Le Congo, Boukaka hoped for unity across the river:
Accept this day my prayer
For a united Congo.
If we follow the teachings of Lumumba,
Kinshasa and Brazza will get on well together.
Brothers and sisters on the two banks,
Let’s join hands and forge the glory
Of our Congo.
Enjoy,
Pieter
Rock-A-Mambo – Panchita
Super Cercul – Adelina
Delightful! Wonderful hooting sax break and equally fine guitar on the Super cercul song and the Rock-a-mambo was great too! Thanks to Pieter for thse gems and to you for bringing them to our attention!
fantastic!
An MP3 Blog is Born
Announcing the first posting of the Akwaaba Sound System, a new group MP3 blog. A few years ago, my friends Chris and Pieter and I (with a few other folks) were DJing some parties at the Elastic Revolution Productions space (the organization which evo…
I’m a fan of Rock A Mambo. Now I’m searching some songs of this orchestra as these appear on this website. If somebody can send them to me, I would contribute to realise my dream with an interesant recompense in money
Hi, Pieter,
I have been hunting for this fantastic nolstagic information about Rocamabu or Rock-a-mambo for more than a decade. Actually I was making mistakes by searching for the band “Rocker Mambo” whixch I know now I wa misspelling.
What I am not quite sure is whether this blog I have discovered, with this great news, still operates or is does function. Like Kouassi Could I have CDs by Pock-A-Mambo and their popular lady singer by the name of YUSI YENGA.
Please may I have your feedback.