"Danser le twist"(1965) © Malick Sidibé

Although still at a 'tender age' I have consciously lived through the era of the twist. I have vivid memories of aunts making a total fool of themselves. And of us - the children - giggling, and subsequently being sent out of the room. I even remember cautious efforts at executing the dance (and 'executing' is a good description..) in an early attempt to show that I was "with it".

I have to admit I was puzzled (to say the least) when I found out - a few decades later - that this dance had been copied in several African countries (see also this post). A dance which conjures up images of awkward, even embarrassing body contortions by oversized humans, being performed in countries where dance and rhythm was an integral part of life? Why?

A key to an answer was given by Franco. In an interview in 1987 he pointed out that Africans have no problem in integrating influences from other continents. He himself was a great fan of 'musique slow', by which he meant a large repertoire varying from soul ballads to entertainment music from films and such. The fact that Africans took aboard influences was not a problem, according to Franco. The real problem was that the broad public in the US and Europe make no attempt to get to know the music from Africa.
Unfortunately, little has changed in the 26 years that have passed...

This brings me to the subject of this post. But with a twist....
For in looking for a digital version of the sleeve* of this lp (which I copied to cassette sometime in the 1980s) I was struck by the constant references to the fact that a group from the UK had covered a song by this artist. One could easily get the impression that Daudi Kabaka's only contribution to the welfare of mankind has been that "his song "Helule Helule" was covered by The Tremeloes and () became a hit in United Kingdom" (wikipedia).

Luckily there are others who manage to stay away from justifying the mention of an African artist by how he or she can be linked to the western world. I particularly like the article by Douglas Paterson, which highlights Kabaka's career from an African perspective.
If you ask me Daudi Kabaka has done more by singing songs like the delightful "Kiliyo Kwelu" and the slightly hyper "Jela Kubwa Na Viboko" than by allowing an english band to copy bits from a somewhat boring "Helule Helule".

POLP 531


*If anyone has it, please share it with us...

This is a runner-up in the Worst Sleeve competition, and not just because of the cheap colours. Of course Polydor Kenya has a reputation to uphold in this field, with a long line of cheap looking album covers.
In this case the cheapness is aggravated by the apparent incorrectness of the information. I mean, "8 originalhits"? Do they mean over the two volumes (there is also a volume 1*)? Or are they referring to the fact that these tracks were originally released as singles with part one on side A and part two on B (and I am not suggesting this was the case)?

Luckily the exterior lack of quality is generously compensated by the quality of the musical offerings. Four top tracks by top artists, from East ánd Central Africa. All tracks are in that rich, guitar-based East African 'rumba' style, - but this doesn't mean that there is no variety.
The album opens with "Mwenda Pole", a laid-back classic by Wilson Peter and Simba Wanyika. By contrast the second track, "Mabibi Za Watu" by the great Moreno Matamba and Moja One is nervous and charged with a dramatic tension.

Side two opens with Sam Mangwana, who although singing in swahili manages to remain one hundred percent himself: a master entertainer. My guess is that "Furaha Ya Bibi" was recorded in the same session as "Masai" on "Kweya" (which was released in the same year).
The album is rounded off by a song by Laban Ochuka and the Maroon Commandos. Their "Naenda Safari" has a determined pace befitting a band with military roots.

This album offers more proof that you shouldn't judge a record by its sleeve....

Polydor POLP 547

*which in my opinion is not as good as this second volume. But, if you like, I will post this later.

I have digitised this album from cassette a while ago, but hesitated posting it because I don't have - and can't find - the sleeve. The quality of the copy is not a problem, as I am sure you will agree. I am slowly even becoming more and more convinced that cassette copies have a better survival rate than the vinyl originals...
To compensate for the lack of sleeve, I have decided to add a second record to this post. Vinyl, - so with sleeve.

Both "Kweya" and "Djalenga" are compilations, the first from Polygram Kenya and the second from a presumably British "Swahili" label (of which I have only seen this record). The Kweya compilation contains some real jewels, including the extraordinary "Jua Lako" by Moja One and "Dunia Hakuna Bingwa" by Ibeba System (you can read about the complex relationship between some of the bands in this compilation on muzikifan's site). The title song by Orchestra Virunga is a curious example of the use of a drum machine.

Although I have found no confirmation for this, I strongly suspect the band named as Les Lashow is led by Lessa Lassan, who has two tracks on the "Djalenga" compilation. He seems to have looked for musical inspiration with Tabu Ley. The "Djalenga" songs are enjoyable, but I favour the one on "Kweya".

Super Lovy, with Vicky Longomba's son, is another band with ties to Moja One and Ibeba. Their "Etali Yomoko" is not one of their better songs, if you ask me.
'Odd ones out' in these two compilations are Sam Mangwana on "Kweya" with "Masai", in the unique relaxed Mangwana style (I like the ox imitations at the end), and "Nimesha-Kwambia" by Super Wanyika on "Djalenga", - a great track for long busrides.

POLP 561*
12 SWAH 001

* come to think of it, it is likely the number should be 551, as Muzikifan states.

Some artists just seems to be born for an unfair share of bad luck. Although I have no insight into his personal situation with regards to loves and winning the lottery, Tanzanian singer Issa Juma seems to have fallen in this category. And I am speaking of the past, because this voice among voices, this Star among East-African stars has died almost two decades ago. He hadn't been too fortunate before that, having been partially paralyzed after a stroke. This happened after he had stopped performing and withdrew from music after spending six months in jail for working without a permit. And this was just one in series of mishaps.

Going by this record from 1984 I am sharing with you in this post, I get the impression Issa himself was -consciously or subconsciously- aware of his destiny. Accompanied by Waanyika, one of the many aliases of a band that had split off from Les Wanyika (see the discography by John B.), his singing is brilliant, - but definitely filled with a deeply sensed sadness. The guitars certainly contribute to confirm this impression. In the track "Utalia Na Nani" sorrow even surfaces and crying is heard....

This said, I hasten to add that this is one of my favourite East African records in the swahili rumba genre, with four tracks of outstanding quality.

And a strange thing about this record: after listening to it I always feel a lot happier. It is like the misfortune of Issa Juma acts a counterbalance to any negative emotions I might have had.......

Nyika LP-02 OR: NYIKA LP-02

Reading about the influences of modern-day Kenyan music the name of John Mwale will frequently pop up. He is often cited as having been influenced by the finger-picking guitar style of Jean Bosco Mwenda and Losta Abelo (both from Katanga, Congo) who had become known through the recordings made by Hugh Tracey.

Strangely, although John Mwale is mentioned quite often, it seems hard to find any music by this Kenyan musical pioneer. All in all I know of only two (2) other songs credited to John Mwale, which are available on the Original Music CD "Before Benga Vol. 2: The Nairobi Sound"(OMCD 022).
So the fourteen on this lp can be considered to be a 'Mwale flood'...

Of Reuben Shimbiro, who features with John Mwale in this collection, I have found no mention whatsoever. I can only assume that he is responsible for the second vocal and the very creative percussion in these songs.

The songs themselves are, I am told, delightful little portraits of life in Nairobi in the late 1950s/early 1960s. They are about love, hope and the daily frustrations of River Road, Nairobi.

Here are two examples:

If there are any more songs of this wonderful duo, please let me know!

AGS LP 2008

PS: Sorry, no sleeve. In fact, I can't find a photo of these artists anywhere!

According to local sources Mbaraka Mwinshehe was killed on January 12, 1979 when his car drove into a tree on the road from Mombasa to Nairobi. Years later taxidrivers could be seen pointing at various trees along the road where the fatal crash of the star of Mombasa's Bush Bar had occurred.

Although to those who don't speak or understand swahili (like me) Mbaraka may be known primarily for his unique guitar playing and singing style, in Kenya and in his native Tanzania he was -and still is- highly respected and loved for his lyrics. Mbaraka sings about the lives, loves and problems of the 'common man'.

I have already posted one of the Ukumbusho series released by Polygram Kenya in the 1980s (volume eight to be precise), and will -in the course of time- post all the others. To give you an idea of his lyrics, here is an example from Ukumbusho Volume Two "Urafiki mwisho wa mwezi".

Urafiki* mwisho wa mwezi
Friendship at the end of the month

You know I am having problems,
you've heard I am sick,
still you don't come and see me.
Is that what you call friendship?
It's more like animosity,
if we can't help each other.
When you hear I have money again,
you come running to see me.
Is that what you call friendship?
It's more like animosity,
if we can't help each other.
What kind of friendship is this at the end of the month?
When I am broke, you don't show up.
Even when I'm sick you don't want me.
When I'm sick you don't care about me.

In this volume Mbaraka is accompanied by his Super Volcano orchestra, which he founded in 1973 after leaving the Morogoro Jazz. The other songs are about similar 'challenges' of the ordinary Kenyan and Tanzanian (or, come to think of it, citizen of any country). "Mtaa wa saba" (the seventh street), about moving away from a poor neighbourhood, where the noise deprived him of his sleep, and the landlord of his money. "Pole dada" (poor girl), about a girl who was passed over by love. "Kibena" and "Jasinta", both about the bad influence of city life on these 'village' women.

In the spirit of the time (the 1970s) Mbaraka occasionally chose a more educational subject, like in "Vijana wa Afrika" (youth of Africa), in which he calls on the youth of Africa to defend 'the revolution in Africa' (no doubt referring to Nyerere's Ujamaa).

Timeless lyrics and a timeless music: Mbaraka Mwinshehe's recipe to overcome death.

POLP 537 (December 21, 2016: updated to 320 kbps).

*friendship (the lyrics were translated by Joris Oldewelt)

I hesitate to post this lp because I have lost the photocopy of the record sleeve. On the other hand, the music is so compelling that I can't withhold it from you. The artist is the legendary Baba Gaston.

He was born in 1936 in the Katanga province in the southeast, and he died in 1997 in Tanzania.
But he made the greatest impact, not on the Congolese music, but on the music of East Africa. He settled in Tanzania in 1970 and moved to Nairobi, Kenya a few years later, where remained a leading player in the music scene until his retirement in 1989*.
His band was a training school for over 700 musicians, and split-offs have led to bands like Les Mangelepa, Super Mazembe and Viva Makele, while ex-members have ended up in bands like Les Wanyika and even the TP OK Jazz (singer Nana). You can read more about this remarkable artist on the site of Muzikifan.

Baba Gaston sang mostly in Swahili, but three of the four songs on this lp from 1983 are in Lingala. According to Peter Toll on Muzikifan the album may have been recorded in Kinshasa with local musicians, and features singer Stazo Ya Esta from Festival du Zaire.
Anyway, it's a great album!

ASLP 971 (new - and now correct - link including cover and improved track - see below. June 30, 2011)

* I wonder if there was a relation between Franco's death and his retirement?

EDIT: thanks to Peter Toll, here is an improved and complete version of track B1 "Rudi Nyumbani Africa" (new link June 30, 2011), plus a scan of the cover (below).

Maybe the presidency of Barack Obama (photo on the right) will bring a renewed interest in Kenya, and in Kenyan culture. The last few years have already seen a revival (well, more or less) of an authentic Kenyan music style: benga.

You can read about the rise (and decline) of this style on afromix.org or afropop.org.

Here is an lp from 1974 with tracks by Mori River Jazz Band, D.O. Misiani & the Shirati Luo Voice, the Menya [GL] Success, Central K. Jazz Band and the Victoria Jazz Band '71.
It may be just me, but I get the impression that these tracks are a bit slower than later benga tracks. But there is no doubt that these are indeed Great Hits!

Sungura SGL 116

Sleeve notes:
''Orchestra Makassy, the brainchild of Mzee Makassy himself, has taken audiences all over East Africa by storm. Their blend of pure Kiswahili and Zairois rhythms have captured the hearts of music lovers who have constantly demanded this set of Makassy's greatest hits.
The popularity of the group has not come without its share of disappointments and it has entailed great work from Mzee Makassy. The group would perhaps have been a household name sooner had it not been for the unexpected and tragic knifing of the lead singer Isiak Baharia, alias Gobby. This sad event caused great turmoil but from the ashes of the former group Mzee Makassy moulded his present band with the considerable help of Rammy Ongara and Fan Fan from OK Jazz. These were then supplemented with Aimala Mbutu, Simaroo on Solo guitar, Kadesi on Bass, Batty on Rhythm and Adam Seye on Trumpet (also formerly with OK Jazz) amongst the others in the group.
Thus the Orchestra Makassy, whose emblem of the elephant and drum has become famous in such a short space of time, has brought some of the finest musicians together from the brink of disaster to the top of the charts. Here now are Makassy's greatest hits - the first set of many from this fine band."

"Rammy Ongara"? Remmy and Adam Seye in the OK Jazz? Who has this man been talking too?

Anyway, here is this great 1981 album from Orchestra Makassy.

EDIT March 29, 2012: I've 'refreshed' the link (yet again).