VA - African Pearls: Congo - Pont Sur Le Congo [2CD Set] (2009)

In the late 1940s, the combined influences of jazz and European and Cuban music resonated on both sides of the Congo River. Brazzaville and Leopoldville, now Kinshasa, vibrated with a newfound electric modernity. In 1960, the two Congos, Belgian and French, became independent and forged a common Congolese cultural identity, which first expressed itself through music.

Western productions like American rhythm’n’blues, British rock, and French pop also infiltrated the local musical customs. The natural fluidity of the Lingala language, a common Bantu language used on both banks of the Congo since the 19th century, allowed many artists to reach out to the largest possible number of people, Lingala being mainly an oral language. Kikongo, French and Spanish were also widely used in popular songs.

During the 1960s, both Congos experienced outrageous economic growth, resulting in a pleasure-seeking society. The epic competition between the African Jazz Orchestra and its different off-shoots, such as Dr Nico, Grand Kallé and Tabu Ley, and also between Franco’s OK Jazz Orchestraand Verckys’ productions, stimulated local creativity. Every one of these Congolese orchestras, from the popular to the most obscure, became dance machines.