| Galo Negro | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1998 | |||
| Label | Putumayo World Music [1] | |||
| Producer | Christian Polloni | |||
| Sam Mangwana chronology | ||||
| ||||
Galo Negro is an album by the Angolan Congolese musician Sam Mangwana, released in 1998. [2] [3] Mangwana deemed his sound "Congolese Rumba." [4] Mangwana supported the album with a North American tour, accompanied by labelmate Ricardo Lemvo. [5]
Recorded in France, the album was produced by Christian Polloni. [6] [7] Mangwana sang in Swahili, Lingala, Kikongo, Portuguese, French, and English. [8] [9] Several songs are about oppression and the effects of colonialism. [10]
"Manjani" is a duet with Murray Head; Mangwana yodels on the song. [11] [12] The title track, about a freedom fighter, was written by Mangwana with his guitar player, Papa Noel Nedule. [13] [14] Dizzy Mandjeku also played guitar on Galo Negro. [15]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [16] |
| Robert Christgau |  [17] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [18] |
| MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide |  [7] |
| The Tampa Tribune | [12] |
The Chicago Reader wrote: "The gently rolling rhythms come from former Portuguese colonies like Angola and Cape Verde as well as Cuba, the sweet accordion lines from Madagascar, and the lovely lead guitar work from Congo, courtesy of former OK Jazz member Papa Noel Nedule Montswet." [8] The Sun-Sentinel called the album "full of Congolese rhythms and Latin rhythms—from rumba to vallenato." [9] The Los Angeles Sentinel labeled it "groundbreaking," writing that it "blends pan-African pop styles with influences from Portugal, the Caribbean and Latin America." [19]
The Gazette deemed Galo Negro "a delicate, sensuous set highlighted by Mangwana's evocative tenor voice." [20] The Washington Post noted that "the island flavor of Mangwana's music is reinforced by the presence of the great Malagasy accordionist Regis Gizana and by Mangwana's use of Cape Verdean falsetto vocals." [4] The New York Times considered the album "pretty plainly indicative of an African-Cuban (and African-South American, with hints of music from Colombia and Brazil) cross-pollination." [21]
AllMusic wrote that a listener "hears elements of everything from Afro-Cuban salsa and Dominican merengue to Spanish flamenco and Colombian vallenato." [16]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Galo Negro" | |
| 2. | "Manjani" | |
| 3. | "Ghetto" | |
| 4. | "Elima" | |
| 5. | "Zengolo" | |
| 6. | "Maloba" | |
| 7. | "Nakupenda" | |
| 8. | "Cara Mabanzo" | |
| 9. | "Balobi" | |
| 10. | "Ya Mbemba" |
Congolese music is one of the most influential music forms of the African continent. Since the 1930s, Congolese musicians have had a huge impact on the African musical scene and elsewhere. Many contemporary genres of music, such as Kenyan Benga and Colombian Champeta, have been heavily influenced by Congolese music. In 2021, Congolese rumba joined other living traditions such as Jamaican reggae music and Cuban rumba on UNESCO's "intangible cultural heritage of humanity" list.
The clave is a rhythmic pattern used as a tool for temporal organization in Brazilian and Cuban music. In Spanish, clave literally means key, clef, code, or keystone. It is present in a variety of genres such as Abakuá music, rumba, conga, son, mambo, salsa, songo, timba and Afro-Cuban jazz. The five-stroke clave pattern represents the structural core of many Cuban rhythms. The study of rhythmic methodology, especially in the context of Afro-Cuban music, and how it influences the mood of a piece is known as clave theory.
The music of Angola has been shaped both by wider musical trends and by the political history of the country. while Angolan music has also influenced the music of the other Lusophone countries and Latin American countries. In turn, the music of Angola was instrumental in creating and reinforcing "angolanidade", the Angolan national identity. The capital and largest city of Angola — Luanda — is home to a diverse group of styles including kazukuta, semba, kizomba and kuduro. Just off the coast of Luanda is Ilha do Cabo, home to an accordion and harmonica-based style of music called rebita.
Soukous is a genre of dance music originating from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo. It derived from Congolese rumba in the 1960s, with faster dance rhythms and bright, intricate guitar improvisation, and gained popularity in the 1980s in France. Although often used by journalists as a synonym for Congolese rumba, both the music and dance associated with soukous differ from more traditional rumba, especially in its higher tempo, song structures and longer dance sequences.
Le Grand Kallé et l'African Jazz, often simply referred to as African Jazz, was a popular and extremely influential Congolese rumba band from the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo. Founded in 1953 in Léopoldville under Belgian colonial rule, the band was led by Joseph Kabasele Tshamala, popularly known by his stage name Le Grand Kallé. The group saw its heyday between 1958 and 1962, after which it was hit by defections by its members in 1963. It was briefly revived after 1966.
OK Jazz, later renamed TPOK Jazz, was a Congolese rumba band from the Democratic Republic of the Congo established in 1956 and fronted by Franco. The group disbanded in 1993, but reformed in 1996.
African popular music, like African traditional music, is vast and varied. Most contemporary genres of African popular music build on cross-pollination with Western popular music. Many genres of popular music like blues, jazz, salsa, zouk, and rumba derive to varying degrees on musical traditions from Africa, taken to the Americas by enslaved Africans. These rhythms and sounds have subsequently been adapted by newer genres like rock, and rhythm and blues. Likewise, African popular music has adopted elements, particularly the musical instruments and recording studio techniques of the Western music industry. The term does not refer to a specific style or sound but is used as a general term for African popular music.
Sam Mangwana, is a Congolese-born musician, born to an Angolan mother and Zimbabwean father. He was the frontman of his bands Festival des Maquisards and African All Stars. Mangwana was a member of François Luambo Makiadi's seminal band TPOK Jazz, and Tabu Ley Rochereau's bands African Fiesta, African Fiesta National and Afrisa International.
Pascal-Emmanuel Sinamoyi Tabu, better known as Tabu Ley Rochereau, was a leading African rumba singer-songwriter from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was the leader of Orchestre Afrisa International, as well as one of Africa's most influential vocalists and prolific songwriters. Along with guitarist Dr Nico Kasanda, Tabu Ley pioneered soukous and internationalised his music by fusing elements of Congolese folk music with Cuban, Caribbean and Latin American rumba. He has been described as "the Congolese personality who, along with Mobutu, marked Africa's 20th century history." He was dubbed "the African Elvis" by the Los Angeles Times. After the fall of the Mobutu regime, Tabu Ley also pursued a political career. His musical career ran parallel to the other great Congolese rhumba bandleader and rival Franco Luambo Makiadi who ran the band TPOK Jazz throughout the 1960s, 1970s and '80s.
Joseph Athanase Tshamala Kabasele, popularly known as Le Grand Kallé, was a Congolese singer and bandleader, considered the father of modern Congolese music. He is best known for his role as leader of the band, Le Grand Kallé et l'African Jazz, in which capacity he was involved in a number of noted songs, including Indépendance Cha Cha.
Ricardo Lemvo is a Congolese singer of Angolan descent who lives in Los Angeles, California. His music is a blend of African soukous, kizomba, samba and Cuban salsa.
Congolese rumba, also known as African rumba, is a dance music genre originating from the Republic of the Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo. With its rhythms, melodies, and lyrics, Congolese rumba has gained global recognition and remains an integral part of African music heritage. In December 2021, it was added to the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage.
Jean de Dieu Makiese, popularly known as Madilu System, was a Congolese rumba singer and songwriter, born in what was then Léopoldville, Belgian Congo. He was once a member of the seminal band TPOK Jazz which dominated the Congolese scene from 1960s through 1980s.
Jimmy Omonga is a singer and songwriter from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. With his debut album "Destin" (2008), he became within a few months one of Congo's new popular singers, known for his characteristic and unique voice; clear and ringing in its upper reaches, with soulful low notes.
Simaro Massiya Lutumba Ndomanueno, known as Simaro, was a Congolese music rhythm guitarist, songwriter, poet, composer, and bandleader. He was a member of the seminal Congo music band TPOK Jazz, which dominated the music scene in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from the 1960s to the 1980s.
A guajeo is a typical Cuban ostinato melody, most often consisting of arpeggiated chords in syncopated patterns. Some musicians only use the term guajeo for ostinato patterns played specifically by a tres, piano, an instrument of the violin family, or saxophones. Piano guajeos are one of the most recognizable elements of modern-day salsa. Piano guajeos are also known as montunos in North America, or tumbaos in the contemporary Cuban dance music timba.
African Jazz Mokili Mobimba was a popular song written in the Congolese rumba style by Charles Mwamba Déchaud and performed by Joseph Kabasele's band, African Jazz.
Kekele was a band formed in 2000, composed of leading veteran African musicians, mostly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They played Congolese rumba in a revival style harkening back to the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, using acoustic guitars. Kekele seems to be dormant or defunct, having not released a recording since 2006 nor performed since (apparently) 2010.
Syran Mbenza is a guitarist, originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who has lived in Paris since about 1981. He has recorded and performed prolifically over five decades, including as a solo artist; as one of the four members of the popular soukous "supergroup" Les Quatre Étoiles; as a founding member of the acoustic, Congolese rumba revival band Kékélé; in other bands; and in support of numerous artists. He has been described as one of the greatest guitar players of Africa.
Rumba Baby Rumba! is an album by the American band Bio Ritmo, released in 1998. The band supported the album by touring with Squirrel Nut Zippers.