| "Table Ronde" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Song by Le Grand Kallé et l'African Jazz | |
| Language | Lingala and French |
| Released | 1960 |
| Genre | African Rumba |
| Length | 2:58 |
| Label | Fonior |
| Songwriter(s) | Joseph Kabasele |
"Table Ronde" was a successful song written by Joseph Kabasele in the popular Congolese rumba style and performed by his band L'African Jazz. It was written for the Round Table Conference on Congolese independence held in Brussels, Belgium in 1960 which gave the song its name.
In December 1959 it was announced that a round table conference would be held in Brussels, Belgium in 1960 to discuss the future of the Belgian Congo. Joseph Kabasele's L'African Jazz and OK Jazz were both invited to perform at the event. Only two musicians from OK Jazz were able to attend, so they briefly performed with L'African Jazz. Kabasele took part in the conference, and collaborated with his musicians to produce some songs to commemorate the event. The most notable of these were "Table Ronde" and "Indépendance Cha Cha". While "Indépendance Cha Cha" was celebratory, "Table Ronde" was more assertive for the cause of Congolese independence. [1] It featured a guitar solo by Nico Kasanda. The song marked a new shift in Congolese popular music away from a care-free attitude towards militant politics. [2]
During the conference the group recorded their two compositions (along with a piece by OK Jazz vocalist Victor Longomba, "Vive Patrice Lumumba") in a His Master's Voice–affiliated studio. The record label was not interested in the recordings, so Kabasele showed the masters to various other companies before reaching an agreement with Fonior. [3]
Musician Gilles Sala later said that Table Ronde and the other songs released with it "sent a musical shock wave. It was pretty extraordinary, this spontaneous, natural music." [3]
Table Ronde is performed in one of the scenes of the 2000 film Lumumba , directed by Raoul Peck.
The Belgian Congo was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964.
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Soukous is a genre of dance music from Congo-Kinshasa and Congo-Brazzaville. It derived from Congolese rumba in the 1960s 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, longer dance sequences. Notable performers of the genre include African Fiesta, Papa Wemba and Pépé Kallé.
Le Grand Kallé et l'African Jazz, often simply referred to as African Jazz, was a popular and extremely influential Congolese rumba (soukous) 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.
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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.
Nicolas Kasanda wa Mikalay, popularly known as Docteur Nico, was a guitarist, composer and one of the pioneers of Congolese music. He was born in Mikalayi in the Belgian Congo. He graduated in 1957 as a technical teacher, but inspired by his musical family, he took up the guitar and in time became a virtuoso soloist.
Congolese rumba, also known as Rumba Lingala after its predominant language, is a popular genre of dance music which originated in the Congo basin during the 1940s, deriving from Cuban son. The style gained popularity throughout Africa during the 1960s and 1970s.
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Pépé Kallé, sometimes written as Pepe Kalle was a soukous singer, musician and bandleader from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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"Indépendance Cha Cha" was a song performed by Joseph Kabasele from the group L'African Jazz in the popular African Rumba style. The song has been described as "Kabasele's most memorable song" and one of the first Pan-African hits.
The Belgo-Congolese Round Table Conference was a meeting organized in two parts in 1960 in Brussels between on the one side representatives of the Congolese political class and chiefs and on the other side Belgian political and business leaders. The round table meetings led to the adoption of sixteen resolutions on the future of the Belgian Congo and its institutional reforms. With a broad consensus, the date for independence was set on June 30, 1960.
The Speech at the Ceremony of the Proclamation of the Congo's Independence was a short political speech given by Patrice Lumumba on 30 June 1960 at the ceremonies marking the independence of the Republic of Congo from Belgium. It is best known for its outspoken criticism of colonialism.
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Jean Bolikango, later Bolikango Akpolokaka Gbukulu Nzete Nzube, was a Congolese educator, writer, and conservative politician. He served twice as Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo, in September 1960 and from February to August 1962. Enjoying substantial popularity among the Bangala people, he headed the Parti de l'Unité Nationale and worked as a key opposition member in Parliament in the early 1960s.
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