Papa Noel: Bana Congo presents Papa Noel (Tumi/Elite)

 |   |  <1 min read

Papa Noel: Latin Reverie
Papa Noel: Bana Congo presents Papa Noel (Tumi/Elite)

Congolese rumba (or its pop imitations) accounts for around 70% of all music bought by Africans in Africa, a measure of the impact that the touring Cuban rumba bands of the Forties made, and how pervasive their horn-driven sound has become.

Papa Noel is a veteran of the Golden Age of Rumba in the Forties and Fifites, and his guitar sound and vocals have graced hundreds of albums.

For this lively outing Noel and a Cuban band -- plus a guest cast of African musicians which includes the legendary saxophonist Manu Dibango -- settled in to a Cuban studio (with later vocals added in France) and brought together traditional Cuban styles and their own Congolese take on them in sessions which are so high on rhythmic energy and mutual enjoyment as to be infectious.

Pass the rum and get ready to rumba.

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   World Music from Elsewhere articles index

Te Vaka: Havili (Spirit of Play/Triton)

Te Vaka: Havili (Spirit of Play/Triton)

Te Vaka have refined and defined a particular kind of pan-Pacific pop with its roots in tradition but driven by ringing folk-rock guitars as much as percussion, and on this melody-stacked album... > Read more

Jah Wobble and the Nippon Dub Ensemble (30 Hertz/Southbound)

Jah Wobble and the Nippon Dub Ensemble (30 Hertz/Southbound)

Because Japanese folk tends to be elegantly austere and melodically understated you could think there's not a lot to flute, koto and percussion that could be done by way of dub. But that would... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

The Knack: And How To Lose It

The Knack: And How To Lose It

Okay, this is how I remember The Knack and its lead singer Doug Feiger, but it was a long time ago so the memory may be dodgy. It was August 13, 1979 to be exact and the ads boasted... > Read more

JEFF HALPER INTERVIEWED (2004): Bridging the Jewish-Palestinian divide

JEFF HALPER INTERVIEWED (2004): Bridging the Jewish-Palestinian divide

We have a joke in Israel, says Jeff Halper, that Thailand is closer to Israel than the West Bank. "Israelis know there is Thailand, they want to go, you can get a guide book and buy a... > Read more