Another star who got his start with Le Grand Kalle & L'African Jazz was Pepe Kalle. His connection to Le Grand Kalle is unique in that he was a homeless boy that Le Grand Kalle took in. Read his story here:
The Life of Pepe Kalle
Here is an obituary. What I find interesting about this obituary is that it does more to explain Congolese music and how it took shape and how Pepe Kalle took part in that than it does the life of Pepe Kalle but it's a good source of information.
Obituary from The Independent (London)
For someone with such a large stature he was definitely a dynamic performer, as evidenced by the kwassa kwassa clip I posted up last Sunday. His voice is also one of the best in Congolese music. His baritone is extremely smooth and clear. Empire Bakuba's arrangements and blending of different sounds (particularly Zouk & Kompas) and ability to update that same sound that made them popular in the 80s is amazing. Listening to his music it is really no wonder why he is so popular. It speaks for itself.
I chose 3 random (but great) songs. One for each decade starting with the 70s. Enjoy:
Lundokisi (70s, not sure what year)
Nazingi Maboko (from the 1987 release Bakuba Show)
Young Africa (from the 1996 release Garder Votre Souffle)
R.I.P. Pepe Kalle...
8 comments:
Wow thanks, enjoying the music. Saw your comment on my site. Preety cool stuff. I am a great fan of soukous, rhumba congolaise etc!
Just another poor copy paste chop job done. Leave the expertise to your father. This Blog is exact replicas of others who created the stories. I bet you did not get permission to copy! Shame on you.
hey anonymous number two as of right now i'm just introducing different artists because the radio show didn't air last week. my father is actually PLEASED with the website as he checks it everyday. when you have a BLOG which is a log of things you see on the internet i'm actually blogging properly. if you don't like it you are welcome to not visit the site. or next time maybe you should grow the courage to use your name. and no shame over here like i said, i'm BLOGGING helping those who may not know much about soukous gain information about certain artists at the same time giving samples of the music. PEACE though i wish you well in your hating life.
anonymous number one...THANK YOU for your support. some people i guess know everything and therefore this site offends them lol PEACE
Dear Ms. Bazu:
Really enjoying your blog so far. I remember well a performance by Pepe Kalle in Madison, Wisconsin in late 1989. I'm sure it couldn't compare with what was on tap in Kinshasa (it was a stripped-down tour band as opposed to a 20-piece orchestra), but Empire Bakuba was cooking nonetheless! Pepe Kalle would get up and dance for a few minutes, looking like a giant wiggling mass of Jello, then sit down gasping for breath while Emoro jumped around and the band vamped along, then he'd get up and do it again. A memorable experience!
peace john,
sounds like a great time! i have a pepe kalle dvd here 'divise par deux' and i enjoy it very much. i wish i could have seen him live. may he r.i.p.
thank you for reading the blog john. i'm excited to hear that you enjoy it. peace
My favorit song from him is «Mama leki ndaya» from "Divisé par deux"
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
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