African Voodoo

Manu Dibango - African Voodoo PSI PSI-3036 (1972)

It is almost impossible to find a fitting description for a musician such as Manu Dibango who has made such an enormous contribution to African music as a whole. He is a saxophonist, nicknamed 'The lion of Cameroon'.

Originally trained in classical piano, his musical career began in Brussels and Paris in the 1950s. 1960 finds him in Congo as a member of African Jazz led by Joseph Kabasele (Le Grand Kalle)! He formed his own band in Cameroon in 1963, moving to Paris in 1965. His international breakthrough came in 1972 with Soul Makossa.

Manu Dibango is extraordinarily versatile, having played almost every style of music you care to mention: soul, reggae, jazz, blues and even this rare French library album on PSI. Forget what you know about the man for this one, considered by some as not only one of his finest albums but one of the strongest unreleased library LPs ever recorded. There's real strength in depth with many stand out tracks blurring the boundaries between Afro-Latin jazz, funk and fusion - a wonderful eclectic listen from start to finish.

1) Groovy Flute
2) Soul Saxes Meeting
3) African Pop Session
4) Walking To Waza
5) Out Of Score
6) Ba-Kuba
7) Zoom 2000
8) Aphrodite Shake
9) Wilderness
10) Jungle Riders
11) Iron Wood
12) Coconut