Founded in 1964, Chari Jazz was the first modern Chad musical group. Chari Jazz was preceded by 1962 creation in

N'Djamena N'Djamena ( ) is the capital and largest city of Chad. It is also a special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements''. The city serves as the centre of economic activity in Chad. Meat, fish and cotton processing are the c ...

(then Fort-Lamy) of Tchad succès, a band composed mainly of

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

ian and Congolese musicians, though including Bar Kossi. Musician Naimou Mbaitoloum was joined by his friends from Sarh (then Fort-Archambault), forming the band Star Jazz in 1964. The poorly equipped Star Jazz was sponsored by President

François Tombalbaye François Tombalbaye ( ar, فرنسوا تومبالباي '; 15 June 1918 – 13 April 1975), also known as N'Garta Tombalbaye, was a Chadian politician who served as the first President of Chad from the country's independence in 1960 until ...

, who further changed its name to Chari Jazz. (Sarh was located in the Moyen-Chari Prefecture.) Tombalbaye sent Chari Jazz to

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

to learn from

Francois Luambo Makiadi François Luambo Luanzo Makiadi (6 July 1938 – 12 October 1989) was a Congolese musician. He was a major figure in 20th-century Congolese music, and African music in general, principally as the leader for over 30 years of TPOK Jazz, the most po ...

and

Tabu Ley Rochereau Pascal-Emmanuel Sinamoyi Tabu (13 November 1940 – 30 November 2013), 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 Internatio ...

, under whom it gathered members Kossi, Kemtchang Daniel, Adoum Fremouss"La musique recherche son identité"
, cefod.org and Alladoumbaye Béyamra. Upon return, Chari Jazz set up in Fort-Lamy. Malao Hennecy from the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

also became associated with the band in 1965."Histoire de la Musique Centrafricaine en quelques dates"
maziki.free.fr Before it could be established, in 1965 musician Kader left the group to form Logone Band based out of

Moundou Moundou () is the second largest city in Chad and is the capital of the region of Logone Occidental. The city lies on the Mbéré River (a tributary of the Western Logone) some 475 kilometres south of the capital N'Djamena. It is the main cit ...

, followed by the departure of guitarist Ramadingué, who formed African Mélody.

Notes and references

Chadian musical groups N'Djamena {{Chad-stub