Orchestre Rock-a-Mambo was an African
jazz band
A jazz band (jazz ensemble or jazz combo) is a musical ensemble that plays jazz music. Jazz bands vary in the quantity of its members and the style of jazz that they play but it is common to find a jazz band made up of a rhythm section and a ...
from
Brazzaville
Brazzaville (, kg, Kintamo, Nkuna, Kintambo, Ntamo, Mavula, Tandala, Mfwa, Mfua; Teke: ''M'fa'', ''Mfaa'', ''Mfa'', ''Mfoa''Roman Adrian Cybriwsky, ''Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture'', ABC-CLI ...
of the 1950s. It was a
studio band
Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a t ...
of the
Esengo music studio
A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...
.
[Rumba on the River: A History of the Popular Music of the Two Congos By Gary Stewart]
Chapter 5: "A Change in Mentality"
/ref>
It was reconstituted in 1963 under former member Philippe "Rossignol" Lando. This version, which lasted until the 1970s, was a launching pad for young musicians including Bopol
Bopol Mansiamina (26 July 1949 – 7 November 2021), also known as Bopol or Don Paolo, was a prolific and renowned Congolese musician (bass player, guitar player most commonly as a rhythm guitarist, vocalist, composer, and producer). He recorde ...
, Wuta Mayi
Gaspard Wuta Mayi, commonly known as Wuta Mayi, is a Congolese rumba and soukous vocalist and composer from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). From 1974 to 1982, he was a member of the band TPOK Jazz, led by Franco (François Luambo Ma ...
, Camille "Checain" Lola, and Henriette Borauzima.[
The band name is a pun with the Kongolese word ''rocamambu'' "the one who looks for problems". In a Kongolese folk tale, Rocamambu is a kind of ]prodigal son
The Parable of the Prodigal Son (also known as the parable of the Two Brothers, Lost Son, Loving Father, or of the Forgiving Father) is one of the parables of Jesus Christ in the Bible, appearing in Luke 15:11–32. Jesus shares the parable with ...
, who runs from home and comes back rich.[
]
Discography
Rock-a-Mambo music appears on the following albums and compilations.
EPs
*Orchestre Rock-A-Mambo olumbia ESRF 1460; also ESDF1321*Rossignol et l'Orchestre Rock 'A Mambo olumbia ESRF 1793; also ESDF 1321*Orchestre Rock-A-Mambo SRF 1415; also ESDF 1343*Orchestre Rock-A-Mambo volume 2, ESDF 1372
*Nino et l'Orchestre Rock-A-Mambo volume 3 olumbia ESDF 1380*GROUPES CHOC DES ANNEES 50s ESDF 1372
*CONGO LATINO Columbia ESDF 1401
*ORCHESTRE ROCK-A-MAMBO NO 4 (Columbia ESDF 1403; orig: Esengo)
Singles
A large number of singles were recorded by the Esengo studio.[
]
References
Jazz ensembles
Soukous groups
Musical groups established in the 1950s
Cultural organisations based in the Republic of the Congo
Culture in Brazzaville
{{Africa-band-stub