Filed under: Central African Republic
Unlike the last record I posted from there – which no one seems to agree on where it actually is from – this record is definitely from the Central African Republic.
Orchestre Centrafrican Jazz was founded by Prosper Mayélé in 1963. The band would go on to record almost two dozen singles – most of which were for the Disques France Afrique label.
Matthew Lavoie wrote an extensive history of the band for the Voice of America website that you can find HERE.
Catalog number L.G.V.D. 1054 on Disques France Afrique of Bangui, Central African Republic. No release date listed.
Filed under: Central African Republic
As I have mentioned before, the best weapon for hunting records is information. But sometimes all you get conflicting accounts or faulty facts.
According to the person who sold me this record, 4 Black Brothers – or, as they are listed on the back cover, Quatre Black Brothers – were from the Central African Republic. I had been searching for anything from that country for quite some time. The only group that I had heard about from C. A. R. was L’Orchestre Centrafrican Jazz, whose records on the Disques France-Afrique label have eluded me for years. But now that I have this record in my hands, I’m cannot confirm where it may have come from – other than a pressing plant in France.
There is not a lot of information on the record sleeve itself. Other than the sentence “Prise de son: ZOUNDI FELIX DAVID – KAKLABAL”, it does credit the songwriters Augustin Zala Kanda Morin and Charles Malonga – who was the band leader. Apparently, Malonga was originally from Gabon, then moved to Upper Volta – now Burkina Faso. He is also listed as the guitarist for the Ivoirian band Jean Raph & Les Zoulous – who released a single on Société Ivoirienne Du Disque. Also, a discography for the label Sonafric lists 4 Black Brothers as having been from Upper Volta… But – at least to these ears – this doesn’t sound like anything I’ve ever heard from there.
If you have any further information on 4 Black Brothers / Quatre Black Brothers, please contact me or leave a comment.
Catalog number SAF 61003, Sonafric records of Paris, France. Released 1978.
Radiodiffusion Internasionaal Annexe 