Joel Savage and Manu Dibango
Jazz great Manu Dibango, best known for his 1972 hit “Soul
Makossa” has died from complications of the coronavirus, according to a
statement on his official Facebook page.
“It is with deep sadness that we announce the loss of Manu
Dibango, our Papy Groove, who passed away on 24th of March 2020, at 86 years
old, further to Covid 19,” it said.
“His funeral service will be held in strict privacy and a
tribute to his memory will be organized when possible,” the message added.
The Cameroon-born singer and saxophonist died in a hospital
near Paris, according to his music publisher Thierry Durepaire, Agence France-Presse
reported.
The artist, who inspired “world music” in the 1970s, was one
of the pioneers of Afro-jazz and also fused funk with traditional music from
Cameroon.
His biggest hit was the B-side of a song to support the
Cameroon soccer team in the African Cup of Nations but was picked up by New
York DJs.
Manu Dibango was one of the numerous great musicians I interviewed in Antwerp, Belgium.
He was in Belgium many times to play at summer festivals, including the Sfinks festival and Mano Mundo festival.
Dibango has lived in France for his entire life, playing around the globe with numerous musicians.
No comments:
Post a Comment