[dexdex]

Very sad news.

Emmanuel N'Djoké Dibango, 86 (12 December 1933 - 24 March 2020) was a Cameroonian musician and songwriter who played saxophone and vibraphone. He developed a musical style fusing jazz, funk, and traditional Cameroonian music. His father was a member of the Yabassi ethnic group, though his mother was a Duala. He was best known for his 1972 single "Soul Makossa". He died of Covid-19 on 24 March 2020.

https://www.rts.ch/info/culture/mus...est-mort-a-86-ans-des-suites-du-covid-19.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manu_Dibango

 

[Tharruff]

I remember 'Soul Makossa'...sorry to read this.

 

[-j.]

Oh no, not the Lion of Africa too??!??!

I am digging up every album of his I own, because his music is also a reminder that even amidst loss and deprivation, we ought to remember to celebrate LIFE.

Merci, Manu -- AYÉ AFRIKA!

-j.

 

[mishmellow]

He will be missed! His music will live on! Lots of very nice songs in his catalog. "Mama-ko, mama-ssa, makomako-ssa!!"

 

[soybean]

Sad news.

 

[zapatista]

Sad news. Emma is a song I listened too over and over when I split up from my 1st wife. Mr. Dibango was a great musician, composer and arranger.

https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf...hUKEwi63Mv12LPoAhVplnIEHX2SBN4Q4dUDCAs&uact=5

 

[Guto]

Sad indeed! When I lived in France 30+ years ago he was a celebrity! Great memories from that period. R.I.P.

 

[tony51]

Very sad news, but here is something happy to remember him by and to make us smile a little at this difficult time. I hope that everybody dances along.

 

[Shaneygrog]

A giant of Afrikan music.

 

[Mk-Hmmr]

Coming up to the one year anniversary already. Indeed he was a celebrity in France and in the francophone world including Switzerland. He played three Montreux Jazz festivals, and he was quite often on TV when he was promoting.

Lately he made himself heard as an activist about climate change. He was perhaps the most recognized saxophonist in the francophone world - I know it's hard to believe across the Atlantic but he was far more famous than Kenny G while still being largely ignored in the US, to the point that Michael Jackson famously thought he could rip off his irresistible Soul Makossa riff and rythm in the opening title of his best-selling album Thriller: "Wanna be startin' something" ("Mamasé Mamasa Mamakossa"). Jackson convinced Quincy Jones who was well acquainted with Dibango, and "forgot" to credit Manu. The riff has been sampled since on many other songs by A Tribe Called Quest, Akon, the Fugees, Jay-Z, Will Smith, Jennifer Lopez, Eminem, Kanye West, Rihanna... MJ indirectly made Soul Makossa famous at last in the US. But there are so many other songs that were equally good.

Manu Dibango also associated with other top artists, played with Serge Gainsbourg, Peter Gabriel, Salif Keita, Manu Katché among others.

He was awarded the Medal of the Légion d'honneur, the highest distinction order in France, given to him personally by French President Nicolas Sarkozy on French National day in 2010.

 

[JacobMW]

If anyone is interested i wrote out the charts for soul makossa (not the solos though) happy to share. Im in a band which plays the songs of people who died in the previous year in a one off set. This year includes tony allen, manu dibango and orchestra baobab on the african side of things.

 

[Nostris]

It has already been a year since Manu left us :'( We just wrote an article to pay him a Tribute: Tribute to Manu Dibango