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A sizzling unissued 1982 live performance by Manu Dibango mixing african music with funk and jazz, recorded live at Théatre La Criée in Marseille. Remastered from the original INA tapes. Wewantsounds is delighted to release Dibango 82, the electrifying live performance features the African legend alongside his stellar 8-piece group, blending funk, jazz, and African rhythms. Manu Dibango, who passed away five years ago at 86, is one of the most celebrated African musicians alongside Fela, Miriam Makeba and Youssou N’dour. In a career spanning six decades, Dibango revolutionised African music and had a worldwide hit in the process in the form “Soul Makossa” in 1972. This live album, recorded during a French tour in 1982 came at a critical time when France, after the election of Francois Mitterrand, was embracing its multi-ethnic sensitivity. Through the rise of FM radios such as Radio Nova, an offshoot of cult magazine Actuel, the French music scene suddenly got much more opened. The “Sono Mondiale” as Nova would call World music, was born. 

Organised by French producer Martin Meissonnier, the sold-out tour created a stir in France bringing together two legends, Manu Dibango and his group plus iconic jazz traveller Don Cherry, which Meissonnier had closely worked with in the late 70s (Cherry doesn’t appear on this set but will soon in a 2nd volume). Highlights include “Africa Boogie” and “Waka Juju.” This album released in partnership with INA and Soul Makossa, Dibango’s label captures the African legend at the top of his game. Remastered from the original tapes with liner notes by Graeme Ewens and concert organiser Christian Ducasse, it features a front cover photo by key African paris-based photographer Bill Akwa Bétotè. — via Label

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Label: Wewantsounds
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Remastered
Released: 2025
Genre: Jazz, Funk / Soul
Style: Afrobeat, Jazz-Funk

File under: Soul-Jazz / Jazz-Funk
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