Camille Feruzi
Camille Feruzi | |
|---|---|
 Feruzi playing accordion | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Camille Feruzi c. 1912 |
| Origin | Kisangani |
| Died | 24 April 1990 (aged 78) |
| Genres | Congolese rumba |
| Occupations |
|
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 1930s–1990 |
| Labels |
|
| Formerly of | Mystérieux Jazz |
Camille Feruzi (1912 – 24 April 1990) was a Congolese accordionist, singer, composer, arranger, and bandleader.[1][2][3] Alongside Antoine Kasongo Kitenge, Paul Kamba, Zacharie Elenga, Antoine Wendo Kolosoy, Henri Bowane, and Manuel d'Oliveira,[4][5][6] Feruzi is commonly regarded as one of the pioneers of Congolese rumba and is often credited as the first musician to introduce the accordion into Congolese urban music.[1][7]
Life and career
[edit]1912–early to mid-1940s: Early life, career beginnings, and urban music scene
[edit]Camille Feruzi was born in 1912 in Stanleyville (now Kisangani), in the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). He learned to play maringa music, one of the main predecessors of modern Congolese rumba, from his father, who was also an accordion player.[8]: 20 [9]: 283–284 [10] As a child, Feruzi often practiced the instrument in secret while his father was away at work.[11] In 1927, at the age of fifteen, he moved by riverboat to Léopoldville (now Kinshasa), the colony's largest urban center. There, he became immersed in the city's expanding musical and entertainment scene, and developed his musical abilities through performances at dances, social gatherings, and popular venues.[9]: 283–284
The exact date when Feruzi formed his quartet remains uncertain. Music historian Gary Stewart estimated that the group was established "around 1938 or 1939",[8]: 20–21 while other sources date its formation in 1937.[12] The quartet consisted of accordion, piano, guitar, and saxophone and is regarded as one of the earliest instrumental groups in Léopoldville.[8]: 20 [11] Influenced in part by a saxophonist from Guadeloupe, the ensemble gradually moved beyond traditional maringa music and began incorporating rhythms inspired by Latin American dance music.[8]: 20
During the early 1940s, Cuban son recordings by groups such as Sexteto Habanero, Trio Matamoros, and Los Guaracheros de Oriente were frequently broadcast on Radio Congo Belge in Léopoldville and quickly became popular among Congolese audiences.[13][14] Local musicians adapted elements of Cuban son, including its instrumental arrangements and melodic structures, to guitars, saxophones, and other instruments. Some performers even sang in phonetic Spanish or French. Over time, these influences were fused with indigenous rhythms, vocal traditions, and melodic ideas, which gave rise to a distinctly Congolese musical idiom.[15] Although maringa had little direct connection to Cuban rumba, the emerging style became known as "Congolese rumba" because imported Cuban records were commonly marketed as "rumba".[16][17] During this period, Congolese musicians also experimented with other Caribbean genres, including biguine and merengue.[8]: 20–21 According to musicologist Kazadi wa Mukuna, Congolese rumba remained fundamentally rooted in maringa traditions, while Latin American music primarily served as a source of instrumental techniques, orchestration, and arrangement practices.[18]
Late 1940s–1970s: Releases, Mystérieux Jazz, and later years
[edit]Through his quartet, Feruzi became one of the first musicians signed by the Ngoma label in 1948. His earliest successes included the recordings "Makango" (Ngoma 27) and "Polina" (Ngoma 29).[8]: 20 [12][11] Although his prominence later declined during the early 1950s as amplified instruments and electric guitar-based ensembles gained greater importance in Congolese popular music, he revived his career around 1956 or 1957 by founding the orchestra Mystérieux Jazz.[8]: 20 [12][11] The group included bassist Albert Tawumani and vocalists Beya, also known as Ténor Beya, and Mariola.[11] Their first recording, released in early 1957, featured "Biso Na Yo Mbula Moko" on the A-side and "Nabala Muluba" on the B-side. While the record achieved only modest success, the group returned to the studio about a year later to record "Emiyama" and "Na Motindeli Mokanda". Both songs became major hits and helped establish Mystérieux Jazz as one of Ngoma's leading recording ensembles.[11]
In 1959, at the age of 47, Feruzi recorded songs in Indoubil, an urban slang spoken in Léopoldville during the period.[9]: 283–284 [1] That same year, several of his recordings were issued as part of Ngoma's Super 45t series, including "Nabala Muluba" and three other songs.[11] He also recorded "Cha Cha Cha Bay", one of his most successful compositions, which was performed in Indoubil and blended elements of Congolese rumba, jazz, and Afro-Cuban music.[9]: 124 [1]
During the early 1970s, Feruzi collaborated with TPOK Jazz and performed alongside Franco Luambo. In 1971, like many Zairean musicians of the period, he embraced the Authenticité campaign promoted by Mobutu Sese Seko, which encouraged cultural nationalism and the adoption of African names and identities.[19] At the end of 1971, he recorded with Franco "Recours à l'authenticité" ("recourse to authenticity"), a song that combined acoustic guitar, accordion, and traditional percussion instruments.[19] Other recordings associated with this period included the 1972 songs "Mbanda Nasali Nini" and "Siluvangi Wapi Accordéon?", which were released on the Fiesta label, a subsidiary of the Belgian record company Fonior, through Franco's Editions Populaires series.[12] In the late 1970s, Feruzi also contributed accordion accompaniment to recordings by Lita Bembo, including the 1978 song "Gida Accordéon".[12]
Death
[edit]According to information cited by researcher Mfumu Fylla Saint-Eudes, Camille Feruzi died on 24 April 1990 at the age of 78.[12]
Selected discography
[edit]| Year | Records[20][21] | Label | Details | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Ngoma | [20][21] | ||
| – |
|
Ngoma |
|
[20][21] |
| – |
|
Ngoma |
|
[20][21] |
| – |
|
Ngoma |
|
[20][21] |
| 26 February 1957 |
|
Ngoma |
|
[22] |
| 1957 |
|
Ngoma |
|
[20][21] |
| 22 April 1958 |
|
Ngoma | Side A
Side B
|
[20][21] |
| 24 April 1958 |
|
Ngoma |
|
[20][21] |
| 1958 |
|
Ngoma |
|
[20][21] |
| 14 August 1958 |
|
Ngoma | Side A
Side B
|
[20][21] |
| – |
|
Ngoma |
|
[20][21] |
| – |
|
Ngoma |
|
[20][21] |
| – |
|
Ngoma |
|
[20][21] |
| 20 March 1959 |
|
Ngoma |
|
[20][21] |
| 1959 | "Cha Cha Cha Bay" | Ngoma |
|
[9]: 124 [1] |
| 1959 |
|
Ngoma |
|
[20][21] |
| 1971 | "Recours à l'authenticité" | Fiesta and Editions Populaires series |
|
[19] |
| 1972 |
|
Fiesta and Editions Populaires series |
|
[20][21] |
| 1978 | "Gida Accordéon" | – |
|
[12] |
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 Seck, Nago (3 July 2007). "Camille Feruzi". Afrisson (in French). Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- ↑ Lengo, Paulka Hassan (29 June 2012). "Camille Feruzi - Univers Rumba Congolaise, la référence de la rumba congolaise de 1900 à nos jours" [Camille Feruzi – Univers Rumba Congolaise: The definitive resource for Congolese rumba, from 1900 to the present Day]. Universrumbacongolaise.com (in French). Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- ↑ Bemba, Sylvain (1984). Cinquante ans de musique du Congo-Zaïre, 1920-1970: de Paul Kamba à Tabu-Ley (in French). Paris, France: Présence Africaine. p. 89. ISBN 978-2-7087-0434-3.
- ↑ White, Bob W. (27 June 2008). Rumba Rules: The Politics of Dance Music in Mobutu’s Zaire. Durham, North Carolina, U.S.: Duke University Press. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-8223-8926-2.
- ↑ "La 1ère génération - Univers Rumba Congolaise, la référence de la rumba congolaise de 1900 à nos jours" [The 1st Generation — Univers Rumba Congolaise: The definitive reference for Congolese Rumba from 1900 to the present day.]. Universrumbacongolaise.com (in French). 20 October 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
- ↑ Tsambu, Leon. "Section 1.-1930-1950: de l'agbaya à l'ère de la musique populaire moderne pionnière" [Section 1.-1930-1950: from agbaya to the era of modern popular musicpioneer]. Bokundoli (in French). Retrieved 28 May 2026.
- ↑ Cahiers d'études africaines, Volume 42, Issues 165-168 (in French and English). Contributors: École pratique des hautes études. Mouton. 2002. p. 671.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Stewart, Gary (17 November 2003). Rumba on the River: A History of the Popular Music of the Two Congos. Verso. ISBN 978-1-85984-368-0.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Wheeler, Jesse Samba Samuel (1999). Made in Congo: Rumba Lingala and the Revolution in Nationhood. Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.: University of Wisconsin–Madison.
- ↑ Shepherd, John, ed. (2003). Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World: Africa and the Middle East. Continuum. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-8264-7436-0.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Veux tu danser avec moi?" [Do you want to dance with me?]. Worldservice. 5 June 2010. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Feruzi Camille: un virtuose de l'accordéon" [Feruzi Camille: a virtuoso of the accordion]. Mbokamosika (in French). 18 June 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- ↑ The Encyclopedia of Africa v. 1. 2010 p. 407.
- ↑ Storm Roberts, John (1999). The Latin Tinge: The Impact of Latin American Music on the United States (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp. 217–218. ISBN 978-0-19-976148-7.
- ↑ "American listeners are discovering Soukous". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois, United States. 2 June 1993. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- ↑ Mukuna, Kazadi wa (7 December 2014). "A brief history of popular music in DRC". Music in Africa. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- ↑ Greenstreet, Morgan (7 December 2018). "Seben Heaven: The Roots of Soukous". daily.redbullmusicacademy.com. Red Bull Music Academy. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- ↑ wa Mukuna, Kazadi (1992). "The Genesis of Urban Music in Zaïre". African Music. 7 (2). Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa: International Library of African Music: 79–81. doi:10.21504/amj.v7i2.1945. ISSN 0065-4019.
- 1 2 3 Erenberg, Lewis A. (22 May 2019). The Rumble in the Jungle: Muhammad Ali and George Foreman on the Global Stage. Chicago, Illinois, U.S.: University of Chicago Press. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-226-05943-3.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Harrev, Flemming (24 January 2018). "Central Africa, Ngoma 1-99". AfroDisc. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Harrev, Flemming (25 January 2018). "Central Africa, Ngoma 1800-1899". Afrodisc.com. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- ↑ Harrev, Flemming (25 January 2018). "Central Africa, Ngoma 1700-1799". Afrodisc.com. Retrieved 1 June 2026.