Cafe Noir

Papa Noel | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 13, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Tumi Records
• ASIN: B000N6UCRC
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #86,125 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Papa Noël (born Antoine Nedule Monswet on Christmas Day, 1940, hence the affectionate nickname) is one of the greatest African guitarists of all time. His bell-like, rounded, tone, shimmering quicksilver runs and ability to pull ecstatic melodies out of the air -- he never plays any tune the same way twice -- have made him a national treasure with an international fan base. Noël has sat in innumerable seminal bands, from Franco's legendary Kinshasa-based OK Jazz and to the very popular modern Afro-Cuban outfit, Kékélé; in fact, his biography reads like a history of rumba Congolaise from its inception to the present day. And he is equally celebrated as a composer. His gloriously upbeat anthem, "Africa Mokili Mobimba" is known and loved throughout the Continent and a festive, large-scale version of it, complete with a playfully extroverted call-and-response chorus and tasty sax riffs from Noël's contemporary, Cameroonian superstar Manu Dibango (of "Soul Makossa" fame), opens the album. Accompanied by a stellar team that includes Abby Surya and Pierre Belkos (vocals) plus Rey Crespo (arrangements) and host of journeyman Cuban instrumentalists, Noël has fashioned a valentine to the re-Africanization of Cuban rumba. In his hands, both traditions are ineffably enriched and strengthened, as the circle is resealed, source-to-source. --Christina Roden

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Music, June 7, 2007

By 

Jacqueline Althardt (Troy, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cafe Noir (Audio CD)

Papa Noel was featured on NPR Radio. What little I had heard it sounded beautiful. I was pleasantly surprised when I listened to this CD. It's so relaxing to listen to. It's upbeat and lively. Super music to listen to pool side! I am now sampling his other CD's and intend on buying them.