Various

"Planet Ilunga proudly announces its first release, entirely dedicated to Joseph Kabasele (Grand Kalle), considered by many to be the father of Congolese rumba. The last time a large selection of his spectacular music from the fifties and sixties appeared on vinyl was in 1984 with the Merveilles du Passé series on Sonodisc's African label (issued shortly after Kabasele's death). Hardly any of the vinyl or cd compilations on Grand Kalle and his l'African Jazz were compiled with great care, nor did they provide much information on the context this music was created in. Grand Kalle & l'African Jazz: Souvenirs from the Congo is an attempt to change this. The 26 tracks on this anthology are divided into four themes, each of these revealing a different facet of this historic ensemble. Moreover, the accompanying booklet provides an idea of the background in which Congo's most beautiful export product was created."