INTERVIEW
An Afro-jazz legend died on Tuesday. Saxophonist Manu Dibango died of coronavirus at the age of 86, said Thierry Durepaire, manager of musical editions of the Cameroonian artist. "He died early in the morning in a hospital in the Paris region," he said.
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French journalist and producer, Yves Bigot, knew Manu Dibango well. He paid tribute to him at the microphone of Europe 1. "I produced the Wakafrica album in 1993. A pan-African album that he was the only one who could make", he says. Star of African music, his name is enough to bring together the biggest names of the time. "We called around him the classics of African music, like Jingo, which everyone knew for his song Santana , and also Miriam Makeba, the author of Pata Pata , including of course his Soul Makossa ", explains Yves Bigot.
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His Soul Makossa hit , released in 1982, had given him world renown. "He is the first African to have become a star in the United States," he said. An outstanding musician, Manu Dibango was also famous for his laughter, deep and communicative. A "bursting laugh", confirms Yves Bigot, who hid a "great depth of mind". "It is true that he was very funny, warm, friendly, attentive. But he was above all one of the giants of music in the 20th century. Make no mistake about it."
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