Casimir Mbilia began his career in his native Congo. He played with Grand Kallé, before going on to form the famous RyCo Jazz with Jerry Malekani, Fred Kounkou and Jean-Dikoto Mandengue. Mbilia, better known by his nickname ‘Casino‘, moved to the West Indies and also played with Les Léopards. It was only natural that he should have this album, Casino Kazingo, released by 3A Production around 1977/78. A heavy afro-funk intro leads into a fiery soukous, two monstrous afro-cadences and a supersonic highlife to close this little Afro-Caribbean gem. Unfortunately, there’s no credit on the sleeve, and that’s a shame, because there’s an incandescent Afro-rock guitar that we’d really have liked to identify! But that’s not all: bass, percussion, saxophone… no rest for the wicked, and I heartily recommend ‘Bon Dieu protège-moi’ (Who the hell is this guitarist?!!!). I hesitate between Clément Ventadour and Jerry Malekani…), 7’12 of pure madness!
Kazingo – Casino, 1977
