Manu Dibango’s estate marks first anniversary of his death

24 Mar 2021 - 09:46

Published under the Creative Commons Licence

The estate of legendary Cameroonian saxophonist Manu Dibango has announced the reissue of his 1976 album Afrovision and a new documentary to commemorate one year since his death.

The late Manu Dibango. Photo: Topvisages.net

A master of reinvention, Dibango loved to experiment and influenced many younger musicians. He died on 24 March 2020 due to COVID-19 complications. He was 86.

The documentary Tonton Manu (Uncle Manu) will premiere on 24 March at 9pm CAT on The 25th Hour platform, as part of the 11th Diversity Film Festival (Festival du Film de la Diversité), which runs until 3 April.

Produced by Thierry Dechilly and Patrick Puzenat, the 90-minute documentary follows Dibango’s many travels, including his performance in New York, where he was the first African to play at the Apollo Theater in 1972, and his stay in Brazil as an ambassador for the Rio Olympics and Paralympic Games in 2016.

The seven-track Afrovision reissue is being released through Diggers Factory and is available for preview here. It will be released on 7 May.

“This is our third reissue of Manu Dibango after Waka Juju and Gone Clear, but it was the most complicated,” Diggers Factory head of marketing and distribution Cyril Roux said. “The label did not have the recordings on tape, so they gave us a master, which was unfortunately degraded. The sound was not usable.

“So we went hunting for an original vinyl in excellent condition. We found it in the US and did a lot of sound restoration in a specialised studio, Art et Son, in Annecy, France. As for the cover, our graphic designer reworked it by hand and we had a red vinyl made to use the colour of the dancer’s dress and Manu’s letter colour.”

There will be other album reissues spread over time, including 1998’s Cubafrica, which will be released on vinyl for Record Shop Day on 12 June in France and England, and on 17 July in the US.

Dibango’s ex-manager and niece, Claire Diboa, says that due to the pandemic, the musician is yet to receive a tribute worthy of his life’s work.

“We are waiting for the reopening of theatres and cinemas to do so,” she said. “We are preparing to be ready that day. This Wednesday, we will mourn as a family, but it isn’t easy. He loved people so much, yet he left almost alone.”