Awilo Longomba (Congo) @ Consolidated Works, Seattle
Awilo Longomba was born in Kinshasa (formally, Léopoldville). His father was from the Mongo region of the Ecuador and his mother was also from the Ecuador region of Ngombe and Congo Brazzaville. His father, Vicky Longomba, was the famous lead singer and founder of "Tout puissant OK Jazz" during the golden age of Congolese rumba, had a big influence on our artist. Since childhood, Awilo spent every waking moment in the music scenes attending his father rehearses. Very quickly his passion for music took, and he started cutting classes and started drumming for various groups of Kinshasa, including le orchestre de Lita Bembo. He joined the orchestra Viva La Musica led by the great Papa Wemba as a drummer, and Awilo had his real first taste of live performance on his first international tour in Europe and to Japan in 1985 and 1986.
As the fever he caught during his tour grew stronger, he decided to pursue his artistic carrier and moved to France. His reputation as one of the best drummers in France spread very quickly. This allowed him to collaborate on numerous records and tour worldwide with several African artists such as Tshala Muana, Oliver Ngoma, Kanda Bongo Man just to name a few.
http://www.flingshotproductions.com/events.aspx
http://www.africafest.com/awilo/