Manu Dibango is the stage name of Emmanuel N'Djoké Dibango, a Cameroonian saxophonist and vibraphone player from Douala, Cameroon. He is born in 1933 and dies in Paris in 2020.

He leaves Cameroon for France to study and initially takes piano lessons. While studying music, he becomes drawn to the saxophone, which he plays using a friend’s instrument because he does not have a keyboard at home to practise on. The saxophone becomes his principal instrument.

Style and work

Dibango develops a style that combines jazz with traditional Cameroonian music. He is associated with afrobeat, jazz, African music, funk and world music. He is also a member of the Yabassi ethnic group, while his mother is Douala.

His recording Soul Makossa is often regarded as an early disco record. His music reaches a wider international audience when Michael Jackson uses material from it on Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', which leads to a legal dispute and compensation being paid to Dibango.

Collaborations and recordings

He works with a wide range of musicians, including Fela Kuti, Herbie Hancock, Bill Laswell, Bernie Worrell, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and Sly and Robbie. In 1998, he records CubAfrica with the Cuban musician Eliades Ochoa.

Legacy

Dibango is widely recognised as a major figure in the presentation of African traditional music to international audiences, and he marks 50 years of musical activity in Cameroon.