''Orchestra Makassy, the brainchild of Mzee Makassy himself, has taken audiences all over East Africa by storm. Their blend of pure Kiswahili and Zairois rhythms have captured the hearts of music lovers who have constantly demanded this set of Makassy's greatest hits.
The popularity of the group has not come without its share of disappointments and it has entailed great work from Mzee Makassy. The group would perhaps have been a household name sooner had it not been for the unexpected and tragic knifing of the lead singer Isiak Baharia, alias Gobby. This sad event caused great turmoil but from the ashes of the former group Mzee Makassy moulded his present band with the considerable help of Rammy Ongara and Fan Fan from OK Jazz. These were then supplemented with Aimala Mbutu, Simaroo on Solo guitar, Kadesi on Bass, Batty on Rhythm and Adam Seye on Trumpet (also formerly with OK Jazz) amongst the others in the group.
Thus the Orchestra Makassy, whose emblem of the elephant and drum has become famous in such a short space of time, has brought some of the finest musicians together from the brink of disaster to the top of the charts. Here now are Makassy's greatest hits - the first set of many from this fine band."
"Rammy Ongara"? Remmy and Adam Seye in the OK Jazz? Who has this man been talking too?Anyway, here is this great 1981 album from Orchestra Makassy.
EDIT March 29, 2012: I've 'refreshed' the link (yet again).
