Just across the Congo River from the Democratic Republic of Congo, this smaller, former French colony has also known a troubled history since Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza arrived there in the 1870s. Under French colonial rule, Brazzaville grew into a modern city. Though just a short boat ride across the river from Kinshasa, capital of today's Democratic Republic of the Congo, Brazzaville has rarely known friendly terms with its neighbor city, and this has steadily complicated the lives of musicians, for whom cultural, ethnic, and even family ties have often stood in the face of political estrangement between the two national governments. Nevertheless, Brazzaville musicians have played an important role in the development of modern Congo music. Until it was all but leveled during civil unrest in the late 1990s, Brazaville knew a lively club music scene. The city's most famous dance band was the Bantous de la Capitale. But many individual musicians raised on the Brazaville side have played key roles in major Kinshasa bands. Indeed, it is impossible to tell the story of Congolese music without including events and personalities on both sides of the river.

Contributed by: Banning Eyre