There has been a small and slowly growing group of musicians in the Triangle area with some knowledge of the Congolese tradition. The originator of this web site and the person trying to organize this effort was Ken Wilson (nzobi.k@gmail.com) of Chapel Hill, who studied with Ferdinand Batantou and Biza Sompa as well as Massengo Constant.
Last year we had the good fortune to have Pline Mounzeo move to the Raleigh area. He presently lives in Cary. Pline is from Congo Brazzaville and played for 5 years professionally in Senegal with a group that fused Congolese music with West African rhythms. They toured Africa and Europe. He then spent a year in Ann Arbor, MI, with Biza Sompa as the lead drummer for Bichini Bia Congo. He is planning to stay in the area and is interested in establishing both Congolese and West African/Congolese fusion music. Pline is now the moving force for Congolese rhythms in the Triangle area. He can be contacted at disciplineart@yahoo.fr. Other professional musicians in the area who have worked with Pline on Congolese music productions include Brad Simmons, Greg Ince, Ibrahim Strauther and Atiba Rorie. Ayinde Nakata and Richard Vinesett have also previously performed Congolese rhythms.
If you are interested in taking lessons from Pline, you can contact him directly or contact Ken Wilson, who can get you in touch with him. If you are interested in a performance, get in touch the same ways. For more information on performances, you can visit the Brazzabeat site on Reverbnation.com.
Live Stream:
Drumming lessons from Pline Mounzeo are broadcasted weekly on Sundays at 3:00pm.