Joseph Athanase Tshamala Kabasele popularly known as Le Grand Kallé, was born on 16 December 1930 in Matadi, Belgian Congo (now Democratic Republic of the Congo)He was a Congolese singer and bandleader, considered the father of modern Congolese music. He is best known for his role as leader of the band, Le Grand Kallé et l'African Jazz, in which capacity he was involved in a number of noted songs, including Indépendance Cha Cha.

Joseph Athanase Tshamala Kabasele popularly known as Le Grand Kallé, was born on 16 December 1930 in Matadi, Belgian Congo (now Democratic Republic of the Congo)He was a Congolese singer and bandleader, considered the father of modern Congolese music. He is best known for his role as leader of the band, Le Grand Kallé et l'African Jazz, in which capacity he was involved in a number of noted songs, including Indépendance Cha Cha.

In the early 1950s, at a new recording studio called Opika, Kasabele received an opportunity to pursue a career in music.He joined with two of the session guitarists at Opika records, Georges Doula and Albert Yamba-Yamba, to form a combo called Groupe Doula Georges. In 1951 Doula and his band starred in a publicity film for the radio station Voix de la Concorde, which operated under the call letters "OTC." To capitalize on the notoriety gained from the film, the band chose to rename themselves OTC.

In 1953, disillusioned with the lack of modernisation at OTC, he formed l'African Jazz, which some consider to be the most important Congolese band. L'African Jazz was one of the most popular early African Rumba bands. At its height, L'African Jazz included big names like guitarist Dr Nico Kasanda, saxophonist Manu Dibango and singers Tabu Ley Rochereau, Sam Mangwana and Pepe Kalle.

In 1960, he established his own label, Subourboum Jazz, which was home to Franco Luambo's TPOK Jazz. Grand Kallé was responsible for striking deals with European record labels to ensure high quality recordings of his band's music for the Francophone market.

In the mid-1960s, Kallé suffered his first major setback when two of his protégés (Tabu Ley Rochereau and Dr Nico Kasanda) left to form their own group called Africa Fiesta.Kallé never recovered from this setback,concentrating on nurturing the talent of singer Pépé Kallé.

Kabasele was one of the great African singers of the twentieth century.He was the first musician to mix Cuban rhythms with a traditional African beat to create what is now known as Soukous. He was also the first African musician to create his own record label. He has been referred to as the "Father of Congolese Music

He died on 11 February 1983 in Paris, France

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