#tpok jazz

[chroniclesofnadia111]

🌺🌺🌺🌺

[pulcheriebalhoud]

Josky Kiambukuta & T.P. O.K. Jazz - Sans Frontières (1989/1986)

[ueslangeais]

Le Commandant De Bord Josky Kiambukuta du T.P. O.K. Jazz - Sans Frontières (1989/1986)

[khwethemule]

Laissez-nous tranquille · Franco - TPOK Jazz - Sam Mangwana

I found this song with #BeatFind

Laissez-nous tranquille · Franco - TPOK Jazz - Sam Mangwana

http://www.deezer.com/track/75255699

[rudyscuriocabinet]

Verckys et l´Orchestre Vévé – Congolese Funk, Afrobeat & Psychedelic Rumba 1969-1978 (Analog Africa Nr. 17) https://musicyouneedtohear.com/verckys-et-lorchestre-veve-congolese-funk-afrobeat-psychedelic-rumba-1969-1978-analog-africa-nr-17/ On October 13th,the African music world world lost an absolute demigod in the form of Verckys Kiamuangana Mateta. How important was he? Well, going by Wikipedia, he, “was a Congolese saxophonist, composer, bandleader, producer, record label founder, and music-business executive. He was renowned as a talented and prolific musician, and was the first indigenous African to own a record label, through which he introduced many major Congolese artists to the world.” Analog Africa introduced this giant to the greater music world in 2014, and he was the first Congolese artist I was introduced to before TPOK Jazz (which featured Franco Luambo). We owe a lot to a verckys for his launching the careers of so many artists from the Democratic Republic of Congo to a wider audience. Rest in peace. #analogafrica (at Vienna Airport Gate F 26) https://www.instagram.com/p/CjvYTvCt7DN/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[manufactoriel]

Jolie Detta and the band TPOK Jazz

[thrombosys]

“One fact that would surprise many Franco fans is that many of his songs were actually paid infomercials. One of the most famous of his infomercials was the song AZDA released in 1973. It was a song about a Volkswagen dealership known as Association Zairoise d’Automobiles or AZDA for short.”

[rangamberi]

Isaac Musekiwa: Our forgotten gift to Congolese rhumba

A lot has been said about the influence of Congolese and East African musicians on Zimbabwean music.

We know about rhumba and Kanindo, and how they gave us our Sungura. We know about the Congolese guys that moved to Zimbabwe over the years, making a major impact; Andrew Ngoyi and Joseph Kishala with their OK Success Band, which provided a base for many Zim legends. There was Real Sounds of Africa, Ghaby Mumba’s band, the chaps that sang those soccer songs, like Dynamos vs Tornados. Later, we had the likes of TP Nyekese (Ndochi), Diamond Musica and other DRC acts who came to Zim.

That, we knew. What many may not know is the story of one guy who went the opposite way. 

His name was Isaac Musekiwa, an auto mechanic who went to the Congo in the 1950s and was to later become a key member of guitar legend Franco’s TP OK Jazz Band, the most influential rhumba band of all time.

Found the story intriguing. Here’s how the story goes;

So, Isaac was born around 1930 in Bulawayo. He moved to Salisbury in his teens, it appears. There, he would watch a local police band play, and would sneak into the rehearsal room where he taught himself how to play saxophone.

In 1949, a young Isaac moved to Lubumbashi, then known as Elisabethville, the capital of the mineral-rich Katanga province of the Congo. There, he worked as a mechanic and a driver by day, and a sax player in the local bars by night.

In Elisabethville in the early 1950s, publisher and saxophonist Ralph Benatar was doing the rounds in the pubs when he heard Isaac play. Within days, Ralph had convinced Isaac to travel with him to Kinsasa, Leopoldville then, where a new band was being set up.

Sax players were rare then. Isaac Musekiwa’s sax totally set apart the new band, African Jazz, from other acts. They had the sax player, others didn’t. He even wrote some English songs sung by Joseph Kabasale, band leader. This was a first in Congo. Most music was either Lingala or French. 

Isaac’s sax had helped redefine the rhumba sound then, developing a unique sound that came to be known as “The OK Jazz School".

Isaac became a much sought after studio musician. He then made a big move, joining Franco Luambo’s band, OK Jazz, in 1957. Over the years, Franco was to be Congo’s greatest.

The band came to be known as TP (Tout Puissant, French for "all powerful") OK Jazz.Isaac became close friends with Franco, for decades. In 1983, the band toured Europe and the US (it’s hard to think of many African, let alone Zimbabwean, musicians who toured abroad through the 60s).

Another member of the band was Sam Mangwana, the renowned vocalist who some also say was born of a Zimbabwean father, although that’s not too clear. 

In his book Rumba on the River: A History of the Popular Music of the Two Congos, Gary Stewart interviewed Isaac while he was on tour in the US with the band in 1983. He spoke about how the band had completely changed how rhumba was played.

“There was music. Another kind of music. But when Kabasale started to sing, he changed everything. And when Nico and Baraz started to play the solo for the guitar…you see that’s how the music started,” he says.

TP OK Jazz: Isaac Musekiwa, is 2nd from left. King Franco is on the front right

I’ve been searching high and low for more information on Isaac Musekiwa. 

I reached out to veteran journo Ish Mafundikwa, one of my big brothers I go to when I want the lowdown on Zim arts and its rich history. It turned out Ish had actually met Isaac! They met during TPOK’s tour of Amsterdam. Ish wrote this article on Franco for Parade magazine in 1990. 

After this chat with Isaac, Ish had hoped to have a proper interview with the man, but sadly Isaac died before the band’s planned return to Amsterdam. 

There isn’t much else out there. Just his music; the wailing sax. He was on top form on tenor sax on Como Quere, released in 1961.

He appears on videos of the band performing; in Abidjan in 1980. In Utrecht in Netherlands, and in Brussels.

I want to know how he did it. How does a guy in his teens leave his country in the ‘50s, to settle far away in the Congo, and make it? He was in the Congo when the country was in upheaval. Congo’s 1960 independence, the Lumumba assassination, the rise of Mobutu, and all the stuff that followed. He played sax through it all. And the language difference; how did he do it? It’s incredible.

It seems Isaac fought diabetes for many years, and was even taken ill while on that US tour. In 1990, a result of gangrene caused by diabetes, Musekiwa had one leg amputated. So ended his music years.

“We just liked music...”

He performed with Congo’s biggest and most successful band, under its most celebrated guitarist, but I doubt he ever made much money.

In one interview, he spoke with regret about all the many years wasted without getting what was due to them from all the tours and record deals.

“We were very young, all of us. We didn’t know that some records, you can get some money from that. We just liked music…”

In 1989, Franco died. Tens of thousands lined the streets for his funeral. Mobutu declared four days of mourning. There are streets in Kinshasa named after the great.

Two years after Franco died, Isaac Musekiwa died in Kinshasa. That’s how it ended, this stellar career of 30 years with one of Africa’s iconic bands. It ended in obscurity, far away from his country of birth, virtually unknown to his people.

[smellyfund]

venez manger!

(compact disc, youtube playlist)

tracklist

1. Hakuna Mungu - L’or Mbongo 2. Nkolo na bilembo - L’or Mbongo 3. Natamboli - Makoma 4. Effrakata - Koffi Olomide 5. Loi - Koffi Olomide 6. Premier Gaou - Magic System 7. Missie Bakari - Tonye Moussinga 8. Sana - Kanda Bongo Man 9. Tamba Tamba - Nairobi Matata Jazz 10. Laora - Grand Kalle et L’African Jazz 11. Nabanzi yo Gertrude - Grand Kalle et L’African Jazz 12. Je ne bois pas beaucoup - Le Ya Toupas Du Zaire 13. Fololo ya bolingo - TPOK Jazz 14. Dit Marie - Yengo Lucie et Mansanga Veronique

For the dinner party I created a playlist made up of music my parents played when I was growing up and a selection of Congolese and other Swahili/French African music that I had discovered during research. My parents hardly ever listened to Western popular music, when I was younger they had huge albums of rewritten CDs on which they burned their favourite music. My friends were each gifted with a CD with the playlist burned on it, in a case covered with old home photos of myself. The title translates to “Come and eat!”, which my mum would call from the kitchen every evening once dinner was ready. It brings back memories of the foods, families and parties that made up my colourful Congolese childhood and I am proud I could share that with people who are not aware of these experiences.

[kenyannewstrends]

Josky Kiambukuta is dead

Josky Kiambukuta is dead

Josky Kiambukuta Londa is dead. The artiste breathed his last on Sunday, March 7, at Ngaliema Hospital in Kinshasa after a short illness according to his family. He was 72 years old. Josky was born in Congo and rose to be a renowned rhumba legend. He was a member of Tout Puissant OK (TPOK) Jazz where he performed alongside Franco Luambo Makiadi during their most popular period from the…

[pulcheriebalhoud]

Josky Kiambukuta & T.P. O.K. Jazz - Sans Frontières (1989/1986)

[ueslangeais]

Le Commandant De Bord Josky Kiambukuta du T.P. O.K. Jazz - Sans Frontières (1989/1986) 

[fizimedia]

Cultures : La star de la rumba congolaise, Josky Kiambukuta Londa est décédé ce dimanche 7 mars à Kinshasa à l’âge de 72 ans

Cultures : La star de la rumba congolaise, Josky Kiambukuta Londa est décédé ce dimanche 7 mars à Kinshasa à l’âge de 72 ans

Joseph Kiambukuta Londa est décédé ce dimanche 7 mars à Kinshasa à l’âge de 72 ans. C’était à la Clinique Ngaliema après un malaise, selon ses proches.  Chanteur et compositeur, Djo Sex s’est fait connaitre dans African Fiesta Sukisa de Dr Nico avant de rejoindre le TPOK Jazz aux côtés de Franco Luambo. Il avait éclaboussé également de son talent aussi Bana OK avec d’autres transfuges de Bana…

[musicafricawake]

Lutumba Domanueno Simaro Is A Congolese Musical legend.

Lutumba Domanueno Simaro Is A Congolese Musical legend.

                 Simaro Massiya Lutumba Ndomanueno (19 March 1938 – 30 March 2019), known as Simaro, was a Congolese music rhythm guitarist, songwriter, poet, composer, and bandleader. He was a member of the seminal Congo music band TPOK Jazz, which dominated the music scene in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from the 1960s to the 1980s. Simaro started playing with Franco Luambo, the…

[snackpointcharlie]

Snackpoint Charlie’s latest transmission is now lodged firmly in the Archive-o-Tron, extricate your own copy at https://wavefarm.org/radio/wgxc/schedule/7h4k47

Snackpoint Charlie - Transmission 047 - 2020.08.19 PLAYLIST

1) Kuku Sebsebe - “Hodiya” from MUNAYE https://likembe.blogspot.com/2007/11/ethiopian-honey.html

2) K. Frimpong with Vis-A-Vis - “Aboagyewaa” from K. FRIMPONG WITH VIS-A-VIS https://hotcasarecords.bandcamp.com/

3) Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids - “Dogon Mysteries” from SHAMAN! https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/idris-ackamoor-the-pyramids-shaman-interview https://idrisackamoor.bandcamp.com/album/shaman

4) Speed the Plough - “Rush Hour (Inadvertent Meditation for a Friend)” [feat. Safar vocalist Mayssa Jallad] from LOCKDOWN SONGS http://www.speedtheplough.com/ https://speedtheplough1.bandcamp.com/track/rush-hour-inadvertent-meditation-for-a-friend

5) Ayalew Mesfin - Zebeder (Mesmerizing) from THE COMPLETE WORKS https://ayalewmesfin.bandcamp.com/album/the-complete-works-5-lp-set see also: Ayalew Mesfin – Che Belew! (March Forward!) – A Short Film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4NsvCs311o

6) Oumar Konaté - “Chancouchara” from LIVE IN BAMAKO https://www.clermontmusic.com/liveinbamako

7) The Panthers - “Bhavaiya” from FOLK TUNES OF PAKISTAN ON ELECTRIC SITAR AND WESTERN INSTRUMENTS https://radiodiffusion.wordpress.com/2009/05/31/the-panthers/

8) 히식스 (He 6) - “Come On A Baby” from HE6와 함께 고고를! / GO GO SOUND '71 제2집 https://www.discogs.com/He6-HE6%EC%99%80-%ED%95%A8%EA%BB%98-%EA%B3%A0%EA%B3%A0%EB%A5%BC-Go-Go-Sound-71-%EC%A0%9C2%EC%A7%91/release/6713063

9) Bob Gibson and His Orchestra - “Dreamtime for Jedda” from BEFORE THE BOOMERANG CAME BACK - MUSICAL ABORIGINALIA (1949-1962) https://soundcloud.com/undercovermusic/sets/before-the-boomerang-came-back

10) Charlie Megira - “Tomorrow's Gone” from DA ABTOMATIC MEISTERZINGER MAMBO CHIC https://charliemegiranumero.bandcamp.com/album/da-abtomatic-meisterzinger-mambo-chic

11) Gaudi with Adrian Sherwood - “Dub out of Theremin” from 100 YEARS OF THEREMIN (THE DUB CHAPTER) https://gaudimusic.bandcamp.com/album/100-years-of-theremin-the-dub-chapter

12) Laxmikant Pyarelal - “Theme Music of Drug Hallucinations” from JALTE BADAN https://www.discogs.com/Laxmikant-Pyarelal-Maya-Govind-Jalte-Badan/release/12862741

13) Sublime Frequencies - “Beirut Cocktail / Khartoum” from RADIO PALESTINE: SOUNDS OF THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN https://www.sublimefrequencies.com/products/576926-radio-palestine-sounds-of-the-eastern-mediterranean

14) The Heliocentrics - Telemetric Sounds” from TELEMETRIC SOUNDS https://theheliocentrics.bandcamp.com/ incorporating Encyclopedia Brittanica - “Our Post Office” (1956) https://archive.org/details/OurPostOffice

15) Sparkle Division -“Queenie Got Her Blues (feat. Mrs. Leonora Russo)” from TO FEEL EMBRACED https://sparkledivision.bandcamp.com/

16) Negativland - “This Is Not Normal” from TRUE FALSE https://negativland.com/truefalse-preorder

17) Molchat Doma etazhi - “filmy“ from ETAZHI https://domamolchat.bandcamp.com/album/etazhi-2018

18) Zwartjes - “Pt. 1 (A1/A2)” [excerpt] from TAPES 1 https://www.discogs.com/Zwartjes-Tapes-1/release/10557035

19) David Greenberger & Tyson Rogers - “The Wrong Bagel” http://davidgreenberger.bandcamp.com

20) Léonore Boulanger & Maam-Li Merati - “Avaz-e Bayat-e Tork (Mehrabani)” from LA MAISON D'AMOUR https://okrainarecords.bandcamp.com/album/la-maison-damour-2

21) O.K. Jazz (Orchestre T.P.O.K. Jazz) - “Bato Ya Mabe Batondi Mboka” from SURBOUM AFRICAN JAZZ 13 https://www.discogs.com/Orchestre-TPOK-Jazz-Surboum-African-Jazz-13/master/1662227 https://ceintsdebakelite.com/2016/06/17/from-alger-to-antananarivo-a-selection-of-78rpm-records-from-africa/

22) Jards Macalé - “Revendo Amigos” from JARDS MACALÉ https://www.discogs.com/Jards-Macal%C3%A9-Jards-Macal%C3%A9/master/469751

23) Kokom Komalasari - “Kalong Liar” from KALONG LIAR http://madrotter-treasure-hunt.blogspot.com/2018/10/kokom-komalasari-kalong-liar.html