Omission

You may have read my complaints in earlier posts about the multiple omissions in the digitisation of the works of Franco and his O.K. Jazz. To be fair these omissions are negligible compared to what has happened with the repertoire of the other 'Grand' of the music of Congo. For of the spectacular (and this is an understatement!) music of Joseph Kabasele and his African Jazz only mere snippets have been converted to digital form.

And what has been released has been often sadly accompanied by no or incorrect information. Or it has been released in a unbelievably mangled form (e.g. Sonodisc CD 36579 and 36582). Or re-recordings by Kallé himself have been released as the original versions (Sonodisc CD 36560 and 36561).
Ntesa Dalienst mentioned in 1991 that the family of le Grand Kallé had been unsuccesful in claiming the copyrights of their father (and uncle) with the Belgian SABAM. So it seems that there is little hope of a structured and comprehensive release of the extensive African Jazz catalogue (but I am nevertheless still hopeful that someone will prove me wrong).

Perhaps as a result of the greater western 'input' most of the recordings of African Team have been preserved, and have been re-issued in digital form. Unfortunately these recordings do not - in my opinion - do justice to the great artist that Kabasele was.
So all in all it is not surprising that the appreciation of this Monument of African music has been lacking, especially amongst audiences that have not seen or heard him during his lifetime.

This is only a first attempt at helping out. The two singles I would like to share with you were recorded for the Surboum African Jazz label, but for a series (1000 etc.) of which I unfortunately have no details. It seems to me that these recordings were made in the mid-1960s, when Kabasele had revived African Jazz and was joined by Jean Bombenga, who previously had played with Jazz Africain, the band that Kallé had left behind in Congo at the time of the Table Ronde. Kallé and Bombenga together with Mathieu Kouka formed the vocal heart of this new edition of African Jazz. I suspect that the guitarist in these songs is André 'Damoiseau' Kambite, although Papa Noel also played with Kallé for a short while in that period. According Michel Lonoh (in his "Essai de Commentaire de la Musique Congolaise Moderne") the sax player in the August 1966 lineup was Michel Yuma (a.k.a. Michel Sax), who after the death of Franco joined the T.P.O.K. Jazz (and sadly passed away on December 29, 2005).

All four tracks demonstrate the vocal brilliance of the African Jazz during this era. The harmonies are unequaled, with solos by Kabasele in the second version of "Caisse D'Epargne" and the second part of "Somba Journal Special".
The composer of the song "Julie Aboi Ba Mbanda", a certain Rody, is completely unknown to me, but if anyone has any information about him, please let us know.
The first single has a slight bump in the middle, but fortunately still does not leave the groove, and the delightful music can still be enjoyed.

Surboum African Jazz AJ 1004 & AJ 1005

PS: The photo on the left, borrowed from Sylvain Bemba's "50 Ans de Musique du Congo-Zaïre", is from 1966. According to Bemba it shows - from left to right - Damoiseau, Kabasele, Bombenga, Mathieu Kouka, an unnamed artist (Joseph Diasemwa??) and on the far right Papa Noel. I have my doubts about the last name. It doesn't look like Papa Noel to me....

50 Years

Four days ago I had finally found some time to sit down (overcoming obstacles like the sweltering heat and family members claiming attention) and started writing this post when my computer without any kind of warning shut down and rebooted. After the initial stages of panic and uncontrolled swearing I discovered that another hard disk had committed suicide. Having just overcome the loss of a hard disk of exactly the same brand, type and size you can imagine that my trust in the Korean manufacturer of this hardware has come to an all-time low. I am still in the process in trying to recover the most essential files (and unfortunately in this case some irreplaceable audio...) from the disk.
Anyway, here is the post I was writing a few days ago.

It may have escaped your notice, but on June 30 it was exactly 50 years ago that Congo regained its independence. And in writing this I realise that this is a historic inaccuracy, as Congo never existed as a 'modern' state before King Leopold claimed it as his private property in the 1870s.
For the Congolese the late 1950s were a period of great expectations, and perhaps even greater promises. Musically the preparations for independence had started way back in the late 1940s, when the first recordings were made of 'native' artists. The development of a local music business in the 1950s coincided the rise of the 'évolués', i.e. the 'civilised native', who had been educated in the western ways by the Belgians colonisers.

Perhaps the best-known musical exponent of this new middle class was Joseph Kabasélé, who later became known as Le Grand Kallé. Educated by the Belgians missionaries and having set his first steps on the musical path as a choirboy, Kabasélé had ambitions to become the Congolese equivalent of a French chansonnier. In 1951 Kabasélé started hanging out at the Opika studio of the Lebanese Benetar brothers. And as he was consider something of an intellectual, having had slightly more schooling than the average pre-independence Congolese, and as he had the good looks to attract a female audience, he was soon invited to join the then leading performers of the Opika label as a singer. After some hesitant songs with Georges Doula (which I will post later), Kabasélé soon gained confidence and started delivering some of the hits which soon made him the star of the Opika label, and would lay the foundation for the African Jazz school* of Congolese music.
It is hard to pinpoint the date when the band African Jazz was founded. Some sources say that the name was used as early as 1952. Others link the name to the recordings in which Belgian sax player Fud Candrix played with the Opika musicians, including a session with Kabasélé which definitely put the turbo on Kallé's career (subject of a future post). Alternatively the foundation is linked to the recording of the song "African Jazz", - which happens to be on the lp I would like to share with you in this post.

The lp is a collection of songs from the 1950s and early 1960s, with five tracks originally recorded for the Opika label (a6 and b1 to b4) and seven recorded for the Esengo label. One of the Esengo tracks may seem out of place, not only because it doesn't feature African Jazz or Kabasélé, but also because it is sung by Rossignol (accompanied by Rock-a-Mambo), who was an exponent of the O.K. Jazz school. But Rossignol had moved to Esengo when it was founded on January 1, 1957, and recordings were made in various 'line-ups'.

You may recognise the track "African Jazz" from the 'exotic' East-German record I posted earlier.
The version of "Kay Kay" ("Kai Kai" on the sleeve), 'borrowed' by Nico** from the Cuban classic "La Galletana" (which I suspect was originally recorded by Orquesta America del 55' in 1957), is the oldest version. It was later re-recorded for the Surboum African Jazz label.
I think two of the Opika tracks, "Kele" and "Napekisi Yo Mo Nalingi Yo", are with Fud Candrix on sax, and two are clearly (he is named!) with the Rhodesian sax player Isaac Musekiwa, who had been dug up from (then) Elisabethville (Lubumbashi) to replace Candrix. In the fifth track another Belgian can be heard: Gilbert Warnant, a radio journalist, who helped out the Benetar brothers not only as a talent scout, but also as a Solovox (organ) player.

All in all this is a great collection, with a fine overview of Kallé's work in the 1950s and early 1960s. All tracks are great, but some are perhaps even greater. Charles Kibongue's "Ngai Mpe Elombe" is one of these, with its driving rhythm and almost manic guitar playing. And "Ba Nzambe" ("God's people"), with its dense orchestration. And "Napekisi Yo Mo Nalingi Yo" is one of these songs that has been sung to me by several Congolese when they - often with great nostalgia - recalled le bon vieux temps of the early African Jazz......

AJM 005

* Franco once described the difference between his O.K. Jazz school and the African Jazz school as "a matter of influences": the African Jazz school has tended to incorporate more foreign (French, latin) influences, while the O.K. Jazz has predominantly been inspired by Congolese sources.
** and which was once - with considerable pride - named as Nico's greatest composition by a man who claimed to be Nico's nephew.

In Memoriam Jean-Serge Essous

Another monument of African music has passed away. Jean-Serge Essous (born January 15, 1935) has died in Brazzaville on November 25, 2009. He was present at the foundation of the O.K. Jazz, of Rock-a-Mambo, and of 'his own' orchestre Bantous and Ryco Jazz. His music and his orchestras have had a huge influence on African music, and maybe even on the music outside of his continent.

During his stay in France earlier this year he was taken seriously ill and had to be hospitalised. Unfortunately he was not insured and was forced to return to Brazzaville, where he died in the Hôpital des Armées.

Essous started his musical career in 1951 as a flutist, but after a few years switched to the instrument which brought him fame: the clarinet. As a clarinetist he soon made a name for himself and joined a band called Negro Jazz. With this band he crossed the river to play in Leopoldville and was 'discovered' by Henri Bowane, who in 1955 invited him to record at the Loningisa label. Essous subsequently played on a series of tracks recorded in 1956, and was present when the O.K. Jazz was founded in June. Unconfirmed legend has it that he signed the first contract for the creation of the O.K. Jazz in place of the then under age Franco.
But persuaded again by Bowane, he soon decided to join singer Rossignol and other Loningisa artists in their move - on January 1, 1957 - to a completely new record label: Esengo.

At Esengo Essous played with the stars of the former Opika label (which had closed down in 1956), Kabasélé (le Grand Kallé), guitarists Nico, Dechaud and Tino Baroza, and female star Lucie Eyenga. Initially the names of these 'ensembles' varied depending on who were present at the recording sessions, but soon the 'nuclei' of these sessions took on a more permanent form. Essous was the leader of one of these: orchestre Rock-a-Mambo. With the huge composing talents of a sax player, who had come over from the Ngoma label, Nino Malapet, and with Rossignol as principal vocalist, Rock-a-Mambo churned out hit after hit, offering a stiff competition for the O.K. Jazz who were doing the same at Loningisa.

As examples of these glorious days, I would like to share nine tracks with you from the Esengo label.
The first two of these, "Jalousie" and "Amigo", are from the beginning of the label, and were composed by Nino Malapet. The songs feature not only the typical Rock-a-Mambo combination of Essous (clarinet) and Nino (sax), but also the great Tino Baroza on guitar, plus Kabasélé and Rossignol on vocals!
On the second record, with two compositions by Essous called "Bolingo Na Ngai Gigi" and "Bolingo Etumbu", the orchestre is named as "African Rock". Playing guitar is Nico, and singing are Kabasélé with Lucie Eyenga (on "..Gigi"), and Rossignol backed modestly by Kabasélé (on ".. Etumbu").
The third record is from a slightly later date (probably 1958). Again the compositions are by Essous, who on "Calu Wa Essous" plays flute, and on "Mi Paralitico" is the lead singer. This is one of the first examples I know of of the typical Essous singing style. I am not sure about the other singers or the guitarist on these tracks (apart from Rossignol).
The last of the Esengo tracks is another example of those superior and timeless Nino compositions: "Comité Rock-a-Mambo". In my opinion Essous is especially great in this track.

Essous on Esengo

With the political unrest of 1959 which would eventually lead to the independence of the Belgian Congo, the musicians from Brazzaville decided that it would be better to 'regroup' on the other side of the river. Thus Essous and drummer Pandi (who also had a history with the Loningisa label) founded an orchestra which was named "Bantou Jazz", but soon changed its name to Les Bantous de la Capitale. Their first public concert back in Brazza was on August 15, 1959.

It is impossible to write down Essous' complete biography in this post. I am sure there are other sites where you can read a more concise overview of his impressive career.
I can promise you, however, I will come back with more Bantous in a later post.
For now, I would like to give you an example of the brilliance that was Bantous with the great Jean-Serge Essous, in the form of this record from 1963, released on the Stenco label. I advise you to read the description on the back of the sleeve of this record (the scan quality is unfortunately rather poor; but you can find the same information on this sleeve).

Stenco B 25421

May his soul rest in peace.

PS: In the photo at the top of this post Essous is the one with the white shirt (and the tell-tale clarinet in his hand...).

Afrika Tanzt Und Singt

I've been in some doubt whether I should post this album. It's a curiosity, but certainly with some musical merit.

It is not unlikely that the 'format' was inspired - or even bluntly copied - from Hugh Tracey's Music of Africa series. This German version of Hugh Tracey is Rolf Italiaander, a Dutch national born in Leipzig, Germany. Like Tracey he introduces the tracks on this album. But unlike Tracey Italiaander was not an ethnomusicologist, but a writer with a rather broad interest in Africa.

The record was copied for me quite a while ago, and I had never seen the sleeve until a few months ago when I discovered the record on one of the online resell sites. The picture of the sleeve is copied from this site.

For those who don't understand German, the title translates as "Africa dances and sings". The subtitle of the record is "From tam-tam to jazz", and the A-side of the record contains examples of the tam-tam, i.e. traditional, side of African music, while the B-side has the jazz or modern music. Modern in the late 1950s, that is.

Although I am certainly interested in traditional African music, the record offers only an average selection, compared to other records from the same period. The 'jazz' selection is more interesting though. There is a highlife track from Ghana, a - in my perception* - rare selection from an unnamed Tanzanian orchestra, a track by a Kenyan singer in the dry guitar style, a familiar sounding (and please help me out why it sounds familiar) song from Angola, plus two songs by Joseph Kabasélé and his African Jazz.

It is a total mystery why the sleeve notes state that the first of these is from Belgian Congo and the second from the Congo Republic. Both are in fact from the 1950s, and the second is even older than the first. The first, "Yela Ngai Rebecca", was originally recorded for the Esengo label, - so between 1957 and 1960. And the second, titled "African Jazz" and (like the first) composed by Kabasélé, was recorded for the Opika label (so before 1957) and features Isaac Musekiwa (who from 1957 went over to the O.K. Jazz) on sax.

These two songs alone merit posting this record.

Athena-Ariola 53137 G

* and please tell me (and prove to me) I am wrong!