Baby

Pronounced "bah-bee", to be precise. A track which first appeared on the 1991 album "L'Orchestre T.P. O.K. Jazz (Héritage de Franco) avec le Commandant Josky Kiambukuta", and - like all the tracks on that album - composed by Josky himself.
More significant is the subtitle of this album: "Les Mayeno A Gogo", - where "mayeno" refers to breasts, and not the young variety, but those of a mother. While I am told that the "mayeno" is actually a traditional dance of the Bantandu, it is clear that the T.P. O.K. Jazz after Franco's death made an effort to stay "with it".

R to L: Chécain, Aimé, Josky, Ndombe, Diatho (Brussels, 1991)

With Franco still alive things were very different. His songs were always the subject of public scrutiny, and his lyrics always led to popular discussion, as they dealt with issues concerning the average Congolese, the man in the street.
Franco's death meant the end of an era and the start of a period of great unrest. Within a year of his death many musicians, including longtime members of the O.K. Jazz Isaac Musekiwa and Dessoin Bosuma, died - often under mysterious circumstances. Rumours of sorcery (never far away where Franco was concerned) and treachery were rampant. Every incident was viewed with suspicion.

With Franco gone, the remaining members of the T.P. O.K. Jazz and those who had (re)joined the band (Carlito, Ndombe) looked around and saw that the public's focus was rapidly shifting towards other, younger musicians. Franco's death also offered new possibilities: Franco had never been somewhat 'reserved' in adding synthesizers and electronic effects to his songs, stating that he wanted to make sure that the public knew it was Franco who was playing. And Franco had been quite strict when it came to moonlighting outside of the O.K. Jazz.

In this setting the regrouped T.P. O.K. Jazz introduced a new dance, the "mayeno". In retrospect I doubt whether this was a smart move. Franco's sexually explicit songs weren't sexually explicit just for the fun of it; he wanted to draw attention to the perversity in parts of Congolese society. Franco was always a 'naughty boy'; when he made sexual references in his songs, these were never out of character. With the "mayeno" Simaro's T.P. O.K. Jazz stepped out off character. They attempted to compete with bands like Zaiko Langa Langa, who in the early 1990s introduced a dance called "Etutana, Yango Na Yango" (which I gather translates into "Bang them together, this and that!"). Although the mayeno seems innocent compared to this, it just didn't seem right to see the middle-aged frontmen of a respected, 35-year old orchestra on stage pretending to juggle their tits....

Musically Josky remained more in style, continuing his line of songs in the San Salvador tradition he had started with "Fariya", - a song which he repeats in a medley on the 1991 lp. In fact, all the tracks on the 1991 lp are in this style, including "Baby".
The lp can be found, by the way, on the Global Groove blog.

Instead of the lp I would like to share with you this remarkable video of Josky performing "Baby" with Zaiko Langa Langa. Joining Josky in this song are his O.K. Jazz colleagues Madilu System and (later) Lukoki Diatho. Malage De Lugendo is also in this video, but had already moved to Zaiko. I estimate this video to be from 1991, but please correct me if I am wrong (it can't be a lot older, as I copied it in 1993).


By the way, you may have noticed that YouTube is now allowing videos with a maximum length of 15 minutes. I have therefore reposted "Testament Ya Bowule" (see here and here), Dalienst's "Munsi" (the Abidjan version, see this post) and Hawa Dramé's "Noumou Foli" to YouTube.
Links:
Testament: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUvN4tMCrAE
Munsi: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLFATgO2NU4
Hawa Dramé: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-1wVzciBF8

P.S.: The great photo on the right was taken by Aboubacar Siddikh during a rehearsal.

Testament (repost)

While I am at it, I may as well repost this (11'37) video in its entirety....

T.P. O.K. Jazz - Testament Ya Bowule (1986)
Uploaded by wrldsrv. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

So.Pe.Ka.

Two of my favourite singers from the Tout Puissant O.K. Jazz in the 1980s are Josky Kiambukuta and Malage de Lugendo.
Malage was taken on as a singer with the OK Jazz in 1986 primarily to replace Carlito. With songs like "Testament Ya Bowule", "Ida" & "Celio" (on "La Vie des Hommes") he soon proved that he fitted in well with the big boys.
Josky wás one of those big boys, and had been ever since joining the OK Jazz in 1973. He has produced a stream of classic compositions with the OK Jazz, from "Monzo" and "Fariya" in the 1970s to "Chacun Pour Soi", "Bimansha", "K.S.K." and "Kita Mata Bloqué" in the 1980s.

This is an album he recorded in Kinshasa in 1988, outside of the OK Jazz but with the help of some of his colleagues. Josky himself wasn't too happy about the production and the mixing, so he re-recorded one of the tracks ("Telema Na Malembe") a year later in Brussels (renaming it to "Namabele"*).
But I just love the singing on this album, by both Josky and Malage. The sleeve also mentioned Madilu, but he only features in the chorus - and not of all the songs -, and the photo certainly is not of Madilu (but looks more like Mayaula Mayoni).

Both Josky and Malage are brilliant in this record. And that's enough for me.

REM 810 (new link April 12, 2015)

Additionally here is a video of Josky and his cousin Serge Kiambukuta (who was a singer with Orchestre Vévé), recorded from Zairean television. The track is "Ayez Pitié", which Josky recorded with Ntesa Dalienst and released in Brussels on the "Selegina" lp. The orchestra accompanying the cousins is (at least part of) the orchestra of Johnny Bokelo, and the show was called "Tonton Skol".
Special attention for the commercial at the end....

Testament

Franco was probably in Europe when the TP OK Jazz was asked to appear in a Christmas show on Zairean television. It was 1986 and he was making plans and laying out the strategy to finally conquer Europe in 1987. Concerts were booked and albums were imagined.
Meanwhile, back in Zaïre, the remaining musicians are 'making do' without le Grand Maître*.
Of course, we are talking about the Almighty OK Jazz, so 'making do' is still in a league of its own....

This clip features a young Malage De Lugendo, accompanied by -amongst others- the composer Lutumba Simaro on rhythm guitar (I just love the bit when he can't resist singing along with his own lyrics), Dizzy Mandjeku and Gerry Dialungana on lead.

And all acoustic.

If this isn't a classic................

Part 1

Part 2

*I'm just kidding: in fact the orchestra always rehearsed without Franco.