Mwana ya Luambo

So far this has not been my year, I think. Fate (or call it what you like) seems to throw all kinds of obstacles in my way to prevent me from spending time on this blog. Since my - apparently dangerously - optimistic penultimate post both sad personal events and ill health have been demanding my full attention. So I am more careful now in promising very frequent postings, but I can assure you that this blog will continue, - and hopefully also to surprise you with more musical 'wonders of the past'.....

It is hard to imagine that he must be 64 by now. In my mind I still see Youlou Mabiala as the mwana ya Luambo, as Franco's musical child. Discovered at the age of only 15 in a vocal group which performed on Brazzaville radio, he was recruited into the O.K. Jazz in 1963. He spent the first years in the shadows, being drilled into singing shape by the likes of Vicky, Kwamy and Mujos, before being allowed to contribute his first composition ("Obimi M'Bwe") in 1966.

On the basis of just the historic facts it is hard to understand how Youlou ever got his nickname. He was involved in several rebellions against Franco, starting with the one in 1968 which led to the departure of Verckys, followed only a few years later by the "Orchestre Mi-affair". He even left the O.K. Jazz in 1972 to join Vicky in Orchestre Lovy, and returned three years later only to leave again in 1977 to launch "Les Trois Frères".
I recall reading somewhere that he did return to the O.K. Jazz in 1987 to record the medley version of "Vyckina" (a.k.a. "Nakomi Musulman").

Of course there is his marriage to Franco's daughter, which certainly must have contributed in the family's selection of Youlou as the heir to the name of Franco's orchestra in the early 1990s (but not the orchestra itself!).

To understand why Youlou is called "mwana ya Luambo" you have to turn to the music. To the many duos of Franco and Youlou in the late 1960s, to the gentle guidance Franco provided to Youlou's sometimes hesitant vocal, to the at times brilliant interplay between Youlou's and Franco's voices.
Then there is the reception of Youlou, after his stint with Lovy and Somo-Somo. Remarkably, Youlou is treated almost as a prodigal son, and is allowed a position at least equal if not more prominent than new stars like Josky Kiambukuta. Testimony to this is this video from the end of 1975, showing a very confident Youlou Mabiala:


Personally I am inclined to think that Franco saw in Youlou a worthy replacement for the likes of Sam Mangwana, who - as Franco was beginning to understand - would always be a 'cavalier seul'. The single which I would like to share with you may have confirmed Franco's vision of Youlou.
This single is surrounded by some mystery. According to this discography Youlou is being accompanied by the O.K. Jazz. Although the orchestra is very competent, I have my doubts about this. It seems more likely that this is a recording from his Orchestre Somo-Somo period.

But, as always, I hope you are able to shed more light on the matter....

Editions Elengi ELg 008 or ELg 008

More posts about Youlou in the future.

P.S.: a full version, but in black&white can be found here. And the singers accompanying Youlou are (l. to r.) Michel Boyibanda, Wuta Mayi and Lola Djangi 'Chécain'.

EDIT April 14, 2011: As Peter Toll has pointed out, Youlou did not enter the O.K. Jazz in 1963, but in 1966. In my hurry to post this I did not look this up. Simaro actually confirmed this in an interview in 1991. Naturally this means that neither Kwamy nor Mujos were involved in his training.

MaMaKi

This is a first in this blog. Normally I don't post CD's. But in this case the CD has been out of production for a long time, - and even when it was in production it was extremely hard to get.

In the mid-1970s, Josky Kiambukuta was one of the few members of the T.P. O.K. Jazz who had the freedom to record outside of the orchestra. Franco, as a general rule, did not allow his musicians to wander off and work with others. As I mentioned in an earlier post, he wanted to put an end to the coming and going of musicians.

I appears to me, by the way, that this rule was not always imposed with the same rigour. Franco must have known about his instrumentalists frequently 'moonlighting' outside the O.K. Jazz. But I guess the main reason for the rule was to impose his authority as the leader of the orchestra.

"While in the O.K. Jazz, I, Mayaula and Youlou made three songs on the side. So, not in the O.K. Jazz, but in MaMaKi. Meaning Mayaula, Mabiala, Kiambukuta. So: "MaMaKi".(...) "Ya Tamba", that was the label; he was the producer", Josky recalled in 1991.

He mentions Mayaula Mayoni, who was - as Ntesa Dalienst put it - 'associated' with the O.K. Jazz, but not a member. His association in practice meant that he composed songs for the orchestra (see this post) and on occasion played rhythm guitar.
Youlou Mabiala at the time was no longer a member of the O.K. Jazz. He had left and had already formed his own orchestra Kamikaze Loningisa. Both to Franco and to the general public he was seen (and is seen), however, as a child of the O.K. Jazz.

I realised afterwards that Josky stated they recorded only three songs as MaMaKi. I am not sure what this means. Maybe he is referring to his own compositions, because - going by the CD* - there are three songs composed by Josky. Or perhaps the other songs on these two (!) CD's were originally not released as MaMaKi, but - and I am just guessing now - as Mayaula Mayoni and his orchestra. Or maybe he meant that only three MaMaKi songs where included in the lp "L'Afrique Danse avec Ya Tamba".

This lp on the African label (African 360.110) also contains two songs by two other artists who shortly afterwards joined the T.P. O.K. Jazz (or perhaps in the case of Diatho had just joined the orchestra): Djo Mpoyi and Lukoki Diatho. I don't recognise Josky in these songs, and Josky himself doesn't remember singing in them. Both songs are also on the MaMaKi CD's, - although "Libala Bombanda" has been renamed to "Ngonda Nazwi" (but "Libala Bombanda" is the correct name).

The lp contains one 'mystery track': "Trahison Hadas". Josky confirmed that this wasn't a track by MaMaKi, and I am pretty sure it is neither by Mpoyi & Diatho. But I have not been able to trace who is performing this track.

What makes these CD's really special is the magical combination of the composing talents of Mayaula and the superb singing skills of Josky. Take for example the moment Josky enters his solo in "Pardon Cherie" (after 2'39), after a solid intro into the song in which the groove has been carefully 'constructed'. Or the spine-tingling moment when he set off (after 3'00) in - my favourite - "Silawuka".

Youlou too has his moments. Of course in "Papi" (which has featured on at least one of Youlou's own "Best of" CD's ) and "Camarade Na Ngai", which were composed by him. But also as a backing vocalist in "Pardon Cherie", "Bombanda Compliqué" and "Massivi".

It appears to me that least two of Josky's tracks were 'rough sketches' for later successes with the T.P. O.K. Jazz. The superbly jangling and counterpoint-ridden "Limbisa Ngai" was repeated in a slightly polished form on that classic lp from 1983 "Franco présente Josky Kiambukuta du T.P. O.K. Jazz" (Edipop POP 025). And "Mossese" appears to have been a rough study for perhaps one of Josky's best known hits: "Chacun Pour Soi" (also released in 1983, on CHOC 002/003).

I am still left with a lot of questions about the tracks on these CD's. Why were the three Diatho compositions included, when they clearly don't feature any of the three from MaMaKi? I am not complaining though, because "Lengema" is a song which is beautifully sung by Lukoki, backed firmly by Djo.
And who is this 'Masiva' who composed the last track "Na Regretté Tantine"? This track and "Silawuka" appear to be from the same session. Who is playing the acoustic guitar in these two wonderful songs? According to Josky the orchestra backing the MaMaKi trio consisted mainly of members of the O.K. Jazz. But who?
Why were tracks shortened ("Mama Na Bebe", "Libala Bombanda", "Massivi"), or extended ("Bombanda Compliqué"!!, "Pongi Nazwa Te")?
And I could go on, and on, and on..........

African 360.110 (Ya Tamba lp)
BOP 011 (MaMaKi CD #1)
BOP 011 (MaMaKi CD #2)

*"Going by the CD", because on the lp "L'Afrique Danse avec Ya Tamba" the track "Pongi Mazwa Te" is credited to Josky, while on the CD Mayaula is named as the composer (and the song is almost two minutes longer...).

Fifteen years ago (3)

This album by Franco and his O.K. Jazz was released by Polygram Kenya in 1986 as the third volume of a series entitled "Fifteen Years Ago". And for this album the title is not completely inappropriate. As far as I can deduce, only "Où est le sérieux?" (with Sam Mangwana) is definitely from a much later date than 1971.
It seems wise to be cautious in dating songs of this period, as it is not always clear which was the 'original' release (the Congolese or the French) and as tracks were (seemingly) not always released in the order in which they were recorded.

The album is, like the others in this series (Volume one can be found in this earlier post), a collection of tracks previously released only on singles. And as such there are some real 'marvels of the past' to be enjoyed on these volumes.

Such as Franco's version of "Maseke Ya Meme", a song by his brother Bavon Marie Marie which must have provoked some emotion with Franco, who felt at least partly responsible for the death of his younger brother, as the car accident in which Bavon was killed was a result of the fury after a row between the brothers. Franco sings the song together with Youlou Mabiala (photo on the right), who also played a part in the events leading to the accident. Bavon had accused him too of getting too friendly with his girlfriend.

As the first volume was centered around Vicky Longomba, in this third volume the focus is more on Youlou. Vicky is, however, present in "Makambo Maneno", although in a modest role. His presence suggests, by the way, that the track is from an earlier date than the others.

Youlou contributes two composition to this album*, and is vocally present in all of the tracks except the 'misplaced' "Où est le sérieux?". His singing is great, and I especially like the combination with Michel Boyibanda in Boyibanda's "Osabote Jean Jean" and "Andu Wa Andura". But my favourite track is composed by Armando Brazzos. "Sukola Motema Olinga" is one of those (many) special tracks that you can listen to again and again and still discover new details. Particularly the interplay between Franco's lead and the rhythm (Brazzos) and bass never seems to sound the same. Note the way in which Franco leaves the last word in this track to Brazzos.

ASLP 1018

* the first of these, "Sentence" (or "Sentence Ya"), is credited to Kwamy on Sonodisc CD 36603. Given that Kwamy is either almost inaudible or simply not singing in this track, and that Youlou has very clearly the lead role, I think the credits on this album are more likely to be correct.