On November 30, 2013, at St. Luc Hospital in Brussels, Belgium, Tabu Ley breathed his last. He had been taken there for treatment owing to his deteriorating health after suffering a stroke five years earlier.
His death brought the curtains down on a music career that had spanned over 50 years. Born Pascal Tabu on November 29, 1940, Tabu Ley was a trailblazer of contemporary rumba and a titan of Congolese music.
So revered is Tabu Ley that the only other musician whose name is mentioned in the same breath, or even higher, is Grand Maître Luambo Luanzo Makiadi, famously known as Franco.
In the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, the two bands sat at the apex of the country's musical landscape as the top outfits, with competitors unable to topple them. In marking Tabu Ley’s 12th death anniversary, we seek to unmask the similarities and differences between Tabu Ley and Franco, the duo that bestrode the country’s music scene for decades like colossi.
Born two years apart, in 1938 and 1940, in Sona Bata and Bagata respectively, both were second-generation Congolese musicians who began their careers in their teenage years in Kinshasa, then known as Léopoldville, at a time when rumba was still in its nascent stages.
At 15 years old, in 1953, Franco recorded his very first release, backed by Watam, a band owned by Paul Ebengo (also known as Dewayon). For Tabu Ley, it was not until 1958 that he did his first recording, with a band known as Jazz Africaine (not African Jazz), owned by trumpeter Edo Clary Lutula. He was then 18.
Franco began earlier than Tabu Ley for obvious reasons: Ley continued to secondary school, and education consumed much of his early teenage years, unlike Franco, who left school much earlier. While many pundits attributed Franco’s exit from school to his mother’s inability to support his education after his father’s death, his aunt later clarified that Franco was simply not interested in schooling.
This introduces a raft of variances between the two titans. Early exposure to music gave Franco an opportunity to learn the tricks of the industry early enough, and that is why, by 1956, aged only 18, he created OK Jazz with others, despite never having been a member of any professional band prior.
Tabu Ley, on the other hand, had to join Rock A Mambo, Jazz Africaine, and African Jazz before finally creating African Fiesta, which he co-led with Dr Nico. It was not until 1966 that he formed his own fully owned outfit, African Fiesta National. By then, he was 26 and eight years older than Franco at the time OK Jazz was created.
Franco was the patriarch of the OK Jazz School of rumba, which he referred to as odemba. It was built on his guitar and Vicky Longomba’s vocals, as explained on Radio Jabulani by Dizzy Mandjeku, who played for both OK Jazz and Afrisa.
Tabu Ley, on the other hand, was a child of Grand Kallé’s African Jazz and remained loyal to the African Jazz School of rumba, also known as Fiesta, throughout his career. This style was defined by Dr Nico’s guitar and Grand Kallé’s singing. Other adherents included African Fiesta Sukisa of Dr. Nico, Festival Des Maquisards, Vox Africa, and many others. Those aligned to the OK Jazz School included Jean Bokelo’s Conga Success, Negro Succes, and others.
Tabu Ley was a showman with impressive choreography skills, while Franco was not. Tabu Ley’s shows were marked by immaculate performances, and he was the first musician to bring female dancers onto the stage. Franco’s concerts, meanwhile, primarily showcased vocal and instrumental expertise. Franco himself rarely danced.
Tabu Ley also appeared to appeal more to the elite, performing in venues frequented by the country’s upper class, while Franco’s band was for the masses—especially loved in informal communes such as Bandalungwa, Ngiri-Ngiri, and others.
That is not all. Franco was primarily a solo guitarist, while Tabu Ley was a vocalist. Although Franco also sang remarkably well and recorded numerous vocal tracks, he began as a guitarist. In his earliest songs, he played only guitar. Over his entire career, he played guitar on more recordings than he sang on. On some occasions, he sang while playing guitar; on others, he played without singing. But only once did he sing without playing guitar, in Suite Lettre 2, which features Michelino on both solo and rhythm guitars.
Tabu Ley, meanwhile, sang or participated in far more songs done by his band than Franco did in OK Jazz. There are many OK Jazz songs in which Franco did not participate at all, compared to Afrisa songs in which Tabu Ley was absent.
Tabu Ley was primarily a vocalist throughout his career; he did not play instruments. Franco, however, was more versatile. If in Nalingaka Yo Te he composed, sang, and played solo guitar, rhythm guitar, and percussion, all by himself, this means he had an additional edge.
Many other differences exist.
But there were also many similarities. Both were bandleaders with exceptional managerial acumen. Keeping a band together for decades is no easy task, especially considering the restlessness of musicians, who are always on the move.
Both were also gifted composers. More than half of each band’s discography was written by the respective leader, although Franco’s output surpasses that of Tabu Ley, despite Tabu Ley living more than two decades longer.
The fluidity of talent between the two bands is another similarity. Musicians came and went throughout their existences—with some leaving only to return, while others departed for good.
The bands also exchanged musicians, another point of convergence. Among the musicians who played with both Afrisa and OK Jazz were Sam Mangwana, Michelino, Loway Empopo, Kiesse Diambu, Madilu System, Dizzy Mandjeku, Ndombe Opetum, Michel Sax, Seskain Molenga, and others.
Interestingly, the two legendary leaders once joined hands in a collaboration that resulted in the Lisanga Ya Banganga album—a development that proved critics wrong after years of rumours about bad blood between them.
Many more striking similarities existed between the two. Twelve years after his death, music fans still hold Tabu Ley in high regard, and numerous commemorative events will be held in Paris and Kinshasa. Radio Jabulani has dedicated several episodes of its programs to this titan of music, described by Rumba Overdose presenter Shady Shihusa as an unmatched golden voice of Congolese rumba.
By Jerome Ogola
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