Franco et l’orchestre O.K. Jazz – La Rumba de mi Vida / 2-LP PI-08

Description

LP Planet Ilunga PI-08: Franco et l’orchestre O.K. Jazz, La Rumba de mi Vida

* 23 tracks, see tracklist
* Gatefold sleeve with many photos and extensive liner notes in
   English and French
* 180 gram vinyl
* Limited release
* Nearly all 23 titles on this compilation previously unreleased
   and have been restored and remastered from the original
   45 rpm or 78 rpm release.

Following the 2017 release on double LP ‘The Loningisa Years 1956-1961’, the Planet Ilunga label has continued to explore the monumental oeuvre of Congo’s most legendary band O.K. Jazz with the new 2-LP compilation ‘La Rumba de mi Vida’. It displays the full extent to which O.K. Jazz and its bandleader Franco explored Congolese rumba in the sixties and early seventies. Each of the four sides presents a different facet of O.K. Jazz.  Made in collaboration with Franco’s son Yves Luambo Emongo, the songs presented here justify why Franco was (and still is) regarded as the greatest portraitist of Congolese society.

Side A presents tracks issued in the early seventies on Franco’s label Editions Populaires. This was a period in which Franco took full control over the orchestra and was integrating a new sound into the band such as the return of the acoustic guitar and collaborations with artists from the first generation of Congolese rumba such as Manuel d’Oliveira and Camille Feruzi. Side B includes some of the first recordings O.K. Jazz made abroad, when the band went to Brussels in the early sixties to record for the Surboum African Jazz label. Side C features five charming covers that O.K. Jazz did, mostly of Cuban artists. Side D shows the band’s sensitivity for composing songs firmly rooted in the vast universe of Congolese folklore, and for writing lyrics in languages other than Lingala, Kinshasa’s lingua franca.

Track listings:

A1: Malata
A2: Tika Kolela Chérie
A3: Ba Mpangi Ya Matadi
A4: Mosala Etindi
A5: Casier Judiciaire
B1: La Mode Ya Pius Apiki Dalapo
B2: Ngai Muana Na Weyi
B3: Cha Cha Cha Erique
B4: Baiser Na Litama
B5: Lopango Ya Bana Na Ngai
B6: Victoire De Bruxelles
B7: Onzeteuna
C1: Revolver
C2: Baila Charanga
C3: El Paso De Encarnacion
C4: El Pinazo
C5: Na Mokili Mibale Na Mibale
D1: Ma Nkewa
D2: Bandoki Kabasala Ye Nkenda Ko
D3: Beno Bakongo Sika
D4: Owawa
D5: Camp Luka
D6: Lokumu Ya Mwasi Mpo Na Mobali