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Franco & le TPOK Jazz
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Franco & le TPOK Jazz · TPOK Jazz was the orchestra of the Congolese guitarist, singer and composer Franco Luambo, born François Luambo Luanzo Makiadi. He was born on 6 July 1938 in Sona-Bata, in what was then the Belgian Congo, and grew up in Kinshasa. As a boy he became fascinated by the emerging Congolese rumba. He learned from musicians such as Paul Ebengo Dewayon and Albert Luampasi. In 1956 he founded OK Jazz together with others. In 1970 he took over full leadership, and in 1971 the band was given the name Tout-Puissant Orchestre Kinois de Jazz, the all-powerful jazz orchestra of Kinshasa.
Music and breakthrough
Franco was lead guitarist and developed a recognisable style with intricate, rhythmic guitar lines. In doing so he laid the foundation for the so-called OK Jazz school. For more than twenty years the orchestra was the most popular and influential group in Africa. In 1976 Franco was appointed Officer of the National Order of the Leopard, and in 1982 he received the Maracas d'Or. He died on 12 October 1989. Mario from 1985 is one of the late tracks in his repertoire.
Influence
The music of TPOK Jazz is Congolese rumba with many guitars, a horn section and multi-part vocals, with long pieces in which the rhythm intensifies. Franco became a central figure in the African popular music of the twentieth century. His orchestra showed how African music developed freely, independent of the Western charts.
Listening
Mario · Franco & le TPOK Jazz, 1985Apple Music ↗