v/a: Roots of OK Jazz: Congo Classics 1955-56

Label: Crammed Disc

The meaning of the title has little to do with the genre of jazz: This album compiles the early recordings of the eventual founders of Tout-Puissant OK Jazz, one of the two most popular Congolese rumba bands. Franco, the most famous of the founders, penned five of the twenty tracks here and sings and/or plays on all but two, but he’s hardly the whole show. Clarinetist Essous’s colorful tones feature on many tracks, notably “Tika Kondima Na Zolo,” which anticipates the odemba style of the '60s. One of Franco’s early guitar mentors, Paul Ebengo De Wayon, is heard on three tracks, slightly more old-fashioned than the youngster who borrowed his guitars. The music, with its mixture of Congolese and Cuban rhythms, is ebullient and upbeat even when not fast, already close to the template of TPOK but in smaller, more intimate configurations. Fans of rumba and Franco will find this disc both educational and entertaining. The booklet offers historical context and song-by-song notes. (Steve)