11 YEARS, AGO TABULEY RESTED

"In my entire career, I've done more than 2,000 songs"

Tabuley told Obachi Machoka of Roga Roga, a rumba radio show by Citizen Radio of Nairobi.

"Do you know all the songs?"

The veteran radio presenter asked shockingly, in response.

"I can't mention them all, off head, but if you play any of my songs, I will tell you that's my song

He responded. 

From reputable sources, corroborated by enumerating by Jabulani radio on what's available of his discography, the number seems an outright exaggeration, but that doesn't in any way erode the near god-ship status that Tabuley holds in the heart of music lovers.

Born Pascal Emmanuel Simamoyi Tabou, in Bagata, Kwilu Province in Congo, today DRC, in 1940, Tabuley began his career early as a teenager, just like most of his peers. His rise to the top was fast. Within the first years of his debut, he had risen to dine with the gods of rumba. His melodious voice and composing prowess were definitely his biggest weapon to success. Tabuley was also educated to the secondary level. This was an advantage his peers didn't have.

This made him very innovative. He is the brain behind the introduction of female dancers when he brought on board four of them, Marie Theresa, who became his wife, Marie Claire Saidi, Mariette Mpowa aka Marietou, and Anne Mbuli, who later became Franco's second wife. 

This female dance troupe also known as Rocherettes, was in advancement of his showmanship, another of his innovations, which was also perfected by Orchestra Sololiso of the famed Trio Madjesi and Orchestra Stukas of Lita Bembo. 

The dancers aren't the only first from the Son of Bagata. Tabuley, previously known as Pascal Mwana Tabou, until the authenticity, a Mobutu policy to rid the country of colonial relics that happened in the late 1960s, also experimented and brought forth many styles within the Congolese rumba.

In a post-Olympia era, around 1972, Tabuley invented a variant of rumba called Soum Djoum. With a distinctive guitar style spearheaded by Faugus Izeidi, this style was adopted by other bands, Zaiko Langa Langa and others.  

Some of the songs done in this style were Silikani, Samba, Mundi, Selija, Nakokamua, and others. These creations were to set the bar high after the successful Olympia, another first for Tabuley. In fact, the suffix 'international' after the name Afrisa, was meant to tell the world that, unlike other local peers, Ley's outfit fresh from Olympia, was a global force.

These could be some of the factors that drove Ley to move fast and have his band. For example, he had debuted with Ritmo Jazz (1957), Rock A Mambo (1958), and Jazz Africaine (1959) but all these were bands owned by others and possibly had little legroom for innovations. Note that Jazz Africaine isn't the same outfit as Africain Jazz of Grand Kale, which he joined in the same year, 1959.

Unlike bands that stuck to their Odemba style, such as Franco's OKJ, Ley kept on experimenting and innovating. For example, when this writer asked Faugus Izeidi about the guitar philosophy at Afrisa, he pointed out that every guitarist came with his style but it was only Dino Vangu, whose style veered off the band's music to a new direction in his era. Dino had joined the band in 1976.

Otherwise, it is equally very glaring that most Tabuley musicians came from obscurity and it is in this band that they became superstars. For example, after the December 1967 lull occasioned by a ban on the band by Mobutu for failure to perform in his New Year fete and subsequent mass exodus from the band, Ley went for Greenhorns.

Jean-Paul Vangu aka Guvano and Lokassa Ya Mbongo came from a small unknown band by the name Diament Bleu (Blue Diamond) and others like Opetum also had not been with any big bands. Many of his other musicians, were barely known before they arrived at his band, Dino Vangu, Dave Mokondele, Maika Munan, Brazzos Mpanga, and many others. That was unique to him.

Nonetheless, some were known superstars already, Michelin, and Dr. Nico who joined Afrisa after his own African Fiesta had collapsed were already big names. 

While experimenting and innovating, Tabuley also remembered to carry along elements of his old styles, to at least establish a tradition. After the disbandment of African Jazz in 1969, Tabuley became the face of the African Jazz school of Rumba. 

This style had a unique style of singing also known as 'lolaka' in rumba parlance. In this style, songs only featured one vocalist, as opposed to the choir-like orchestra type of singing that Franco perfected. In fact, Franco so excelled in it, that on an instance that Lola was singing alone in his own composition, the song had to be titled 'lolaka'. In the later days, most of Simaro's poems were also written by one vocalist. At afrisa, the solos were the order of the day, thus making individual vocal abilities an asset to the band.

His death, 11 years ago, robbed music lovers of a wonderful gem. The world misses this maker of soothing and sentimental ballads.

BY Jerome Ogola

Jabulani Radio Livestream

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