John Kariuki
21 August 2007
Nairobi — This is the question that must be troubling the minds of fans of Congolese rhumba following the death of veteran singer Madilu System (born Jean de Dieu Bialu), just as his new album, La Bonne Humeur, was climbing overseas African music charts.
Widely considered the most prolific crooner of his generation, Madilu cultivated a huge fan base during his days in TP OK Jazz, where he stood out as the group's most remarkable singer in its heyday under Lwambo Lwanzo Makiadi (Franco).
On the African music scene, Madilu's star reached its zenith with the 1980s hit, Mario, which not only took TP OK Jazz to a new level in quality recording, but more importantly, broke new ground with an easy mid-tempo beat and husky vocals helped win it a wide audience internationally.
Even in Nairobi, where upmarket discos were reluctant to play African songs, Mario became an instant hit.
It was the same story in many African countries, and the interactive vocal lines between Madilu and Makiadi against the backdrop of an infectious guitar rhythm saw a whole new audience swinging to the beat of what was deemed Africa's premier music outfit.
The song remains popular and was one of the few featured on the album Ketukuba, which contains a mixture of African music and salsa. It was recorded by an all-star line-up called Africando comprising artistes from Africa and a New York based salsa group.
Released overseas through Sterns Records, the album topped African music charts in the UK and is considered a major breakthrough for African music in the Cuban and Latin American market.
Critics praise Madilu for his handling of the new version of Mario, which has a distinctive Latin arrangement.
In addition, his singing comes out much smoothly.
Perhaps the other important question is whether Madilu ever realised his full potential musically.
Some say he did, while others say his obvious lack of charisma may have hindered full appreciation of his great talents, and that he spent his best years in the shadow of Franco.
But he is not the only musician to have experienced this; most artistes who perform in big groups suffer the same fate, often being overshadowed by the group and never quite flourishing outside that framework.
ONE MIGHT WELL ARGUE that the same fate befell TP OK Jazz which, though comprising excellent musicians, was unable to survive Franco's death.
Madilu voiced his frustration at the group's inability to stay together and blamed his former colleagues who had gone on to form Bana OK and OK Jazz International.
Speaking to Afropop music magazine in 2003, he expressed anger at his former fellow musicians, implying that they were not up to the task, and that he would take up the name and honour their departed mentor.
Said he then: "I'm the true heir to Franco and will keep his memory alive."
He might have meant well, but he definitely fell short of this tall order.
The fact is, Madilu stayed too long in TP OK Jazz and would probably have made an even greater name for himself had he left earlier. It is also notable that his departure from OK Jazz after Franco's death was a forced one, coming after he recorded a solo album titled Tenant du Titre.
He would have done well to take a leaf from Sam Mangwana, who honed his skills in the group but left early to embark on a successful solo career.
But the circumstances of the two musicians were obviously different, and Mangwana's move overseas, as well as his early focus on the Latin American market, gave him a head-start. This was further boosted by his Angolan ancestry, which made it easy for him to connect with the Portuguese-speaking audience in Latin America.
He also had a wider vocal range and songwriting skills.
In contrast, Madilu's solo career was initially hampered by a change in trends in Congolese music, which was shifting towards dance and away from the mid-tempo beat at which he excelled.
This shift, which had slowed down TP OK Jazz even while Franco was still alive, undoubtedly dealt a blow to Madilu.
By a twist of fate, he died at a time when the kind of easy swinging beat he was so good at was regaining popularity.
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