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  I don't get out to many concerts, so I'd rather not be disappointed by
any I manage to fit in. My standards aren't very high, either. If the music
sounds good and makes me feel good, I'm happy.
There was certainly nothing fancy about the most recent concert I attended. It
took place in the courtyard of a library in Southern California, on a makeshift
stage in front of a bunch of folding chairs. The audience consisted of a couple
hundred mostly nondescript people. And the evening's performers specialized in a
style of music that's hardly cutting edge: Congolese rumba. Nonetheless, it was
a heavenly thrill from start to finish.
Why? Because this was a concert by
Kékélé, a group of veteran Congolese singers responsible for some of
the most critically acclaimed African music of recent years.
Their three albums
of old style rumba are musical magic, brimming with percolating rhythms, lush
melodies and golden-age vocals. Onstage, their sound was more raw and less
polished but glowing with the same vintage beauty as on disc. Until recently a
vocal quartet (guitarist/arranger Syran Mbenza is also a key part of the group),
Kékélé's voices numbered three this evening. Despite the absence of Bumba Massa,
singers Loko Massengo, Wuta Mayi and Nyboma Mwandido traded leads and harmonies
that soothed the senses and made the cool evening air cooler still.
With backing
provided by bass, drum kit, congas, saxophone, accordion and two acoustic
guitars that sounded remarkably electric at times, the Cuban-leaning feel of
Kékélé's latest CD
Kinavana was very much in evidence along with the more
distinctly Congolese sweetness that has put
Kékélé at the forefront of the
current rumba revival. The sound was clean and not too loud, grassy areas on
either side of the stage gave dancers a place to dance and the music brought
about a pleasurable feeling so deep and wide that you just knew everyone else
was feeling it too.
Whether you're a frequent concert-goer or not, make it a point to catch
Kékélé
if and when they come your way. And if you live in Southern California, check
out the fine summer concert series offered by the San Juan Capistrano Library.
The setting is intimate and many an impressive name in world music has performed
there. www.musicatthelibrary.com.
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