Empompo "Deyesse" Loway, was a Congolese

soukous Soukous (from French '' secousse'', "shock, jolt, jerk") is a genre of dance music originating from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) and the Republic of the Congo (formerly French Congo). It derived from Congolese rumba in ...

recording artist A musician is someone who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate a person who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters, ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

. He was a member of the

Congolese rumba Congolese rumba, also known as African rumba, is a dance music genre originating from the Republic of the Congo (formerly French Congo) and Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire). With its rhythms, melodies, and lyrics, Congolese ru ...

band

TPOK Jazz OK Jazz, later renamed TPOK Jazz (short for ''Tout Puissant Orchestre Kinois de Jazz''), was a Congolese rumba band from the Democratic Republic of the Congo established in 1956 and fronted by Franco Luambo, Franco. The group disbanded in 1993. ...

, led by

Franco Luambo François Luambo Luanzo Makiadi (6 July 1938 – 12 October 1989) was a Congolese singer, guitarist, songwriter, bandleader, and cultural revolutionary. He was a central figure in 20th-century Music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cong ...

, which dominated the Congolese music scene from the 1950s through the 1980s.

Career

He helped Congolese singer M'Pongo Love early in her career by arranging her music and recruiting a wealthy patron to fund her work. He split up with M'Pongo in the mid-1980 and focused on developing another young Congolese singer, Vonga Ndayimba, known professionally as Vonga Aye and a backing band for her known as Elo Music.Stewart, p. 295 Early in 1981 he recorded a number of songs in Benin with guitarist

Dr Nico Kasanda Nicolas Kasanda wa Mikalay (7 July 1939 – 22 September 1985), popularly known as Docteur Nico, was a guitarist, composer and one of the pioneers of Congolese music. He was born in Mikalayi in the Belgian Congo. He graduated in 1957 as a tec ...

. When Nico left

Tabu Ley Pascal-Emmanuel Sinamoyi Tabu (13 November 1940 – 30 November 2013), better known as Tabu Ley Rochereau, was a Congolese rumba singer and musician. He was the leader of ''Orchestre Afrisa International'', as well as one of Africa's most influe ...

's Orchestre Afrisa International in the middle of 1981, Empompo asked Nico to collaborate on some of his projects. Empompo together with Vonga Aye, Nico and 3 other musicians from Elo Music spent a month in Paris recording at the end of 1981. According to Empompo, they recorded enough material for six albums, but only two were released, both under Vonga Aye's name. In 1983, in Kinshasa, Empompo and his friend from TPOK Jazz,

Sam Mangwana Sam Mangwana (born 21 February 1945) is a Congolese musician and songwriter. He was the frontman of his bands Festival des Maquisards and African All Stars. Mangwana was a member of François Luambo Makiadi's seminal band TPOK Jazz, and Tabu Ley ...

, together with singer Ndombe Opertun, who had recently left TPOK Jazz, formed the band Tiers Monde Coopération. The band was reformed a few years later as Tiers Monde Révolution. He died on 21 January 1990.Stewart, p. 370 Ken Braun, head of Sterns Music's in the U.S., described Empompo Loway together with Modero Mekanisi as "the best Congolese saxophonists of the

0th 0th or zeroth may refer to: Mathematics, science and technology * 0th or zeroth, an ordinal for the number 0 * 0th dimension, a topological space * 0th element, of a data structure in computer science * Zeroth law of thermodynamics, 0th law of The ...

century".

Notes

References

External links

Overview of Composition of TPOK Jazz
1990 deaths Democratic Republic of the Congo musicians Year of birth missing TPOK Jazz members {{DRCongo-musician-stub

Career

See also

Notes

References

External links