|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CD
|
|
STCD 1104CD
|
2007 release. Jean Bialu Makiese -- or Madilu System, as the great Congolese bandleader Franco dubbed him -- possessed the high wistful voice featured in so many T.P.O.K. Jazz records of the 1980s, including Franco's biggest hit, "Mario". After Franco's death in 1989, Madilu System began a successful solo career. In addition to his own projects, he recorded duets with soukous stars such as Papa Wemba and Mbilia Bel, and sang leads as a guest on albums by Kékélé and Africando. Although his voice was no longer so high, Madilu was singing better than ever in the spring of 2007 when he recorded La Bonne Humeur, which was also graced by the guitars of Syran Mbenza, Dally Kimoko, and Papa Noel, and the harmony voices of Nyboma Mwan'dido and Wuta Mayi. Sterns Africa was preparing the album's release when Madilu died from diabetic shock in a Kinshasa hospital in August of that year. La Bonne Humeur was posthumously hailed by The Beat magazine as the late singer's best album and proof that soukous was alive and well in the 21st century.
|