Kékélé

It's not for nothing that the members of Kékélé named themselves after a fibrous vine from their native Congo River basin. The vine is used to make long ropes, and the band's musicians have all had long, strong careers in music before returning to the sound that gave them all their start: Congolese rhumba, played in the old style that recalls the heyday of outfits like OK Jazz and Ry-Co Jazz. In Congolese terms, this is a supergroup, comprised of true luminaries. Both singers, Bumba Massa and Loko Massengo, have careers dating back to the '60s, while the rest of the vocal cont...