Search - Wendo Kolosoy :: Marie Louise

Venerable singer Wendo Kolosoy is a Congolese icon, and like his countryman Sam Mangwana, Cape Verde's Cesaria Evora, and Cuba's Buena Vista posse, he is presently enjoying a much-deserved late-life renaissance. His sandpapery vocals are interlaced with exuberant yodeling, playful asides, and slap-and-tickle exhortations to the other players. The swinging, mellow band brings back the classic rumbas that were popular during the '60s independence era with such unfussy touches as a spoon tapping out a clavé Morse code on a bottle. Vula Missy's lead guitar honors such pioneering legends as Docteur Nico and Franco Luambo, enveloping Wendo and the backup singers in rounded, effortlessly produced chords and subtle rhythmic variations. High points include Wendo's mutual admiration society with Cameroon's Anne-Marie Nzie, a memorial tribute to the late bandleader Pepe Kalle, and the sexy title track, but the entire album is a delightful time capsule. --Christina Roden