Eusèbe Jaojoby
Eusèbe Jaojoby | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Born | Anboahangibe, Madagascar | 29 July 1955
Genres | Salegy |
Instrument(s) | Voice (tenor) |
Years active | 1972–present |
Eusèbe Jaojoby (born 29 July 1955), commonly known by his surname Jaojoby [ˈdzodzubʲ], is a Malagasy composer and singer of salegy, a musical style of northwestern Madagascar. Critics consider him to be one of the originators of the modern salegy style that emerged in the 1970s, and credit him with transforming the genre from an obscure regional musical tradition into one of national and international popularity. Jaojoby also contributed to the creation of two salegy subgenres, malessa and baoenjy. Jaojoby has been called the most popular singer in Madagascar and the Indian Ocean islands, and is widely referred to as the "King of Salegy". His success has earned him such honors as Artist of the Year in Madagascar for two consecutive years (1998–1999) and the role of Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund in 1999.
In 1970 Jaojoby began singing in the northern coastal town of Diego-Suarez. He performed with bands that were experimentally blending American soul and funk with the Malagasy musical traditions of the region. The artist gained popularity and toured regionally, producing four singles with The Players before the band broke up in 1979. After a short break in the 1980s to pursue a career in journalism, Jaojoby resumed his musical career and rose to national prominence with his 1988 hit "Samy Mandeha Samy Mitady". He then reoriented his career toward music, recording his first full-length album in 1992 and becoming a full-time professional musician the following year. He has since released eight full-length albums and has toured extensively in Madagascar and abroad accompanied by his wife and adult children, who perform in the band with him.
Early years
Eusèbe Jaojoby was born on 29 July 1955, to a
One month after moving to Diego-Suarez, Jaojoby entered a local talent competition and managed to win despite singing unaccompanied and without a microphone. He began to perform in nightclubs whenever the opportunity presented itself. The uncle with whom he was lodging sent word of Jaojoby's activities to the young singer's parents, who consulted a priest before giving their son permission to continue exploring his musical talents on the condition that he continue to perform well at school.[1] Jaojoby agreed to this provision, studying during the day and performing at night for several years.[2] In 1972 he began singing with Los Matadores, the well-established house band of the Saigonais nightclub in Diego-Suarez. This group catered to the club's primarily Western clientele by performing cover songs and rhythm and blues compositions in French and English, occasionally incorporating traditional instruments like kabosy and drums,[4] or experimenting with local musical styles using electric guitar, bass, and drum kit, accompanied by traditional Malagasy language vocal performance.[1]
Experimental blending of Western and Malagasy musical elements was occurring simultaneously among a number of northwestern bands and musicians of Jaojoby's generation. Although no single individual can be credited with creating the modern
After briefly performing with a band named Kintana,[3] Jaojoby moved to Antananarivo where he studied sociology for two years at the University of Antananarivo before accepting an offer to work for the national radio station as a journalist at the end of 1980.[1] The following year, Jaojoby met the manager of the local Hilton hotel by chance while the two were waiting together at a bus stop. Accepting the manager's invitation to audition at the hotel's Papillon bar that same night, Jaojoby performed a cover of James Brown's "Sex Machine".[3] The manager interrupted him mid-song to offer Jaojoby a contract to give regular evening performances there with the Rabeson family, a popular jazz act.[4] For the next three years Jaojoby spent his days at the national radio and his evenings singing at the Papillon[1] with the exception of a short interlude in 1982 when he was sent to East Berlin to complete an advanced course at the International Institute of Journalism.[3] Jaojoby was promoted to Director of the Regional Information Service in Diego-Suarez in 1984, necessitating his relocation back to the northwest coast and bringing his cabaret performances to an end.[1]
King of Salegy
After several years having focused entirely on his career with the Regional Information Service, Jaojoby was approached in 1987 by Frenchman Pierre Henri Donat to contribute several recordings to Madagascar's first salegy compilation album, Les Grands Maîtres du Salegy ("Grand Masters of Salegy"). The runaway success of one of the tracks he composed and performed, "Samy Mandeha Samy Mitady", elevated salegy from a regional genre to one of nationwide popularity,[2][5] leading a newspaper to declare him the "King of Salegy". High demand for live performances led the singer to return to Antananarivo in 1988 to form a band named "Jaojoby" that included former bandmates from Los Matadores and The Players. Jaojoby begin touring regularly at home and abroad,[1] performing his first international concerts in Paris in 1989.[2] In the meantime, he worked as a press attaché for the Ministry of Transport, Meteorology and Tourism from 1990 until 1993, at which point he left his job to become a full-time musician.[1][5]
The 1992 release of Jaojoby's first full-length album, titled Salegy!, was facilitated by
Jaojoby's success and popularity attained new heights in 1998 with the release of E! Tiako. He was named "Artist of the Year" in Madagascar for two consecutive years (1998–1999),
Aza Arianao was recorded over five days in the summer of 2000 and released the following year.
The March 2008 release of Donnant-Donnant celebrated Jaojoby's roots as a
Style and legacy
[Jaojoby] dusted off salegy and freed it of its image as a primitive music that served only to relieve peasants exhausted by their labors ... The soul-tinted voice of Jaojoby, warm and powerful, sings about love and life with the frankness typical of northerners, marked with ancestral wisdom and popular philosophy. For the first time, one realizes that salegy can be really listened to and not just inspire maniacal dancing. To the oubliettes with the minimalist "hard salegy" of the 1970s with its three chords, drum solos and Farfisa organ! With Jaojoby, salegy passed from a marginal genre into the ranks of essential culture, soon afterward imitated by a wave of others ...
―"Jaojoby : 30 ans de scène", Madagascar Tribune (October 12, 2000)[4]
The roots of Jaojoby's musical style began with his childhood exposure to the Western-Malagasy syncretism of local church hymns, and the rhythm, harmonies, and form of the traditional antsa style of northern Madagascar. The antsa is a choral style common across northern Madagascar characterized by large group performance of
In the 1960s bands such as Orchestra Liberty began performing the antsa rhythm on modern drum kits with accompanying guitar or
French world music magazine Mondomix has called Jaojoby the most popular singer in Madagascar and the Indian Ocean islands.[7] He is widely referred to as the "King of Salegy" by his fans and the press.[1][16] He composes all of his own music and writes the lyrics to his songs himself.[5] According to Zomaré magazine, the quality of Jaojoby's "supple tenor" voice, the creativity of his compositions and the singer's willingness to experiment have helped to distinguish him from his peers.[3] Radio France Internationale described his vocal performance as "clear, powerful and energetic ... his trademark, which makes him stand out in the Malagasy musical panorama".[1] Critics have credited Jaojoby with popularizing the salegy genre both within Madagascar and on the international music scene,[2][4][17] and have identified him as an originator of two derivative versions of salegy, malessa and baoenjy.[4][18]
Family and personal life
Since the mid-1990s, Jaojoby's wife and children have formed part of the standard lineup of his band. His wife, Claudine Robert Zafinera, provides backing and occasional lead vocals. The couple's son, Elie Lucas, plays lead guitar while their daughters, Eusebia and Roseliane, provide backing vocals and stage dancing.[19] His children also formed a band called Jaojoby Jr. that performs covers of their father's music as well as some of their own original salegy compositions.[2] Saramba, a group created by Claudine in 2005,[20] performs the traditional form of salegy using only accordion, percussion, and vocals.[21]
While traveling to Antananarivo after a performance at the 2006 Donia Festival in Nosy Be, Jaojoby and his family were involved in a road accident. The singer suffered four broken ribs, lung damage and a fractured pelvis that necessitated emergency surgery in Réunion, three weeks of hospitalization, and prolonged physical therapy to enable Jaojoby to regain the ability to walk.[22] Fans of the singer used mail and the Internet to successfully raise the funds required to cover medical expenses related to the accident. After several weeks of bed rest following the surgery,[1] Joajoby went on to make a full recovery.[22]
On 3 June 2011, Jaojoby opened a new cabaret venue called "Jao's Pub" in the Ambohipo neighborhood of Antananarivo,[23] where the singer and his family reside.[2]
Discography
Title[3][7][14] | Released | Label | Tracks (Length) |
---|---|---|---|
Tsaikijoby | 1976 | Discomad | 2 (7'54") |
Agny rô | 1978 | Discomad | 2 (6'57") |
Salegy! | 1992 | Xenophile (1996 – US)/Rogue (1992 – UK) | 10 (53'53") |
Velono | 1994 | Indigo – Label Bleu | 11 (55'11") |
E Tiako | 1998 | Indigo – Label Bleu | 11 (44'31") |
Aza Arianao | 2000 | Indigo – Label Bleu | 12 (50'15") |
Malagasy | 2004 | Discorama | 12 (55'18") |
Donnant-Donnant | 2008 | Edition Mars | 15 (unknown) |
Live au Bato Fou: Jaojoby | 2010 | Discorama | 12 (58'55") |
Mila Anao | 2012 | Buda Musique | 14 (57'58") |
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Jaojoby: Biography". RFI Musique. September 2008. Archived from the original on February 17, 2012. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Eyre, Banning (December 2011). "Jaojoby". Afropop Worldwide. World Music Production. Archived from the original on February 21, 2012. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Jaojoby Eusèbe" (in French). Zomaré. 2001. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g Clerfeuille, Sylvie (May 7, 2007). "Eusebe Jaojoby" (in French). Afrisson. Archived from the original on March 23, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f Hansen, Ole Schack (1999). "Jaojoby: The King of Salegy and Goodwill ambassador of UNFPA Madagascar". United Nations Population Fund. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
- ^ Eyre, Banning. "Salegy". Afropop.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved October 10, 2010.
- ^ a b c d Mondomix (December 11, 2011). "Mondomix Music: Jaojoby". Mondomix Media. Archived from the original on January 27, 2012. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
- ^ "WOMAD Lineup Finalized". Virtual-Festivals.com Ltd. July 21, 2005. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012. Retrieved December 21, 2011.
- ^ a b "Eusèbe Jaojoby". Jaojoby à l'Olympia. Kanto Productions. December 11, 2011. Archived from the original on March 5, 2012. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
- ^ Lavaine, Bertrand (November 9, 2001). "Jaojoby: The king of salegy". RFI Musique. Archived from the original on August 8, 2010. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
- ^ "Madagascar: sortir du cycle de crises. Rapport Afrique N°156" (in French). International Crisis Group. March 18, 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-12-24. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
- ^ a b René-Worms, Pierre (July 20, 2004). "Jaojoby at the Thau Festival: The King of Salegy in France". RFI Musique. Archived from the original on August 8, 2010. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
- ^ Labesse, Patrick (September 19, 2008). "Jaojoby live in Paris: Funk, sega & salegy at the Olympia". RFI Musique. Archived from the original on August 8, 2010. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
- ^ a b "Jaojoby: Le 7ème album verra enfin le jour" (in French). Courrier de Madagascar. June 4, 2011. Archived from the original on December 23, 2011. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
- ^ Eyre, Banning (December 18, 2012). "Top 10 World Music Albums Of 2012". National Public Radio. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
- ^ a b Anderson (2000), pp. 523–532
- ^ Auzias and Labourdette (2007), p. 524
- ^ Auzias and Labourdette (2007), p. 122
- ^ "Cranky Crow World, CD Review" (in French). Rock Paper Scissors. August 12, 2004. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
- ^ "Mad'Art – Diego" (in French). Runweb. Archived from the original on July 9, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
- ^ Rado, Maminirina (January 3, 2011). "Saint-Sylvestre 2010: Les artistes sauvent les meubles". L'Express de Madagascar (in French). Antananarivo. Archived from the original on May 2, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
- ^ a b Molinaro, Franck (June 23, 2006). "Chaîne de solidarité Jaojoby". Potomitan. Archived from the original on May 29, 2012. Retrieved December 21, 2011.
- ^ Rindra, R. (June 4, 2011). "Jao's Pub: Une grande première réussie". Courrier de Madagascar (in French). Antananarivo. Archived from the original on December 23, 2011. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
External links
- Eusèbe Jaojoby discography at Discogs
Bibliography
- Anderson, Ian (2000). "Ocean Music from Southeast Africa". The Rough Guide to World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East. London: Rough Guides. ISBN 978-1-84353-551-5.
- Auzias, Dominique; Labourdette, Jean-Paul (2007). Petit futé de Madagascar 2008-2009 (in French). Paris: Petit Futé. ISBN 978-2-74691-982-2.
See also