JUST A NOTE ABOUT FRANCO.

Franco was the most influential and important African musician of the 20th century. Afro-Cuban music comes from him. That Paul Simon Graceland album; lifted from him. I can't tell you how much I love Franco's music. There's a reason he was called "The Grand Master". His biography is called "Congo Colossus". Click here to read a short bio of Franco. When he died in 1989, much too early, his country of Zaire (aka Congo) went into national mourning for 4 days. Criminally, this giant of African music is mostly unavailable on CD. I've managed to track down 3 or 4 and a friend in Oregon has sent me some as well; it seems Franco's cd's are easier to come by on the West Coast. Anyway, the moment I first heard Franco's music on Public Radio's "Afropop Worldwide" I was hooked! They devoted an entire hour program to Franco on the 10th anniversary of his death in 1999 and rightly so. Aforementioned Oregon friend also sent me a copy of the biography and what a fantastic read! However, it's the music itself which is so magical. Very few things can make this sour, vinegary old poop cheer up almost immediately; one of those (and probably the most powerful) is Franco's music. Le Grand Maitre and his mega band OK Jazz (later known as T.P. OK Jazz which stands for 'The Almighty OK Jazz') can cleanse my soul. The only site I can find where you can actually hear his music (albeit in one minute soundbites) can be clicked on right here and I strongly urge you to have a listen! You can click on quite a few albums and then click on individual tracks. Oh when Oh when will his approximately 150 albums be made available on cd?