music
“An unforgettable evening: Warako Musica played to a packed North Melbourne Town hall filled with disabled people and their carers. If they couldn't move there were drums placed all around the venue for them to beat rhythms to. How moving to see the pleasure on their faces as they swayed in the arms of their loving carers. It all goes to show that African music and dance have an elemental irresistible appeal.”
Betty Caplan, Journalist, Pata Pata/Club Wild, North Melbourne Town Hall, 2010
“An impressive and high-energy performance that will be remembered as one of the highlights of the 2010 Moomba Festival. Passi Jo and Warako Musica delivered an infectious fusion of Soukous, Afro-beat, Latin & Cuban music grooves that had everyone dancing,"
Carina Cargill, Moomba Programme Manager and Production Coordinator, 2010
“Tokolonga Dance, under the guidance of Passi Jo, ran two 6 week dance courses at VoyeuRhythmic African Drumming – Centre for West African Music and Culture in St Kilda over March – May 2009. The classes were a huge success with good attendances throughout. Jo’s classes were really fun for all involved and participants enjoyed the pace and flow of the sessions. Jo is a friendly and charismatic teacher with a lot of integrity for his Congolese heritage, which shines through in the dances he teaches.”
Simon Fraser, Proprietor, African Drumming Centre, 2009
“My friends and I loved your New Years Eve performance. Thanks for such a great start to 2003! Hope we can dance to your tunes again somewhere...”
Audience member, Woodford Folk Festival, 2002
“Fantastic feedback about your performance, it was the perfect finale to our Festival.”
Louise Augustinus, Co-ordinator, Spring Fling Festival, Melbourne, 2001
“Passi Jo and Warako Musica galvanised for us not only a sense of cultural diversity through their musical journey of traditional and contemporary sounds, but shared with us a spirit of discovery, exploration and joy.”
Patrizia Jakovljevis, Head of Drama & Dance, Tintern Anglican Girls Grammar School, 2001
“Without a doubt this is the hottest African band playing in Australia today, and one of the best in the world.”
Richard Jasiutowicz, review of Hemispheres 2000 Festival, Diaspora Magazine Sept. 2000
“Warako Musica are the most exciting bunch of musicians to hit Melbourne in a long while. Mixing up Congolese rumba, soukous and Cuban rhythms this outfit shows the best that African rhythm has to offer. Infectious grooves laid down by legendary guitarist Tchico Tchicaya, complemented by the croons of Passi Jo ensure that audiences are not left standing still for a moment.”
Systa BB, Planetary Chaos, 3PBS radio, Melbourne & DJ for Hemispheres 2000 Festival, Sydney, Sept. 2000
“Passi Jo and Tchico Tchicaya are the real thing with immaculate Zairean/Congolese dance music pedigrees. They had the audience energetically moving from their very first notes that never let up throughout their extended sets. With swirling guitars, impassioned vocals and smooth stage choreography, Warako Musica definitely delivered maximum soukous!”
Seth Jordan, Artistic Director, Bellingen Global Carnival, 1999
“The highlight of the weekend was certainly Warako Musica, the immensely energetic African band fusing Soukous, Afro-beat, Latin, Cuban and Caribbean rhythms into a show to be relished for years to come - the dancing was something else!”
Justin Petherick-Szwaja, review, Queenscliff Music Festival, Beat Magazine Dec. 1999
“You won’t be able to sit still... It’s never been so hot here in Studio 22...”
Annette Shun Wah, Presenter ABC TV Music Series Studio 22, Oct. 1999
“Nyboma, Wuta Mayi and Syran (M’Benza), three of the original founders of The Four Stars, along with Passi Jo and his hot Soukouss band Kass Kass were more than perfect in performance. The venue was filled with ecstatic Africans as well as Americans, who jumped onstage occasionally to flash a few soukouss steps, shake the performers’ hands, and paste dollar bills on the artists’ foreheads.”
Emmanuel Nado, review of Oakland’s Omni Club gig, San Francisco 1992
“By contrast, support band Kass Kass all but stole the show, using to the full the electric fingers of their lead guitarist Syran, a graduate of one of the finest soukous bands ever, ‘Quatre Etoiles’. Their repertoire was varied, their presentation as tight as their dancers’ G-strings and their music hot.”
Tebogo Naledi review of the Africa Tour with Pepe Kalle, Zimbabwe 1991
“When all is said and done, it appears that Kass Kass, both music-wise and its stage performance, stole the show.”
Tabby Moyo, Staff Writer review of the Africa Tour with Pepe Kalle, Zimbabwe 1991
“Passi Jo, lead vocalist with Kass Kass and famous for his composition ‘Helena’, dances with his fans at the Nyayo National Stadium that left the audience begging for more...”
Review of Silver Jubilee Festival in The Standard, Thurs. Jan. 5, 1989 (Nairobi, Kenya)
“Then the Kass Kass dancers, Karuba from Cuba and Isabella from Paris, took the stage and enraptured the people with their electrifying style, leaving many limp.”
Jon Woodhouse, Maui Beat
recordings for sale:
Tosepela Esengo
Tracks:
Together
Bosepela
Dimbo
From Congo
W M Pachunga
Dimbo (Version 2)
Together (Version 2)
Comes with a 6-track bonus disc projets annexes (Side Projects) of songs Passi Jo was working on in different musical genres, prior to his untimely death in 2016.
$27 + $5 packing and postage within Australia
$27 + $10 packing and postage international
Comes in a cardboard gatefold cover with an 8 page full colour booklet with text in both English and French that slides into the middle panel… no plastic in use!
$2AUD from each CD sale goes to the Fondation Terre Nouvelle, a registered charity established by Passi Jo’s brother Alphonse Matoumona, to fight unemployment and poverty for orphans and abandoned children in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.
Kass Kass
At last, the two original Kass Kass LPs, the self-titled Kass Kass, and Kass Tout have been re-mastered and re-released on one CD now available for $28 +$5 postage & packing.
Tracks - Kass Kass:
Mister Oh!
Mbongo Passy
Kass Kass
Ba Boutons Rouges
Tracks - Kass Tout:
Mounga Nga
Naye
Eyengo
Mena Mburu
Yoyoe
The Very Best of Passi Jo
(please note this album was
previously released
with a different cover -
see inset image)
$28 +$5 postage & packing
Tracks:
Kass Kass
Yoyo
Mena Mburu
Les Hommes Voltigeurs
Naima Je T'aime
Babotaka Motemate
Kass Kass Man
Illa
Zembi
Yo Ekelamu
