The virtuoso outfit played songs that were long and intricate, with high-pitched, tightly packed guitar melodies, elaborate drumming and a wall of vocals that drove the music even when Mr. Mpiana stepped away from the action to catch his breath, as he did regularly.

"Enchanté de vous voir," he said warmly, from behind the microphone that had awaited his arrival.
Mr. Mpiana is a star of the modern branch of soukous known as ndombolo, one of the genre's more spirited, dance-friendly wings. This was his first New York appearance with this band, which he has been fronting for a decade.  

The dozen-plus band members and singer-dancers who joined him were all wearing matching T-shirts that read, "Peace Grows" (though paradoxically one of the singer-dancers, also wore a rhinestone-studded pistol-shaped belt buckle).

Several people in the smallish but excitable crowd moved along with the performers. Many of the men wore expertly tailored suits with pocket squares; many women bopped around in shiny high heels. And they returned the good cheer to the performers.
More than two hours after the band began, a stream of well-appointed men made their way from the floor to the stage to offer cash tributes to Mr. Mpiana. One young man in a spectacular gray-and-black blazer began peeling off bills from a thick wad and slapping them against Mr. Mpiana's chest, one after the next, until it was he himself who let out a sigh of exhaustion.

Join Our Mailing List!