TPOK Jazz, short for Tout Puissant Orchestre Kinshasa, literally meaning "the all-powerful Kinshasa band" in French, originally known as OK Jazz, was a Congoleserumba band, founded by Jean Serge Essous and Francois Luambo Makiadi in the 1950s. The original name, OK Jazz, comes from a Kinshasa bar called the OK Bar named after the bar's proprietor "Oscar Kashama"citation needed, but is also been said to refer to Orchestre Kinoiscitation needed.
OK Jazz quickly became one of the two giants of Congolese popular music in the mid-20th century, along with Grand Kalle & l'African Jazz. Many musical stars emerged from one or both of these bands.
