KOMPA! MAGAZINE

[shah]

Jean Elie Telfort alias Coubano the One and Only.

Written by Jason Accime aka Shah.

The name that is so synonymous with our popular music: Konpa Direk is SkahShah. However, there is another name that is also linked with that music genre none other than Jean Elie Telfort alias Coubano. Today many young folks and young musicians may not know that name. Shamefully, they all heard of Michael Jackson. However, if Coubano is mentioned along the line, they will definitely have a hint of this man as the one and only Coubano, a living legend of the legendary band SkahShah, father, front man, singer, instrumentalist and composer. " Gason chelbe tou". LOL...

That nickname Coubano was given to Mr. Telfort by Serge Rosenthal the ex-guitar player and maestro of ShleuShleu of Dada Jakaman, also one of the pioneers of the mini-jazz era. Jean Eli Telfort, a native of Port-De-Paix, Haiti, came to fame after being an MC at a popular gig of the 1960’s for the group Tabou Combo at the Paramount theatre in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Little that he knew, Shoubou and Tabou Combo were going to be his toughest competitors in NYC in the 1970s and beyond.

Coubano, whom I have met so many times as a loyal fan then of ShleuShleu and SkahShah, is a very well-mannered individual. He is well known throughout the Haitian music industry and well respected by his peers. Coubano is undeniably the face of SkahShah just like his childhood friend and competitor Roger M. Eugeune aka Shoubou of Tabou Combo. However, Coubano and SkahShah will always co-exist. If Coubano is well known today is because of his fellow musicians of SkahShah.

Coubano is versatile. He has a distinctive voice that can't be replicated. Mr. Telfort writes and produces his own music which is a pre-requisite for a true artist. He has under his belts a very large selection of self-composed hit songs starting with the very famous one of ShleuShleu “Toup pou Yo”when Haiti participated for the first time in the world cup soccer game in 1974. I was young, but that song echoed in my head then and now. Back then every radio station, streets; Mardi Gras, schools etc. played that song nonstop as one and the primary well-defined song for our ball club. That song was also used as motivation for the country as a whole. Great job Coubano with the help of your fellow musicians.
Coubano and his band mates also composed those of my Shleu-Shleu favorites: “Haiti Shleu-Shleu “Rum Barbancourt”, “Reviens,”Bel Ti Machan”etc. That same year 1974, he joined his band mates in NYC. At that point the game was over for the competition. The emancipation of SkahShah was the talk of the town in NYC, the motherland and the French Caribbean Islands. C’eteit du jamais vu. I was not in NYC then to witness such phenomenon but folks who were compared SkahShah to what the Beatles did in the US for our community as well as the motherland.

The same way Coubano has been praised to a superstar status because of his great talents and his charisma, his critics also said that: “Coubano he is a "crash and burn “translation: “lave mayn ou epi siyel a te”type of superstar due to his lack of discipline. He used to make the fans wait for him while he knew they paid their hard earned money to come to see him and SkahShah. His critics to this day blame his behavior as one of the leading factors to the detriment of SkahShah.

Consequently, I am not here to take away his long life contribution to our music because this man with all his flaws is a tremendous God given talent. He plays the harmonica as well as he sings. Stevie Wonder does that too as you may know. Coubano's reference song on the harmonica is SkahShah“Loving you”. He also plays the bass. I remember one night at the Coconut Grove in Brooklyn, NY when kôkô was late while Zouzoule was on the microphone. Coubano played the bass for a couple of songs until the bass player came. I am one of Coubano’s toughest critics also my idol. Allow me to say that there is no perfection in life. Therefore, Coubano deserves a pass due to the fact that his pluses outweigh his tiny minus in the existence of SkahShah and our music industry. There is always two sides to a story and sometimes even three.

In addition, Coubano’s biggest personal success is the solo album’s “L’Essence”. However, his greatest ones are being part of the legendary band SkahShah. Nonetheless, the moment he dropped "L'Essence", it was an instant classic that every konpa lover like myself should have in their collection.

Coubano, I really appreciate your hard work, your contributions to our so fragile popular music Konpa Direk. Your energy and God given talent would worth a lot more if you could to come to terms with your fellow band mates of SkahShah and think of us, the fans for once. Tabou Combo is still touring. SkahShah can do that.

Let me personally thank you for being the Godfather of konpa Direk and a paradigm for other front men in the business for years to come.

I do my part by praising your work while you are with us because it would be a shame to do it after you are gone.

Thank you, Mr. Jean Elie Telfort aka Coubano for a job well done.
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SHAH
The less I say the more I do.