"Rhythm is the essence of Tabou Combo," says Tabou drummer Herman Nau. The infectious rhythm of Haiti's national dance music, Konpa, has propelled the 12-member dance band around the world since its musicians departed Haiti for New York City in 1971.

Tabou Combo has an international following, and it's easy to understand why. The group's relentless, high-energy style knows no language barrier. Singing in English, Spanish, French or their native Creole, Tabou serves a hot mix of grooves and textures with multiple roots, including a strong dose of the Dominican Republic's national dance music, Merengue. In addition, they offer up Haiti's dance-till-you-drop carnival music, rara, the hypnotic drums of Haitian voodoo rituals. The quadrilles and contra-dances from Haiti's French colonizers join funk from the American soul era. The music includes the feel of West African Soukous topped with bright piano riff and the brassy sound of an all-American horn section.

Tabou Combo got started in 1968 in Petion-Ville, a town just outside Port-au-Prince, by Albert Chancy and Herman Nau and some friends, all in their teens. The band won first prize in a 1969 televised talent contest, and by 1970 it was one of the island's leading bands. Then Chancy, the band's guitarist and original leader, started college in Montreal. The band dissolved and its members drifted to the United States. Early in 1971, however, an unexpected meeting led to a Tabou reunion with Jean-Claude Jean as a leader. The band has been together, with a few changes, ever since.

Drummer Nau is responsible for the incorporation of Brazilian samba and rock rhythms into Konpa. The mixture of all these influences yields layer upon layer of accents, courtesy of drums, congas and other percussion.
Haiti has no shortage of great singers and Tabou Combo features some of the best. Out front is lead vocalist Roger M. Eugène ("Shoubou"), a font of excitement and electricity. Doing back vocals in the call-and-response tradition is Yves Joseph ("Fanfan"), Tabou's main songwriter. Doing double duty in the vocal section is Nau, who also dominates the rhythm with hard drumming. "The richest rhythms in the world come from Africa and the Caribbean," says Nau. "In Haiti alone, there are 71 different rhythms and each has a different meaning."

Also doing back vocals while punctuating  Nau's rhythm is percussionist-songwriter Yvon André ("Kapi"). The other band members are: bass-guitarist Yves Albert Abel ("Radical"), lead guitarist Ralph Conde, rhythm guitarist Jean-Claude Jean, Daniel Pierre ("Dany Lebeau") on keyboard and Raynald Valmé ("Sexy Man") on congas. Tabou's horn men are trombonist Jason Forsythe, Tom Mitchell on tenor sax and Ken Scharf on trumpet.
Employing the repetition and breaks of African-American gospel music, Tabou Combo entices the listener to become a dancer, too. "We want people to dance and forget their sorrows," says Fanfan. There is no doubt, the music is made for dancing, but Tabou also features lyrics that focus on social issues of the day.

The band captured Europe's attention with its million-selling hit single, New York City. The 1989 release, Aux Antilles ("The Antilles"), topped European and Caribbean charts for six consecutive weeks and won Best Album for Haitian Dance Music at the 1991 First Annual Caribbean Music Awards at New York City's famed Apollo Theater. Tabou's release, Kitem Fe Zafem ("Let Me Do My Things"), was voted among Beat Magazine's Best of 1988.
Attracting thousands of fans to concert halls like the Zenith in Paris, and accepting invitations to appear at the United Nations in New York, Tabou (which means "sacred" in Creole) has come a long, long way since its start in Petion-Ville.