Tribute To Franco Luambo Makiadi and TPOK Jazz
Other Congo Legends
In this page , tribute is payed to other pioneers who paved the way for todays Congolese singers.
Joseph Kabbasselleh a.k.a Le Grande Kalle is considered the Father of modern Congolese music. He founded L'Africa Jazz in 1953 which turned out to be the first great Zairean band. At its height , Africa Jazz boasted the likes of Docteur Nico kasanda , Tabu Ley, Manu dibango and Jean Serge Essous. Being a leading figure in Congolese social life , he was chosen to accompany a delegation to the round table talks to secure independence from Belgium. He stamped his place in history when in 1960 he composed the song Independence Cha cha which was adopted as the national anthem of Congo as well as several other newly independent nations. Africa jazz tapped the publics taste for foreign music by fusing elements of latin music with African rumba , producing a latin flavour. His music appealed especially to self styled intellectuals of whom Kalle was one having been educated to secondary school level.
Kalle suffered a major setback when in the mid 60s , two of his prodigies, Tabu Ley and Docteur Nico left to form their own band which they named Africa Fiesta. He never recovered from that setback and his career took on a downward spiral from that moment on. Instead he focused on nurturing the career of his son Pepe Kalle who turned out to be one of Africa's most celebrated singers of the 80s and 90s. Le Grande Kalle died in a Paris hospital on february 11 1983.
Docteur Nico Kasanda is the originator of the ubiquitous Congolese guitar style. That Docteur Nico became such an accomplished guitarist comes as no surprise. He comes form a musical family. His father was an accomplished accordionoist. Two of his elder brothers , Dechaud and Tino Baroza were excellent guitarists. He honed his skills at the Opika studios alongside his brothers. He started playing with Africa Jazz at the tender age of 14. While pursuing a musical career wih Africa Jazz, he earned a teaching diploma. He was among the musicians who accompanied Le Grande Kalle to the Rond Table talks in Belgium. A female Belgian journalist who was greatly impressed by Nico's guitar skills , nicknamed him Docteur and the name stuck. His solo guitar stringing genius is unrivalled in the history of Congo music to the point where He is referred to by many of todays musicians as the school of Zairean guitar. Dr Nico's influence was so great that Jimmy Hendrix , the American solo guitar legend once payed him a personal visit while on tour in Paris. He left Africa Jazz along with Tabu Ley to form Africa Fiesta. He along with Tabu ley is credited with inventing Soukous, the dance craze that swept the continent for over two decades. Later he parted ways with Tabu Ley to form his own band which he named Africa Fiesta Sukisa. Sadly he quit the music scene in the mid seventies until his death in 1985.
