Dr Nico Kasanda

Soukous, Guitarist

1939 – 1985

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Who was Dr Nico Kasanda?

Nicolas Kasanda wa Mikalay, popularly known as Docteur Nico, was a guitarist, composer and one of the pioneers of soukous music. He was born in Mikalayi, Kasai province in the Belgian Congo. He graduated in 1957 as a technical teacher, but inspired by his musical family, he took up the guitar and in time became a virtuoso soloist.

At the age of 14, Kasanda started playing with the seminal group Grand Kalle et l'African Jazz, led by Joseph "Grand Kalle" Kabaselle. He became an influential guitarist, and the originator of the ubiquitous Congolese finger-picked guitar style, acquiring the nickname "Dr. Nico". African Jazz split up in 1963 when he and singer Tabu Ley Rochereau left to form L'Orchestra African Fiesta, which became one of the most popular bands in Africa.

He withdrew from the music scene in the mid 1970s following the collapse of his Belgian record label, and made a few final recordings in Togo, not long before he died in a hospital in Brussels, Belgium in 1985.

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Born
Jul 7, 1939
Also known as
  • Docteur Nico
Profession
Died
Sep 22, 1985
Brussels

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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