Dr Nico Kasanda
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Nicolas Kasanda wa Mikalay (1939 – 1985), popularly known as Dr. Nico was a guitarist, composer and one of the pioneers of soukous music. He was born in Mikalayi, Kasai province in the Democratic Republic of the 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 he started playing with the seminal group African Jazz, led by Joseph "Grand Kalle" Kabaselle. He became an influential guitarist (Jimi Hendrix once payed him a personal visit while on tour in Paris), and the originator of the ubiquitous Congolese guitar style, acquiring nickname "Dr Nico". African Jazz split up 1963 when Dr Nico and singer Tabu Ley Rochereau left to form L'Orchestra African Fiesta, which became one of the most popular in Africa.
He withdrew from the music scene 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.
