Dr. NICO THE GUITAR SUPREMO OF AFRICAN MUSIC

'In the earlier days of my career, I really strived to play like Dr. Nico'

Pierre Mandjeku Lengo, also known as Dizzy Mandjeku, is an ace soloist who played with Conga 68, Orchestra Veve, Orchestra Bella Bella, Orchestra Kossa Kossa, Afrisa International, African All Stars, and OK Jazz among other bands.

'I emulated Dr Nico's style and that of Guvano, in the nascent days of my career, before eventually developing my own style.'

Dizzy narrated to Jabulani.

Also known as  'Dieu De La Guitare' or 'the god of the guitar', Nico played a monumental role in pushing the electric guitar to occupy the central position in rumba Congolaise, essentially creating a drift from the Cuban rumba, which is highly regarded as the parent of the genre.

The recognition of Nico as a god of the instrument is glaringly manifested in many ways. He played guitar in the 1953 recording of the song 'Parafifi'. By then he was only 14 years old. That's quite a feat. 

Although the origin of the prefix 'doctor' is disputed and has been attributed to several quarters, there is consensus over his godship in the instrument and this is a reality that many fans, musicians, and other musical commentators agree with. 

Dr. Nico's biographer, Alastair Johnston, once laughed off a list of 250 of the world's finest guitarists of all time, that as compiled by Rolling Stone an American entertainment magazine, placed Franco as the topmost African, at position 71. 

Alastair, who is deeply knowledgeable about music and has extensively traveled around the world, researched and published on several genres, compiled his own list  in which he placed Dr Nico as the second greatest guitarist of all times, across all genres. He accorded the very first position to Reinhardt Django, and Dr Nico was given the second slot. 

When this writer inquired from Alastair about the authenticity of the claim that American rock guitar supremo Jimi Hendrix had expressed great admiration for Nico's guitar skills when the duo met in Paris, he was quick to respond that such a meeting never happened.

'Absolutely not, never! Several people have researched the story, and the only tenuous connection was Hendrix performed in Paris but Nico was not there at the time.

Said Alastair, the American author who traveled to DRC to research for the book on Dr. Nico and other musicians as well. Dr. Nico having met Jimmi is a lie that has been repeated many times, and it eventually cropped in as a fact.

Nico learnt the guitar from his elder brother Charles Mwamba who was nicknamed "dechaud" (the hot one) owing to his prowess on the guitar. Dechaud had been a student of Zacharie Elenga, who was studio Opika's guitarist. 

Dechaud would carry the guitar home and he would teach young Nico what he had learnt in a whole week, which surprisingly Nico learnt in a few minutes. By 1953, when a band called African Jazz evolved from studio Opika, Nico was the man playing the solo guitar, although he remained in the shadows their cousin Tino Baroza was by far more experienced. 

Dr. Nico trained as a technical teacher at a college in Kintambo but records of him teaching in any school are hard to come by. Apparently, the musical bug bit him early. In the late 1950s, Nico was part of the Esengo studio band, Rock A Mambo. He played in several recordings of the band, including the hit song 'Baila' composed by hornsman Jean Serge Essous, in which he played rhythm guitar as Tino Baroza played solo.

Nico was part of the team that traveled as the African Jazz entourage to Brussels in January 1960, for the independence fete. However, upon return, the band didn't last long before facing headwinds that led to a mass walkout. Nico, went with Tabuley and others to create the African Fiesta in 1963. He led the new outfit, with Tabuley.

The band stayed put and managed to release dozens of great songs in the period, before facing another splinter that saw the birth of siblings African Fiesta Sukisa of Dr Nico and African Fiesta National of Tabuley. 

African Fiesta Sukisa began on a high note, attracting great talents into its rank and file. Nico as the leader enjoyed the services of superstars in the band's lineup, and managed to release wonderful songs. The band become one of the biggest in the country at the time. 

However, owing to his material weakness the band started staggering in the early 1970s. Nico himself became more dedicated to his booze than music and finally, the band collapsed. Nico played with several bands before finally reuniting with Ley in a development that saw the release of several songs among them 'ohambe'.

Nico died in 1985 in Brussels.
He is highly regarded as one of the biggest names in African music.

BY: JEROME OGOLA

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