Nico, Rochereau, Roger & L'African Fiesta - Volume 1 (1962-1963) played a crucial role in developing the careers of Tabu Ley Rochereau and Docteur Nico, and more importantly, the genre of Congolese rhumba music.The extraordinary Congolese musicians Nicolas Kasanda aka “Docteur” Nico (1939-1985), guitarist, together with Tabu Ley Pascal “Rochereau” (1937-2013), singer, songwriter, and bandleader, first worked together under “Le Grande Kallé” Joseph Kabasélé and what has been considered the first truly great Congolese orchestra, l'African Jazz. They are considered among the pioneers of Congolese rumba, a genre that originated during the 1940s and has been enormously influential worldwide. The album Nico, Rochereau, Roger & L'African Fiesta - Volume 1 (1962-1963) also featuring Mwamba Charles “Dechaud” on rhythm guitar and Roger Iziedi on vocals, contains some of their first Vita Label studio singles, recorded after the musicians left l'African Jazz to form L'African Fiesta. Subsequently re-released on SonoDisc, this collection of songs (curated by Iziedi) represented a significant new direction for Congolese rumba as the literal soundtrack for the heady and hopeful years of post-Independence life for much of Sub-Saharan Africa.
