Mick Hartley

The guitar never sounded better than it did in the hands of some of the old Congolese masters, like Dr Nico:

That was recorded by African Jazz in 1960, the year of independence, when the Belgian Congo became the Republic of the Congo: an event they celebrated with the delightful Indépendance Cha-Cha. Listen to the guitar break at 1:30.

Another track full of optimism, now loaded with poignancy given his wretched fate, and the wretched fate of the country as a whole over the past fifty-odd years: Vive Patrice Lumumba.

Not exactly a household name, Dr Nico, but influential: apart from his role as a founder of the Soukous guitar style he was admired by Jimi Hendrix, who went to visit him in Paris. So there you go.

One more, from later in the Sixties, with Orchestre African Fiesta: Ambience Kiri Kiri, with informative notes from the poster. At three minutes in there's a seben - the instrumental break that later became such a feature of the high-powered bands like Zaiko Langa Langa. Read about them and other Congolese bands here.