27/04/2025
๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ก๐ข๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐จ๐๐
๐๐ข๐ซ๐ญ๐ก & ๐๐๐ซ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐๐
Papa Noel Nedule, born Antoine Nedule Monswet on December 29, 1940, in Kinshasa, DRC, was the son of a Lari father from Congo Brazzaville and a mother from the DRC.
๐๐๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐
๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐๐ฒ
Papa Noelโs musical journey began early in life. Along with his fellow musician Celi Bitshou, he learned guitar from Bitshou's uncle, ๐๐๐ง๐ข๐๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฅ๐จ (aka ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ง๐), a respected co-founder of ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ and ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ซ๐๐ก. This formative experience helped shape his distinctive guitar style.
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ฬ๐ฅ
Contrary to popular belief, Papa Noel did not adopt the name ๐๐จ๐ฬ๐ฅ because he was born on Christmas Day. Instead, he drew inspiration from his idol, ๐๐ฬ๐จ๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ค๐๐ฌ๐ (whose name he reversed to form ๐๐จ๐ฬ๐ฅ), reflecting his admiration for Bukasaโs artistry.
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
Papa Noelโs career in music began in 1956 when he joined ๐๐ ๐จ๐ฆ๐, playing alongside ๐๐ฒฬ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐๐ธ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ, who would later become his idol. In 1957, he showcased his talent as a soloist in Bukasaโs hit song ๐พ๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐ข๐ช๐๐ฃ๐.
By 1958, Papa Noel left Ngoma to join ๐ฅ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ-๐-๐ ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฏ๐ผ, where he performed with notable musicians like clarinetist ๐๐๐๐ก ๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ผ๐๐and saxophonist ๐ก๐๐ก๐ข ๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐. His versatility and technical skill quickly set him apart in the Congolese music scene.
In 1960, he moved to Gabon and joined ๐๐๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐๐, a band led by ๐๐๐-๐๐ฒฬ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฌ๐๐๐. Later that year, he joined ๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐, replacing ๐๐๐๐๐ฌ (Tino Baroza's brother) as the new lead guitarist. During his time with Bantou, he composed songs such as ๐ฝ๐๐จ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ค๐ฎ๐ค๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ and ๐๐ค๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ค๐จ๐ค. However, in 1963, he departed from the band.
That same year, Papa Noel joined ๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐ณ๐ณ after being in ๐๐จ๐ฑ ๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐, helping rejuvenate the band after ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐๐๐ had lost several key members, including ๐ง๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐, ๐๐ฟ. ๐ก๐ถ๐ฐ๐ผ and ๐๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ who abandoned him during his wedding day.
In 1967/68, he formed ๐๐ซ๐๐ก. ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ with support from ๐๐ฅ๐๐ก๐๐ข, who provided instruments with an intention to weaken ๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐ณ๐ณ.(That is one way how Luambo was trying to attack his competitors). With Orchestra Bamboula he recruited ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐๐น ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ธ๐ผ (๐๐ผ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ) as a rhythm guitarist, ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐ผ (๐ช๐๐๐ฎ ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ถ) as vocalist, ๐๐บ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐น ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ (๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ) from ๐๐ซ๐๐ก. ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ฅ as vocalist, ๐ง๐ถ๐ป๐ผ ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ธ๐๐ฎ as a Vocalist, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐(Vocalist), ๐๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ ๐๐๐ป๐ฎ๐บ as saxophone player, ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐๐ฎ as Drummist. This period marked a high point in Papa Noelโs career, as ๐๐ซ๐๐ก. ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ recorded hits like ๐พ๐ค๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ช๐ & ๐๐ช๐๐๐ฬ๐จ ๐๐๐ข๐๐๐ฉ๐. The band, however, faced defections in the early 1970s, and by the end of the decade, it had disbanded.
In 1978, Papa Noel joined ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ under the leadership of Franco. His time with the band marked some of the most fruitful years of his career, with his guitar solos blending seamlessly with the band's rhythms. Notable compositions from this era include ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐จ๐, ๐๐ค๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐ข๐ช, ๐๐๐ฏ๐ช๐ฃ๐๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ฃ๐๐ช , as well as his performances on tracks like ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ๐๐, ๐๐ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ฏ๐ช๐๐ and ๐
๐ ๐'๐๐ฃ ๐๐ค๐ช ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐๐จ๐จ๐ among others. He would return to OK Jazz in the late 1980s and continue playing for a year after Franco's death in 1989.
๐๐๐
๐ ๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
In the early 1990s, Papa Noel moved to Brussels and attempted to form a band of Congolese musicians in exile, called ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. Though the project did not achieve widespread success, his solo work flourished. In 1994, he released ๐๐๐ช๐ฉ๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐จ๐๐ค๐ฃ, an album praised for its guitar-driven brilliance.
Papa Noel also contributed his talents to ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ's 1998 album ๐๐๐ก๐ค ๐๐๐๐ง๐ค and toured with Mangwana in 1998 and 2000. In the mid-2000s, he joined Cuban guitarist ๐๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ผ for a memorable tour, culminating in the album ๐๐ค๐จ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ (2001), which captured their dynamic performances.
In the following years, Papa Noel helped form the group ๐๐ฬ๐ค๐๐ฅ๐ฬ, a collective of Congolese music veterans. However, his health suffered a setback in 2001 when he battled a severe case of tuberculosis, leading to a long period of convalescence. Nevertheless, he recovered and continued to perform and record, releasing ๐พ๐ฟ๐พ๐๐๐ฬ ๐๐ค๐๐ง in 2007, an album that showcased his enduring talent.
๐๐๐๐๐๐ & ๐
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐
Despite his extensive career and multiple collaborations, Papa Noel remained somewhat underappreciated by the general public, often overshadowed by other Congolese music giants like * Franco and Docteur Nico. Yet, among his peers and critics, he was universally acknowledged as one of the finest guitarists to emerge from the Congolese music scene. His contributions, especially during the creative peaks of the 1960s to 1980s, solidified his place among the greatest.
Papa Noel Nedule passed away on Monday, November 11, 2024, at the age of 83 after a long battle with illness. His passing marks the end of an era in Congolese music, but his legacy will continue to inspire future generations.
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