With a music career spanning almost six decades from the 60s till his retirement in 2016, John Amutabi Nzenze brought an authentic flavour to Kenyan music, popularising the art of live performances, and the unforgettable Kenyan twist music genre.
John’s story began in Muthurwa area in Nairobi in 1940. He spent his formative years in the city, and later moved to western Kenya where he was educated, though whenever he was home, he found himself drawn to his father’s guitar. John’s father was a member of the railway company band. Tugging at the guitar strings and eventually finding rhythm is essentially how John became a guitarist. This was the first step in his musical career.
While a junior in high school, John left school and sought employment. The details of his leaving formal education to pursue a career are not clear, but while still a teenager, John joined the Norfolk Hotel’s staff as a waiter. Here he met a young man named Daudi Kabaka. The two shared the staff quarters and found common interest in their love for music. Eventually, they toyed around with the idea of composing music together. As their friendship grew, it became inevitable that they would make their idea a reality, and so began their informal musical career. In typical teenage boy fashion, their first collaboration was a song about love. The lyrics spoke of a love triangle between a woman called Agneta and two friends who had no idea they were seeing the same woman. Copyright and recognition misunderstandings caused a rift between the pair.
This was a slight setback for John who wanted his music played on the radio, but in the face of it, he remained hopeful in his ability to create music that would be recognized and appreciated. This attitude informed his pursuit of recording companies that would produce his music. In due course he approached a group of musicians from a recording company. Introductions, pitches, samples and much studio time later, John’s first single “Angelike” – a song appealing to a woman to return to him (her lover) despite the issues between them – was released. This would be his most famous song for the rest of his career.
The 60s all through to the 90s were a roaring time of enjoyment through discos and live performances. At the height of his career, John formed the Air Fiesta Matata Band which was made up of musicians from Kenya and Congo. The Band played at different festivals and locations in different countries both within and beyond the continent. In 1971, the BBC Africa Service crowned it the best band in Africa. It wasn’t until the group went on a tour in the UK that the band fell out. It happened at the end of the tour, when it was time to return to Kenya. Some members preferred to stay behind and because the band couldn’t be a band remotely, it was disbanded.
Still, John’s life was tied to music, and this was simply another bump on the road to his destiny. He continued writing and recording songs and gained recognition because of his live performances where he first performed the twist dance that set a trend which is today still considered nostalgic depending on who you ask. The other aspect that set him apart was his lyrics: they had a deep, sincere meaning to them; one that resonated with listeners, first women, and then men. A year to his retirement, he shared with the BBC that what made his music standout was the maturity of it. This was seen in other songs by him such as: Marashi ya Warembo, Ninamlilia Susanna, and Veronica – Ni Mzuri Kuwa Bibi.
Eager to go beyond the mic, John eventually added ‘music producer’ to his career when he started working as a producer at Philco Studio in Nairobi.
In 2009, for his contribution and dedication to music, Nzenze was awarded the Head of Commendation Award by then President Mwai Kibaki.
And yet with the many hats and many hits under his belt, none stood out like Angelike which continued to take him around the world till the second decade of the 21st century. In 2014 he was invited to sing the song at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Here he teamed with Peter Akwabi to sing the famous song. Two years later, the legend retired from his long, successful career. He settled in Kaimosi in Vihiga County.
Sadly, he passed away in May 2020 at the age of 80. He had by then been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Many leaders and industry veterans paid tribute to his musical legacy, one that to this day is not forgotten.
We salute this musician, twist-er and veteran, Mr. John Nzenze through his most famous song Angelike. Listen to it here.
