André « Dadou » Pasquet: the guitar that reshaped Haitian konpa

In 1976, in Miami, a twenty-three-year-old guitarist imposed an unprecedented sound¹. André « Dadou » Pasquet had just launched the Magnum Band and marked Haitian music.

In brief

Key dates

Origins: a musical family

André Pasquet was born on 19 August 1953 in Port-au-Prince, immersed in music². His uncle, Dòdòf Legros, a prominent figure on the Haitian scene, was his first inspiration. Very young, he picked up a guitar; Raymond Sicot, Raoul Guillaume and Richard Duroseau spotted his potential.

At Tabou Combo (1970-1976)

At fourteen, he played with Raoul Guillaume. In 1970, at sixteen, he joined Tabou Combo, a konpa group then at the peak¹. Alongside Roger « Shoubou » Eugène and Yvon « Biassou » Mondésir, he formed a powerful vocal trio and contributed as guitarist and arranger to the successes of Sugar Cane, Respect, 8th Sacrament and The Masters.

But this talent felt too confined. He would later confess that he left Tabou Combo because he could not « truly exploit his compositional inspiration »³.

The Magnum Band and kadans rampa

On 24 June 1976, on the feast day of Saint John the Baptist, Dadou and his brother Claude « Tico » founded the Magnum Band in a lodge in Miami. The sound was new: konpa pulled toward jazz, funk and pop. Trained at Staten Island College, Dadou inserted blues chords and complex brass arrangements into Haitian konpa, forging kadans rampa — a climbing konpa¹. The group performed in Miami clubs, 40,000 people in Paris, and the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996.

« You can’t sing nonsense », he launched to the Miami Herald. « I want the Magnum Band to rock, and I won’t rest until it’s done ».

Magguie Rigaud, his manager, estimated that he could have « exploded on the world stage » if he had not been held back by the limits of the Haitian market¹. Confronted with gangs, he had to abandon the studio built in Fermathe, on the hills of Kenscoff.

Discography

Legacy

Dadou Pasquet died in Miami on 22 November 2025, after a battle against leukemia³.

The Transitional Presidential Council of Haiti and Prime Minister Alix Fils-Aimé paid tribute to his « talent, elegance and devotion to Haitian music »⁴. His family described him as « a close one whose humility equaled his talent ».

Ralph Condé wrote: « Dadou’s touch, his soul on the guitar left a mark that will never fade »¹.

Fabrice Rouzier, founder of the Mizik Mizik group, summarized: « Every 50 years, Haiti gives us one of them. It’s extraordinary to have lived at the same time as an artist like him »¹.

When asked what he wanted to leave to the world, his answer in Crete fit into three words: « Jwe mizik lan ». Play my music.

Sources and references