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Msondo Ngoma (formerly known as NUTA Jazz Band, renamed Juwata Jazz Band, and then OTTU Jazz Band) is a Tanzanian muziki wa dansi band. Having been established in 1964, it is the oldest active dansi band in Tanzania.
The band began in 1964 and was originally named "NUTA Jazz Band", after its sponsor, the National Union of Tanganyika (NUTA), which was the main Tanzanian trade union. In the early years of dansi, the NUTA Jazz Band was very influential both artistically and in terms of financial organization; namely, it was one of the first dansi bands to constitute itself into a "cooperative" of salaried musicians (a model that would become widespread in the 1970s).
In the 1960s, NUTA Jazz Band was led by trumpeter-singer Joseph Lusungu and saxophonist Mnenge Ramadhani, who defined the brass-centered sound of the band.
NUTA Jazz Band held its position as one of the major Tanzanian dansi bands throughout the latter half of the 1960s and most of the 1970s. In 1977 it experienced a major change in personnel, with many of its most talented musicians (including Muhiddin Maalim and Hassani Bitchuka) leaving the band to form a new ensemble, Mlimani Park Orchestra. In 1977, the band changed its name to "Juwata Jazz", [1] after the Swahili name of its sponsor (NUTA), Jumuiya ya Wafanyakazi Tanzania. About at the same time, guitarist Saidi Mabera became the new leader of the band. He wrote several of Juwata's hit songs of the 1980s. After Mabera, both Maalim and Bitchuka (who rejoined the band in 1991) became leaders. Maalim is credited with one of the major hits of Juwata in the 1990s, Usia kwa watoto.
The band changed its name again in 1991 from Juwata Jazz to OTTU Jazz, [1] when the trade union that sponsored it was renamed Organization of Tanzanian Trade Unions. The band is still active as "Msondo Ngoma" ( msondo being a Swahili drum [2] ), performing regularly at the TCC Club in Temeke for example, [3] and is the oldest active dansi band in Tanzania. This is reflected by its motto baba ya muziki, "father of music".
Dar es Salaam is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over nine million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by Population and the sixth-largest in Africa. Located on the Swahili coast, Dar es Salaam is an important economic center and one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.
Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to the south; Zambia to the southwest; and Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, is in northeastern Tanzania. According to the 2022 national census, Tanzania has a population of around 62 million, making it the most populous country located entirely south of the equator.
As it is in other countries, the music in Tanzania is constantly undergoing changes, and varies by location, people, settings and occasion. The five music genres in Tanzania, as defined by BASATA are, ngoma, dansi, kwaya, and taarab, with bongo flava being added in 2001. Singeli has since the mid-2000s been an unofficial music of uswahilini, unplanned communities in Dar es Salaam, and is the newest mainstream genre since 2020.
Bongo Flava is a nickname for Tanzanian music. The genre developed in the 1990s, mainly as a derivative of American hip hop and traditional Tanzanian styles such as taarab and dansi. Lyrics are usually in Swahili or English.
Tanzanian Hip-hop, which is sometimes referred to Bongo Flava by many outside of Tanzania's hip hop community, encompasses a large variety of different sounds, but it is particularly known for heavy synth riffs and an incorporation of Tanzanian pop.
Following Tanganyika's independence (1961) and unification with Zanzibar (1964), leading to the formation of the state of Tanzania, President Julius Nyerere emphasised a need to construct a national identity for the citizens of the new country. To achieve this, Nyerere provided what has been regarded by some commentators as one of the most successful cases of ethnic repression and identity transformation in Africa.
Mwanza Region is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions, covering a total land area of 25,233 km2 (9,743 sq mi). The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of North Macedonia. Mwanza Region is bordered to the north through Lake Victoria by the Kagera Region and Mara Region, to the east by Simiyu Region, to the south by the Shinyanga Region and to the west by Geita Region. The regional capital is the city of Mwanza. According to the 2022 national census, the region had a population of 3,699,872 and national census of 2012 had 2,772,509. Mwanza Region is the second region with high population in Tanzania after Dar es Salaam Region.
Imani Sanga is Professor of Music in the Department of Creative Arts, formerly called Department of Fine and Performing Arts, in the College of Humanities at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He teaches courses in Ethnomusicology, Philosophy of Music, Composition and Choral Music. And he conducts the university choir.
Muziki wa dansi, or simply dansi, is a Tanzanian music genre, derivative of Congolese soukous and Congolese rumba. It is sometimes called Swahili jazz because most dansi lyrics are in Swahili, and "jazz" is an umbrella term used in Central and Eastern Africa to refer to soukous, highlife, and other dance music and big band genres. Muziki wa dansi can also be referred to as Tanzanian rumba, as "african rumba" is another name for soukous.
The trade unions of Tanzania have a total membership of approximately 370,000. 350,000 of these belong to the Trade Union Congress of Tanzania, another 15,000 to the Zanzibar Trade Union Congress, and 2,400 are members of the Tanzania Fishing Crew and Allied Workers’ Union.
The Cuban Marimba Band was an influential Tanzanian big band from the city of Morogoro. It was founded in 1948 by Salum Abdullah, who had previously formed the Morogoro Jazz Band. For about twenty years, Cuban Marimba was one of the most popular muziki wa dansi bands in Tanzania.
The Dar es Salaam Jazz Band was a Tanzanian big band from Dar es Salaam, established in 1932, that was one of the prominent muziki wa dansi bands between the 1960s and 1970s. It was led by Michael Enoch, who would later play in many other major dansi bands. Although Enoch did originally play guitar in the band's first years, he would later be known mostly as a saxophone and trumpet player.
International Orchestra Safari Sound was a popular muziki wa dansi Tanzanian band from 1985 to 1992.
DDC Mlimani Park Orchestra has been one of the most popular Tanzanian muziki wa dansi bands.
Orchestra Maquis Original is a Tanzanian muziki wa dansi band, originally from DR Congo. Founded in 1970 and still active, it is one of the most long-lived dansi bands.
Vijana Jazz Orchestra is a Tanzanian muziki wa dansi band that reached its peak of popularity in the 1980s. As with many other dansi bands of the times, it was sponsored by a government institution, namely the Umoja wa Vijana, i.e., the youth wing of Tanzania's ruling party Tanganyika African National Union (TANU).
Tabora Sound Band, formerly known as Tabora Jazz, is a seminal Tanzanian muziki wa dansi band based in Tabora, Tanzania and led by guitarist Shem Ibrahim Karenga. In the 1970s, their song Dada Asha was a major hit in Tanzania and East Africa. They disbanded in the late 1970s but efforts were made to revive the band. So, by early 1980s, it was active again but disbanded in mid 1980s following damage of the instruments by an electric shock. It was later reformed by Shem Karenga as Tabora Jazz Stars. Kassimu Kaluwona, the rythim guitarist of the former band also joined. The band was based in Dar es Salaam.They mainly played classic songs of the former band, Tabora Jazz Band.
Nuta or NUTA may refer to:
Ngoma(also ng'oma or ing'oma) is a Bantu term with many connotations that encompasses music, dance, and instruments. In Tanzania ngoma also refers to events, both significant life-changing events such as the first menstruation or the birth or passing of a loved one, as well as momentary events such as celebrations, rituals, or competitions. Ngoma was the primary form of culture throughout the Great Lakes and Southern Africa. Today it is most notable in Tanzania, where it is deemed an official music genre by the National Arts Council (BASATA - Baraza la Sanaa la Taifa). In Tanzania, it is experienced throughout the country and performed, taught, and studied in many schools and universities. The most notable school for ngoma is the Bagamoyo Arts and Cultural Institute, which produces the most prominent chairmen (directors/conductors) and dancers.
Singeli or sometimes called Sengeli is a Tanzanian music genre that originated with the Zaramo in the Mtogole neighborhood of the Tandale ward in Kinondoni District of Dar es Salaam Region around the mid-2000s. The genre has since the late 2010s spread throughout Tanzania, and since 2020 the surrounding Great Lakes. Singeli is a ngoma music and dance where an MC performs over fast tempo taarab music, often at between 200 and 300 beats per minute (BPM), while women dance. Male and female MCs are near equally common, however styles between MC gender typically differ significantly. Male MCs usually perform in fast-paced rap, while female MCs usually perform kwaya.
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