NUTA Jazz / Juwata Jazz

Founded in 1964 as NUTA Jazz,Juwata is the oldest band currently active in Tanzania  and has been one of the most prominent groups ever since.

The band was formed under the wings of the National Workers Union,

hence their original name NUTA Jazz Band, and provided the model for many of the bands to come in the seventies and eighties.

The music and dance clubs that had dominated the forties and fifties became increasingly obsolete during the sixties.

The new model, organizing bands under the wings of government or parastatal organizations,

became the dominant form in the seventies, and remains so today:

The organization owns the instruments and employs the musicians, who draw salaries like regular workers

plus some percentage of the gate collection. Today numerous bands work along this line

and include Mlimani Park, Tancut Alimasi, and Vijana Jazz.

The original name Nuta Jazz was changed to Juwata Jazz band in 1977 to mark a new beginning after a number of prominent band members,Muhiddin Maalim, Abel Balthazar, Hassani Bitchuka among them,

left the band to form Dar International and later Mlimani Park Orchestra

(Juwata is the Swahili equivalent of Nuta and stands for Jumuiya ya Wafanyakazi Tanzania).

Recently the name was changed again to mirror current political changes.

Since the mother organization changed its name to Organization of Tanzanian Trade Unions (OTTU),

the band has also been renamed and now calls itself  OTTU Jazz Band, with the adage baba ya muziki

('father of music') to reflect its standing as the oldest band in the country.

as the latest  incarnation:
Msondo Ngoma

from the glorious past to a bright present:
NUTA Jazz Special

the equally superb  Juwata >>>>

Saida Karoli

Saida Karoli was born on the 4th of April 1976 in the Northern part of Tanzania within a small region called Bukoba. As a child, Saida lived in the small village of Rwongwe in Bukoba. Her culture did not permit girls to sing or play drums but her mother, who was also a musical figure in the village, encouraged her and taught her the essentials of music.
At the age of 20, following the death of her mother, Saida continued doing what she knew to do best - make music. Her humility, patience and good sense of humor make her a great and vibrant personality.
As a singer, composer, dancer and drummer, and within a short period of time, Saida has become a much sought after female artist all over East and Central Africa.
She has staged live shows in almost all parts of Tanzania, and has been on several successful tours in Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, Uganda, Kenya and Zanzibar. Her artistic musical talent, which is filled with tradition, has captivated the diverse cultural audiences and her mellow singing voice continues to earn her a place the hearts of people of all ages and cultural backgrounds.
She sings predominantly in Haya (the language of the Haya ) as well as Swahili. However, even those who do not understand this language have been touched by her unique voice and the crisp quality of her music. Her sources of inspiration are social values, the rural culture of  Tanzania and that of its neighboring countries, as well as the condition of human society.
in various sites

sweet and joyful 3!

Firmin Viry

*

"They ordered us to whiten our skin

and learn French posthaste,to ease the burden of French employers …"

Ziskakan

In Maloya,the rhythms,the instruments, and the roles,are descended directly from the slavery times.
This “dance of the Blacks” always impressed the old time listeners with its unsettling blend of “melancholy,lasciviousness and the anguish of the lost homeland”.
Initially, maloya was performed within a ritual framework called servis malgas or servis kabaré.
In these ceremonies animals were sacrificed as offerings to the Malagasy or African ancestors
who were being thus honoured. The songs were used to initiate communication with the ancestors and to lead some of the participants in a state of possession.

Maloya had back then also an aspect of social regulation within the communities of sugar plantation workers. Historically performed in the family circle and the close neighbourhood,
some of the servis became with time increasingly public or semi-public.
The Maloya was sung,carried and transmitted by the majority of the poor uprooted Malagasy,
African, Indians and was also popular among the poor Whites .
Until the 1960s, maloya was also performed during festive evenings (maloya balls)
with dancing and the songs improvisations were well aimed social criticisms and commentary.
This form of emanation through the centuries of the darkness, was always forbidden, suppressed and oppressed by the French rulers of the island.
On December 25, 1975, on the waterfront of St. Pierre, at the initiative of the Southern Cultural Front, the first public concert of maloya was held.

Firmin Viry,the man who has worked relentlessly to preserve the maloya heritage,was there,with his band.

Maloya

Ramata Diakité

let's close this small wassulu -pop presentation with beloved ,ever missed
 and always remembered   Ramatu 

new

djonya

Djénéba Diakité - Gnogondeme

A  Wassoulou songbird from the 90's, Djénéba Diakité is hailing from the region of Sikasso.Her village Kanibougoulaye is close to the borders with  Côte d'Ivoire. She spent her childhood between  Wassoulou and Bamako and after school she began studying theater in Koutiala.

After her courses she became interested in music despite the will of her parents, who over time  accepted her decision  by attributing it to fate. Thus Djénéba was driven on the road to music by her husband  Madou Bah Traore.Together they  formed their group "Farafina Lolo' with the highly talented Madou Bah  as the guitarist and arranger . Equipped with a beautiful voice Djénéba was soon on the national level.
Djénéba  was one of the Malian music stars who turned out in the early 90s with the release of her first cassette "dougou dassiri ",a big success in Mali and  soon with Farafina Lolo they performed  throughout Mali and the whole sub-region.

Djénéba Diakité became known in  Abidjan  appealing to the Malian expatriate community  there but also in Burkina Faso, Niger and Benin where was known as a reference wassoulou star from Mali.European tours followed closely ..

A second cassette named Liberia  confirmed her class,but the  album was widely pirated .Still Djénéba was not discouraged and she recorded a third album that was  also  pirated before its official release....

wassoulou life soundtrack

Gnogondeme


with

vocals-Djénéba Diakité

guitars-Madou Bah Traoré
bass:Dramane Traoré

kamélé n'goni-Benogo

djembé-Drissa Bagayogo

backing vocals-Sata Sidibé,Fanta Doumbia

thanks to ngoni for the video

Nabintou Diakité

...was ( back in 98 )

la  nouvelle revelation de Wassoulou

with (Oumou's band)

Kassim Sidibé kamalengoni

Adama Dramé & Sekou Bah guitars

Abdouleye Fofana flute 

Basidi Keita djembe
Djeneba Seck, Alima Toure and cousin Oumou Sangare on chorus