See how live band music stands an edge above Bongo Flava

DAR ES SALAAM: WHILE Bongo Flava celebrates its 30th anniversary, band music celebrates 65 years of culturally, socially and politically united Tanzania through live music. Most of the bands’ owned Armed Forces units are alive and kicking hard, according to Bindo Bakari, a retired Mwenge Jazz master guitarist.

“What people don’t know is that dance music is still adored countrywide, but their presence is not felt at this epoch of digitalised music,” noted Bindo, who joined Mwenge Jazz in the mid1970s from serving Western Jazz Band, a defunct band also based in Dar es Salaam.

“Dance music bands are the masters of live performance. They play all types of music with professional ease, while on the contrary Bongo Flava, as music that embraces solo artistry, cannot manage to play full orchestra music with three trumpets supported by two saxophones and a trombone plus four guitars; solo, rhythm, 2nd solo (mi-solo) and bass,” he noted.

According to Bindo, military bands have been lively performing in big national-level occasions.

“All of them; Mwenge Jazz, Air Jazz, Arusha Les Mwenge Jazz, Magereza Jazz Mkote Ngoma, Ruvu JKT, JKT Kimbunga and Police Jazz Vanga Vanga are still performing today,” he insisted.

According to him, Les Mwenge of Arusha won the best military band award in a recently held music contest. A cool breeze from the Indian Ocean chilled a spacious Travellers Sports Lounge at Mbezi Luis when JKT Ruvu Jazz band opened the show with Wasiwasi Ondoa recorded by Jamhuri Jazz in the early 1970s.

Everyone rushed to the dance floor. Just 200m North of Magufuli Bus Terminal in Mbezi suburb is one of the countless joints that host live band concerts every weekend and as of today, over six ‘jazz’ bands perform there on a rotational basis.

But the occasion’s top people’s choice was “Tanzania Yetu ni Nchi ya Furaha”, a classic Swahili Dance Music by the legendary Atomic Jazz Band from Tanga, famously associated with veteran artist Steven Hiza.

ALSO READ: Preparing Tanzania’s youths for opportunities beyond the pitch

Led by John Kjiko, the Atomic Jazz Band was a prominent force during the golden age of Tanzanian live band music in the 1960s and 1970s. Themes: “Tanzania Yetu” celebrates national unity, peace and the country’s joyful spirit.

“It has been a people’s choice for many years to the extent it has become the second national anthem,” JKT Ruvu band’s leader, Captain Kigula. Captain Kigula said people love live band music because it offers raw energy, genuine human connection and unique artistic moments. Its loud sound and strong bass create a powerful physical feeling in the room. Some music lovers enjoy watching musicians play instruments with skill that builds excitement that recorded tracks cannot match.

“I enjoy sharing social joy like crowds singing and dancing together, which releases happy bonding hormones like oxytocin in the brain,” added Martina Shoo, a music enthusiast. She sees bands often change how a song sounds, add new solos, or improvise on stage.

Each performance is a one-time event that creates special memories for everyone there. For a closer look at how live music engages our brains and bodies through sound and rhythm: Like many other bands performing live music, JKT Ruvu Jazz most often play the radio-era music and varieties of new generation music, most notably punchy Bongo Flava hits while also adding popular music from the contemporary stars of Congo rhumba.

Though they no longer record, many ‘jazz bands’ still exist and perform and there is more than a dozen of them in the armed forces units still on the game for over 60 years, according to Captain Kigula, who named JKT Kimbunga Stereo formed in 1964 and Mwenge Jazz created in 1968, among the oldest groups in Africa today.

“The live band music is still adored and its future is very bright,” adds Mwenge Jazz singer, Hussein Mtamile, during one of his band’s performances at Dagaa Dagaa Bar in Ubungo suburb, Dar es Salaam.

“We use Gibson Epiphone as a rhythm guitar while Fender Precision guitar governs the bass section and this has been seen in many jazz bands too for over six decades,” notes JKT Ruvu Band’s solo guitarist, Ramadhan Cholobi, who said he himself prefers an Ibanez guitar on lead because its resonance feel suits the new generation.

“The live-band music has been a heaven for gentle dance lovers.” People like to hear the dance music of the 1970s and 80s. At the same time, the surprise packages have been the music of contemporary stars like Ali Kiba, Diamond Platnumz, Ferre Gola, Fally Ipupa and Koffi Olomide,” JKT Ruvu’s bassist Sam Noah added after his band played “Achii” by Diamond featuring Koffi Olomide.

Despite playing the music that dominated the dance floors five to six decades back, the majority of musicians who play for JKT Ruvu, Air Jazz, Polisi Jazz and many other unregistered bands are of a Bongo Flava generation, according to JKT Ruvu singer, Athumani Kibavu, who added that Matata by Fally Ipupa and Yope Remix by Innosy B featuring Diamond are regular on the menu as per the request of youthful music lovers.

“People of the Bongo Flava generation seem to enjoy listening, watching and dancing to these hits,” said the singer. But for the band to qualify as an ideal outfit for dance music, “Rangi ya Chungwa”, a popular classic hit composed by Juma Kitambi of Nyanyembe Jazz in 1976, must be in the repertoire.

Also, among the favourites in bands’ repertoires are “Georgina” by Safari Trippers, “Dada Remmy” by Tabora Jazz, Amigo and Afro by Less Wanyika, and “Nawashukuru Wazazi” by Mlimani Park Orchestra. Mwenge Jazz and other bands also frequently perform “Safari ya Masafa Marefu” by Tancut Almas Orchestra, “Kitambaa Cheupe” by King Kiki, but for the military bands, “Tumerudi Kishujaa” penned by JKT Kimulimuli in 1979 is their never-miss hit.

“Most of the old jazz bands have been sidelined by the recording industry, but they are still active as live music performers,” echoed Ruvu JKT guitarist Rashid Sumuni, who is serving the band after parting ways with Mchinga Sound of Muumini Mwinjuma fame.