Ernie's African Odyssey Part 49 - Tanzania

Its T time on our tour. T for Tanzania to be precise. 

We have had some highs and lows on the odyssey but none to match Tanzania which has the distinction of being the site of Africa's highest and lowest points (the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro and the floor of Lake Tanganyika respectively). And there are lots of good things in between.

Those good things include many groovy tunes. The music of Tanzania has perhaps tended to be a bit overshadowed by that of its neighbours DR Congo, Kenya and Zambia, but it deserves to be heard. So let's crack on!

We will start with the greatest band that never was, or at least the greatest name for a band that never was. Back in 1975 the Vijana Jazz Band were riding high in the charts and were very keen to get their new material on the market, but that enthusiasm was not shared by their record company who wanted to finish milking the current singles first. 

So the band popped over to Nairobi, recorded some tracks and found someone who was able to persuade the record company it was a new band and get the record released that way. The name of that imaginary band? Why, Koka Koka Sex Battalion, of course. You can find the Sex Battalion tracks plus other Vijana Jazz Band releases on this 2011 Sterns compilation.

You will have spotted that the Battalion boys were heavily influenced by the rumba rhythms rolling over the border from DRC. The same is true for many other Tanzanian bands from the 1970s to the present day. One such example is Twanga Pepeta International (sometimes to be seen without the International and sometimes called the African Stars Band, making them almost as confusing as the Sex Battalion). Formed in 1994, the shiny little number is from their 2006 album "Password".

Not everyone was lured by the shimmering guitar sound back then in the 1970s though. Some like Sunburst looked further west and south, taking their inspiration from the funky sounds emanating out of Nigeria etc and the Zambian rock scene. 

They were only around for a few years but made some great music in that time. In 2016 Strut records released their complete recordings on a compilation called "Ave Africa". The track I have chosen was originally a B-side in 1973. Those were the days when they still had proper B-sides.

All the acts featured so far hail from mainland Tanzania, so we should probably pop over to Zanzibar to see what is happening there. Well, Siti Muharam for one, whose 2020 album "Siti Of Unguja" is worth buying for the cover alone. Her great-grandmother, Siti Binti Saad, was the first East African singer to be recorded nearly 100 years ago and was credited with popularising taarab music. Siti Muharam made this album to help to preserve her legacy and does so magnificently.

Sticking with current female performers we follow that with the title track from "Maisha", the debut album from the Zawose Queens released last year. The Queens are sisters Pendo and Leah Zawose and this is their take on the traditional polyrhythms and polyphonic singing of the Gogo people based mainly in the Dodola region of the country. I refuse to bow to demands to refer to them as Gogo girls.

Like Siti Muharam, the Queens have an impressive musical lineage. Their late grandfather was Hukwe Zawose, the most famous exponent of the Gogo musical tradition. I had not originally planned to include him in this post, but when I paid a visit to Flashback Records in Islington last weekend I found a copy of his album "Chibite" in the bargain bin. I took it as a sign.

"Chibite" came out in 1996 on Real World and is pretty much a one man show. Dr Zawose handles vocals, thumb piano, fiddle, flute and ankle bells and is helped out only by Charles Zawose (who I think is his son) on harmonies and all-important second thumb piano.

And so to the MAR slot. This time it goes to dAbo Mtanzania. I am not sure why he chooses to capitalise the A - perhaps he was named after former Manfred Mann singer Mike d'Abo? Whatever the reason, here is is with a track from last year's "Undisputed" album. 

"Ujirani Mwema" - Koka Koka Sex Battalion

"Umasikini" - Twanga Pepeta International

"Black Is Beautiful" - Sunburst

"Alaminadura" - Siti Muharam

"Maisha" - The Zawose Queens

"Chilumi" - Hukwe Zawose

"Uncle Mapepe" - dAbo Mtanzania

We will start off the videos with one of the more obscure Tanzanian performers after which I will try to pander to your more populist tastes. So please all join me in giving a warm 27 Leggies welcome to Farrokh Bulsara from Stone Town in Zanzibar.