Muziki wa dansi

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Music of Tanzania
Genres
Media and performance
Music awards
Music festivals
Nationalistic and patriotic songs
National anthem
Regional music
Muziki wa Dansi
Stylistic origins

Muziki wa dansi (in

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.[1]

Muziki wa dansi began in the 1930s in the

Super Matimila, and Vijana Jazz.[2][3]

History

In the first decades of the 20th century,

big bands based on brass and drums.[3][4]

After Tanzania became independent (in 1961), a

Hassani Bitchuka wrote hit songs for virtually all the major bands of their times. Conversely, a band was more of a "brand" than any specific ensemble of musicians; some bands kept playing for up to 50 years, while their members came and went.[6]

Dansi music flourished through the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, with bands such as Orchestra Safari Sound, Orchestra Maquis Original, International Orchestra Safari Sound and DDC Mlimani Park Orchestra battling to get the audience's favours. Competition was in fact a relevant concept in the development of dansi. Music festivals were usually in the form of contests, and each band typically had its own fan base, much in the venue of sporting teams.[3][4] Also, a band often had its "nemesis", i.e., their foremost competitor; for example, the dansi scene in the 1970s was characterized by the rivalry between Orchestra Maquis Original and Orchestra Safari Sound, which was later replaced by that between International Orchestra Safari Sound and Mlimani Park.[6]

Mitindo (in Swahili, "styles") were a key element in the rivalry between dansi bands. Each band would typically create its own style (mtindo), which was designed to be catchy for the audience and be clearly distinctive of the band. Mitindo were usually associated with, and often named after, some specific dancing style; for example, the name of Orchestra Maquis' mtindo ogelea piga mbizi means "dive and swim", as dancers were supposed to move their arms like they were diving. Bands often changed their mtindo when it began to go out of style. Some musicians and composers were specifically renowned as "mtindo makers".[3]

Mitindo were also important to identify a band irrespective of who was actually playing in that band. When a musician switched from one band to another, he would change his style to reflect the new band's mtindo. Again, the most appreciated dansi musicians could easily change their style as needed.[4]

Over time, dansi music changed, partly influenced by the evolution of

American music. Bands in the 1960s and 1970s typically had electric guitars and electric bass guitars; in the 1980s keyboards became commonplace, and later bands even used synthesizers and drum machines (as was the case with Vijana Jazz). The sound of most recent dansi bands like Gari Kubwa, Tokyo Ngma and Atomic Advantage is actually keyboard-based.[7]

Notable bands

Name Also known as Timeline Location Mitindo Notable musicians
Dar es Salaam Jazz Band Dar Jazz 1930s-1970s Dar es Salaam Michael Enoch
Morogoro Jazz Band Morogoro Mbaraka Mwinshehe, Salim Adballah
NUTA Jazz Band
 Juwata Jazz Band, OTTU Jazz Band 1960s-present
Saidi Mabera, Abel Balthazar
Orchestra Maquis Original 1970s-present Dar es Salaam kamanyola, zembwela Chinyama Chianza, Nguza Mbangu, Dekula Kahanga, Kasaloo Kyanga, Kyanga Songa, Tshimanga Assosa
Orchestra Safari Sound 1970s-1985 Ndala Kasheba, Skassy Kasambula, Kalala Mbwembwe, Molai Tungwa, Kababa Nkomba Gabi, Sony Mobali, Twahir Mohd, Muhidin Maalim
Mlimani Park Orchestra
 1978-? sikinde Muhiddin Maalim, Hassani Bitchuka, Abel Balthazar, Michael Enoch, Cosmas Chidumule, Shaaban Dede
Vijana Jazz 1980s-1990s Pamba moto Hemedi Maneti, Cosmas Chidumule, Mhina Panduka, Jerry Nashon, Hamza Kalala, Yohana Shaban, Gotagota, Rashid Pembe, Hasan Dalali
International Orchestra Safari Sound IOSS 1985-? ndekule Muhiddin Maalim, Hassani Bitchuka, Abel Balthazar, Nguza Mbangu

See also

References

  1. ^ Kaduma, Godwin Z. (1978). A theatrical description of five Tanzanian dances (Thesis). Dar es Salaam: University of Dar es Salaam.
  2. ISBN 9781135900014
    .
  3. ^
    S2CID 162437123
    – via Cambridge CORE.
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-9987-08-108-0
    .
  5. ISBN 978-0-253-11705-2
    .
  6. ^ a b Mahenge, Elizabeth (2022-04-16). "Matumizi ya Mbinu ya Usimulizi katika Kuibua Dhamira ya Ukombozi wa Kisiasa Kusini mwa Afrika: Uchunguzi wa Nyimbo Teule za Muziki wa Dansi nchini Tanzania 1940-1990" [Use of Narrative Techniques in Raising the Demand for Political Liberation in Southern Africa: An Examination of Selected Dance Music Songs in Tanzania 1940-1990]. Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam (in Swahili). 40 (40). Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam.
  7. S2CID 146229942
    .
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