SAIDI KANDA – VOICE OF TANZANIAN AND EAST AFRICAN ORIGINAL MUSIC

 

There is a reason we promote lions that climb trees in Lake Manyara. There is a reason countries have their own beloved songs. There are many reasons why tourists pay lots of money to go see Kangaroos in Australia or Moshi to scale Mount Kilimanjaro. And it is justified why we should pause and pay attention to a Tanzanian band called Mvula Mandondo Tolekaa. If you don't know what it means, please !Keep on reading. 

KWANINI WASTANI WA MAUTI YA MTU MWEUSI ALIYESOMA NI MIAKA 55-65?

Mwandishi nikiwa na mtunzi mashuhuri hayati Gil Scott Heron (kushoto), baada ya onesho lake Jazz Cafe, London.  Scott- Heron alifariki akiwa na umri wa 63, mwaka 2011. Picha ya A. Macha , 1999.

Nilikuwa naongea na rafiki yangu mhadhiri; Dk Ikaweba Bunting, anafundisha  Marekani...

 Tulisononeka kifo cha mshairi maarufu wa mahadhi ya Jazz, marehemu Gil Scott Heron. Bw Scott Heron alikuwa na ujumbe mzito uliotetea maslahi ya wananchi weusi wa Marekani na kuzungumzia matatizo kadhaa ya jamii hiyo ukiwemo utumiaji dawa za kulevya. Alipiga piano na kuandika riwaya na mashairi matamu na makali sana. Ukitaka mfano mzuri hebu tafuta “Pieces of a Man” katika You Tube. Sikiliza sauti yake mshairi anayesemwa kuwa ni  baba wa watenzi wa Rapu na Ushairi wenye ujumbe. Fuatilia piano iliyotulia na mdundo  wa Blues na Jazz. Kama unahusudu lugha,  zingatia namna Kiingereza kinavyotumiwa kumchora na kumhakiki mhusika anayeimbwa.  Hayati Gil Scott Heron aliandika riwaya na kufundisha fasihi.  Anaomboleza maisha ya mtu huyu aliyeanza na bangi huishia  jehanam. Baadaye jamaa anateketea kabisa.

“I saw him go to pieces.

He was always such a good, good man.”

(Nilimtazama akivunjika vipande vipande

Alikuwa mtu mzuri sana...)

SAIDI KANDA PROVES AFRICAN MUSIC IS THE NEEDED PLEASURE

 “His music makes you feel pure joy,” the English lady reflects with sparkling teeth and a smile bright enough to light the semi darkness of Rich Mix, East London. This beautiful club always showcases excellent music from across the globe.... As we speak, couples and singles are close to the stage, gyrating hips and clapping. Men and women dancing further left are trying a Maasai jump, recreation. Minutes later, everyone is waving and dancing and swinging to the Mandela dance, yet another Saidi Kanda creation. Young and old cheer ecstatically while filming on their phones.  Electric atmosphere. That English dame with a sparkle was right. Africa is not just misery, guns and Ebola...

Saidi Kanda, Tanzanian musician, is on fire. 

Saidi Jumanne Kanda  (with Swahili singer, Fab Moses) in action last Sunday, at  Rich Mix.

LONDON’S NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL- TWO MILLION FEET DANCING....

Multi tasking is a word associated with women although most of us do it without realising. Driving a vehicle when we are texting or speaking on the phone as well as managing a conversation with a passenger. That is dangerous multi-tasking. But it is done, anyway.  A boss administering a bunch of clerks, newly appointed junior managers and anxious customers while performing his own chores- such as making sure the company sells well or dealing with emergencies.

Like said, multi tasking is traditionally associated with females.

Whistle blowing at the Notting Hill Carnival, this year...pic by Z. Bahati.

Feeding a crying baby, cooking for the husband, making sure older children are prepared for school, chatting and gossiping with friends and neighbours and if educated (and well positioned) being an efficient executive. Yes, multi-tasking is a skill. Multiple skills; multiple things, multiple colours.

Consider such  mix: work, play, serious, fun. This would be one way of describing a Carnival.

<--more--!>

MUSICIAN REMMY ONGALA - Obituaries in English and Swahili

FOUR PHASES IN THE LIFE OF REMMY ONGALA AND RECALLING HIS LAST GIG IN LONDON

I would like to divide the life of excellent musician Remmy Ongala who died on Sunday night into four phases. First, his early years growing and entertaining in Kivu, Eastern Zaire where he was born on February 10^th, 1947. Those grounding years included playing guitar, kit drums and saxophone. This passion for music was pushed by sadness. Both parents died when he was quite young; his father, Etiennes Kalimangonga was a percussion player while his charismatic mother, Aziza Moza Mayokei passed away in 1964 leaving the lonely boy heart broken in standard five.

The late genius musician, Rama  Zani Mtoro Ongala, was a man of incredible lyrical skill...