The Cuban Marimba Band (previously known as La Paloma) was an influential
Tanzania
Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...
n
big band
A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...
from the city of
Morogoro
Morogoro is a city located in the eastern part of Tanzania, approximately 196 kilometers (122 miles) west of Dar es Salaam.
Retrieved on November 24, 2011.
It serves as the capital of the Morogoro Region. Informally, it is referred to as ''Mji ...
. It was founded in 1948 by Salum Abdullah, who had previously formed the
Morogoro Jazz Band. For about twenty years, Cuban Marimba was one of the most popular
muziki wa dansi
Muziki wa dansi (in Swahili language, Swahili: "dance music"), or simply dansi, is a Tanzanian music genre, derivative of soukous, Congolese soukous and Congolese rumba. It is sometimes called Swahili jazz because most dansi lyrics are in Swahil ...
(dance music) bands in Tanzania.
History
Salum Abdallah was a prolific songwriter and musician who played guitar and mandolin. He was a "chotara," a person of mixed races.
The main themes of Abdallah's music were love, life wisdom, the good and evil of mankind, and even politics. One of his popular songs was "Mkono wa Idd", which is usually played on the radio during Idd festivities. Preceding Abdallah's death, the group released a twist tune, a departure from his suave rumba style, called "Hapo zamani sana" about the horrible colonial days in South Africa, and "Wanawake wa Tanzania wazuri sana," a tribute to Tanzanian women.
In 1965, Abdullah died in a car accident. While he was replaced by
Juma Kilaza, but the band declined in popularity over the following years.
Partial discography
* Various, ''
Dada Kidawa - Sister Kidawa: Classic Tanzanian Hits from the 1960's'' (''dansi'' collection including songs by Cuban Marimba Band,
Kiko Kids,
NUTA Jazz,
Dar es Salaam Jazz Band)
* AVVV, ''The Tanzania Sound'' (dansi collection including songs by Cuban Marimba Band, Kiko Kids, NUTA Jazz, Dar es Salaam Jazz Band). Original Music 1986
* Salum Abdallah & Cuban Marimba, ''Ngoma Iko Huku'', Dizim Asili Series vol. 1
References
* M. La Voie,
Unreleased recording of the Cuban Marimba Band' a
Voice of America*
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External links
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{{Authority control
Tanzanian musical groups
Morogoro