Janzi Band, sometimes simply Janzi, is a

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

n afro-fusion, contemporary and

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

group formed on 27 August 2009 by Ssewa Ssewa and friends Abraham Sekasi, Jackson Kirya and Steven Oundo. The band has a hybrid

repertoire Repertory or repertoire () is the list or set of works a person or company is accustomed to performing. Whether the English or French spelling is used has no bearing, but it was the French word, with an accent on the first e, , that first took ho ...

of music, including notable

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of c ...

s as well as an original ethno-pop discography. The band has worked alongside a number of Ugandan musicians, including Lilian Mbabazi and

A Pass Alexander Bagonza, better known by his stage name A Pass (and formerly APassKiller), is a Ugandan musician and songwriter. He was born in Uganda on 21 December 1989. A Pass states that his stage name comes from Alexander his first name and Pass ...

. They are known for the creation of a new Ugandan

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

-like instrument, the Janzi. Their first album, Eka (Home) was released in on i-Tunes in 2017.

Background

Janzi is a

Luganda Ganda or Luganda ( ; ) is a Bantu language spoken in the African Great Lakes region. It is one of the major languages in Uganda and is spoken by more than 5.56 million Ganda people, Baganda and other people principally in central Uganda, includ ...

word that means grasshopper, which according to the founders Ssewa Ssewa and friends Abraham Sekasi, Jackson Kirya and Steven Oundo, means that Janzi Band flies like grasshoppers. In 2009, Ssewa Ssewa and Abraham developed an idea to start a project that could aid cultural development through music. Their ambition was to unite cultures of different regions in the world through combining music of different

ethnic An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

origins.

Career

Since its inception in 2009, Janzi Band has steadily grown and has performed at different gigs in Uganda such as Zone 7 in Bugolobi, Club Amnesia, Big Mikes at Acacia Avenue and several casual and corporate functions. They have also performed at the annual Blankets and Wine festival,

Milege World Music Festival The Milege World Music Festival or just Milege Festival is an annual music festival, happening every November, organized by Milege Afrojazz Band. The festival is a celebration of world music, games, cultural dances, stories, poems, and so on. Ar ...

in 2013 and 2015,

Pearl Rhythm Festival Pearl Rhythm Festival is a world music festival organized by the Pearl Rhythm Foundation to celebrate Ugandan music and hosted annually at the National Theatre. The festival is the climax of all the activities in the Pearl Rhythm Foundation... ...

, Bayimba Festival and others. In 2016, they headlined the Tokosa Food Festival with Ugandan musician Lilian Mbabazi, and in the same year collaborated with

at the Chronixx Show. , their music is described on their

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

page as "all-acoustic, all-traditional ensemble" as well as "an electric Afro-beat fusion band for festivals, weddings and concerts". They like the music of Afrigo Band,

Morgan Heritage Morgan Heritage is a Grammy-winning Jamaican reggae band formed in 1994 by five children of reggae artist Denroy Morgan, namely Peter "Peetah" Morgan, Una Morgan, Roy "Gramps" Morgan, Nakhamyah "Lukes" Morgan, and Memmalatel "Mr. Mojo" Morgan ...

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the Grammy ...

and

Salif Keita Salif Keïta () (born 25 August 1949) is a Malian singer-songwriter, referred to as the "Golden Voice of Africa". He is a member of the Keita royal family of Mali. Early life Salif Keita was born a traditional prince in the village of Djolib ...

Band members

Current members

the band has nine members: * Ssewa Ssewa (founder, African traditional instrumentalist, vocalist, percussionist) * Abraham Ssekasi (traditional instruments, vocalist and percussionist) * Trevor Muhumuza (music director, keyboard and vocals) * Kevin Sekasi (drums and vocals) * Jimmy Lubwama (lead vocals and guitar * Allan Okia (bass guitarist and music producer), * Joseph Kizito (saxophonist) * Hakim Kiwanuka (percussionist and African instrumentalist) * Michael Ssebulime (lead guitarist)

Past members

Discography

Albums

Eka (2017)

Eka is Janzi's first studio album and was officially released on iTunes on 7 May 2017. All the songs on the album were co-written and co-produced by the band's members. The songs on the album have however been played live by the band for many years. Eka was released under the band's label, Janzi Music.

References

External links

{{Authority control Ugandan world music groups Ugandan musical groups Musical groups established in 2009 Musical quintets Indie folk groups