Songs of Happiness, Poison, and Ululation

Although scarcely known outside of East Aftica, Western Jazz Band was one of the most popular groups in Tanzania in the 1960s and '70s. It took its name from the country's Western Province, where most of its members originated, though they met and formed the group in the capital city, Dar Es Salaam, on the east coast. The term "jazz" indicated that this band played modern music for sophisticated city folk; it wasn't jazz in the American sense but guitar-driven dance music that combined Congolese style rumba rhythms and the breezy, light-hearted Swahili vocals of the coast. Tanzanians called this style saboso. Call it whatever you like, it's delightful music that won't remain unfamiliar to Americans once this album gets around.