Tree-House Presents Juma Tutu On Thursday.

Last week Dela was at TreeHouse, and this week, TreeHouse goes Swahili.

This Thursday, Juma Tutu will be at Tree-House and if you fancy a bit of taarab, mwanzele and bango, then this is the event for you. Below is his bio.

Hailing from a musical family, Tutu was born Juma Abdalla Atibu in the heart of Mombasa. His father was a guitarist performing in local bars, whereas his mother sang in the church choir. Tutu, Juma’s adapted stage name is the Swahili word for beauty spot. In his second year of high school, Juma sang at various entertainment spots in order to earn his fees. Through his musical endeavours, he found the saxophone. His uncle Nahashon Mganga, a retired army officer who repaired saxophones taught him how to play it.

The years 1999 and 2000 saw him play with the Santa Ngoma band and later the Generations Band at the Serena Hotel in Mombasa. He then joined Bango Sounds where Mzee Ngala further trained him. His mastery of the saxophone led him to back Mzee Ngala. In 2001, Juma got the opportunity to join Them Mushroom band (Know for their world class hit Jambo bwana) in Nairobi. He played with them until 2003, when through the support of a well-wisher he was able to acquire musical equipment and form his own band, the Tutu Band.

In 2005, Juma Tutu became one of the winning finalists of the Spotlight on Kenyan Music competition organized by the Alliance Francaise and his song ‘Nakupenda kama Sukari’ was included in the compilation album. Juma has been inspired by ‘Mzee’ Joseph Ngala (Bango Sounds), Fela Kuti, Hugh Masekela, Manu de Bango, John Coltrane and Joshua Redman. As the years have worn on, Juma has grown as an individual and as a musician. Through his experiences, he has come up with a new style of music which he calls, Swahili Jazz.

Juma tackles very relevant social issues like Health, love,humor, peace and unity among others. Some of his most popular hits include Tahadhari, Kimombasa, Undugu and Nakupenda kama Sukari.