Jumbe's resoluteness should be cherished

The highly cherished vocalist passed away at Amana Hospital in Ilala and his funeral was expected to take place at Kisutu cemetery in the city on Tuesday.

Jumbe will mostly be remembered via his song, titled 'Nachechemea', composed while he was serving Talent Band, which is based in the city.

The singer rose to fame in the late 1990s when he joined a prominent music troupe, DDC Mlimani Park Orchestra.

Jumbe, who has composed many tracks with strong and genuine emotions, has passed on having just composed his latest song titled 'Hasama' released last year when the artist returned to Mlimani Park Orchestra band once he left Talent band.

During his life, he was once quoted by the media as saying that his track 'Nachechemea' originates from a true story.

According to the singer, he had a long-time illness and was said to have suffered from AIDS and was later rumoured to have passed away.

After recovering and returning to work for the Mlimani Park Orchestra band, Jumbe revealed, he composed the song considering he was keen on proving to dance music lovers he was still alive and keep on making a living.

The song became extremely popular and was loved by many members of the genre's fraternity in the country including the then Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner, Yusuf Makamba.

Makamba was always asking Mlimani Park Orchestra to play the 'Nachechemea' song whenever he finds the band entertaining in any of the government functions.

One of Jumbe's statements, issued severally in his conversations during his life, was about the story behind his decision to compose 'Nachechemea'.

Jumbe stated he had an illness, which kept him out of the music scene for a long, adding that once he got well he felt he will not die soon.

The vocalist has now passed on, almost 20 years since he was rumoured to have passed on, an incident which prompted the singer to come up with the song.

The track is still played by the Mlimani Park Orchestra in the troupe's shows, with popular singer Hassan Kunyata singing Jumbe's part in the song.

In Jumbe's life, he severally described some of the challenges he faced including frequent painful diseases.

The most frightening of the incidences, according to the singer, is a dream in which he found himself fighting a cock and breaking four fingers.

Jumbe has left with great popularity in dance music due to his great compositions in various bands he worked for before joining Sikinde Original, a newly-formed troupe made up of musicians that left Mlimani Park Orchestra.

Some of his compositions are 'Siri ya Nini', 'Isaya', and 'Huruma kwa Wagonjwa' composed when he was working for the TOT-Plus band.

The vocalist made a remix of the 'Huruma kwa Wagonjwa' once he had made his way back to Mlimani Park Orchestra, Jumbe further composed a song titled 'Kilio cha Swahiba'.

Other songs composed by veteran vocalist are 'Epuka No2', 'Nuru ya Upendo', 'Shamba', 'Mtoto wa Mitaani', and 'Chozi la Kejeli', with each track winning the hearts of domestic dance music followers.

Jumbe, who had various nicknames including 'Mzee wa Dodo', 'Mtumishi', and others, had worked for several bands, some of which are Urafiki Jazz, Tabora Sound, Msondo Ngoma, Mlimani Park, TOT-Plus, and Mikumi Sound based in Morogoro.

During his life, he once said that he decided to study music after he was impressed by songs composed by the late Marijani Rajab alias 'Jabali la Muziki', adding that he was moving around with a radio to listen to Marijani songs, composed when the singer was serving Safari Trippers band.

Jumbe mentioned Rajab's songs that impressed him the most as 'Roza Nenda Shule', 'Mwalimu Nyerere', and 'Nani Mchokozi'.

The singer pointed out that before the songs were played on the radio, he had already known them and was always singing them.

According to him, he was at the time still a primary school pupil but, because of his love for Rajab's prowess, he was always turning up for the latter's shows every Sunday.

In 1979, while Jumbe was in fourth grade, he secretly joined the Orchestra Siza troupe, which was based at Ruvuma Street in Temeke, Dar es Salaam, a place he was residing.

He said once he joined the group, he met musician Roshi Mselela for the first time. Mselela was also working for Orchestra Super Matimila and, according to Jumbe, the vocalist was getting along well with the latter while he was still doing music secretly.

A year later, however, Jumbe's parents found out he had secretly started doing music and was, as a result, not concentrating on his studies. The parents eventually prohibited Jumbe from doing music.

Living without engaging in music happened to be difficult for Jumbe and he, in 1981, secretly joined another group, Asilia Jazz.

Jumbe noted the group was owned by the Tanzania Music Council (BAMUTA), adding that when his father realized he was keeping on doing music, he took him to work in a plastic factory.

He was employed as a production supervisor but he later resigned after seeing he had no time to go to the music rehearsals, a move that prompted his family to completely ignore him.

According to him, the family's decision made him live a difficult life in such a way that, at some point, he was forced to wear torn clothes.

Jumbe nevertheless did not give up as he, in 1983, left for Tabora in search of a band he could work for.

While in Tabora, he was welcomed by veteran artist, Shem Karenga, at Tabora Jazz Band, he also met singer Mohammed Gotagota that has also passed on.

Two years later, Jumbe headed to Musoma, Mara, and stayed for one year, in 1986, he decided to return to Dar e Salaam after he was informed of his father's death.

After mourning, Jumbe felt there was no need for him to stay away from the family and he followed Gotagota, who had also left Tabora and moved to Dar es Salaam, they both joined the Urafiki Jazz band.

Urafiki Jazz troupe, nicknamed 'Wana Chakachua', was then led by artist Juma Mrisho alias 'Ngulimba wa Ngulimba'.

Jumbe thereafter began proving his worth in composing songs and singing and composed a song titled 'Usia wa Mama'.

The musician pointed out that he, in 1987, met a man he did not know, and the latter told him he was impressed with the vocalist's talent.

The man told Jumbe to go to Mlimani Park Orchestra's headquarters located close to the University of Dar es Salaam.

Jumbe noted that he later discovered the man he met was popular vocalist, Hassan Rehani Bitchuka, alias 'Super Stereo'. Jumbe thereafter joined Mlimani Park Orchestra and his first song with the troupe was 'Hisia za Mwanadamu'.

In 2002, Jumbe left Mlimani Park Orchestra and joined the TOT-Plus Band, popularly known as 'Achimenengule', and composed two songs titled 'Gunia la Mazoezi' and 'Nani Kaiona Kesho', some of the songs making the album titled 'Sarafina'.

Unlike some musicians that have a penchant for rudely criticizing troupes after parting ways with the groups, Jumbe hardly spoke ill of troupes he left, a habit that had him winning a good reputation.