My name is John Kitime, I first tested the sweet feeling of performing in front of a crowd in the mid-sixties when I was about 10. I participated in a school talent competition and sang a Harry Belafonte song called Jamaican Farewell. My father wrote me the lyrics of the song and I went on to win the competition. The feeling was awesome. I have never stopped performing.
In my life as a musician, I have been in several top bands in Tanzania, Orchestra Mambo Bado, Orchestra Makassy, Tancut Almasi Orchestra, Vijana Jazz Band, and the Kilimanjaro Band. I have also been a recording studio manager, chairperson of two Tanzanian music associations, the Secretary General of the Tanzania Musician Federation, and board member of the National Arts Council and the Copyright Society of Tanzania.
To date I still have a weekly column every Saturday in the Mwananchi newspaper, I have been contributing for the last ten years, and I also run a weekly oldies radio program with the EFM Radio, the program has been on air since 2014.
In the years I have collected more than 200,000 songs, a lot of cassette tapes, reel tapes, VHS tapes, newspaper cuttings, radio recordings, and photographs related to music and musicians in Tanzania.
I have recently began creating a music archive, which is presently housed at the Nafasi Art Space, Eyasi Road, Mikocheni, Dar es Salaam.
This blog will be a window to the archive that I am creating. I welcome any contribution towards making the archive a place to enjoy for everyone.
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