Biography
Founded in 1964 as NUTA Jazz,Juwata is the oldest band currently active in Tanzania and has been one of the most prominent groups ever since.
The band was formed under the wings of the National Workers Union, hence their original name NUTA Jazz Band, and provided the model for many of the bands to come in the seventies and eighties.
The music and dance clubs that had dominated the forties and fifties became increasingly obsolete during the sixties.
The new model, organizing bands under the wings of government or parastatal organizations,
became the dominant form in the seventies, and remains so today: the organization owns the instruments and employs the musicians, who draw salaries like regular workers plus some percentage of the gate collection. Today numerous bands work along this line and include Mlimani Park, Tancut Alimasi, and Vijana Jazz.
The original name Nuta Jazz was changed to Juwata Jazz band in 1977 to mark a new beginning after a number of prominent band members,Muhiddin Maalim, Abel Balthazar, Hassani Bitchuka among them, left the band to form Dar International and later Mlimani Park Orchestra (Juwata is the Swahili equivalent of Nuta and stands for Jumuiya ya Wafanyakazi Tanzania).
Recently the name was changed again to mirror current political changes. Since the mother organization changed its name to Organization of Tanzanian Trade Unions (OTTU), the band has also been renamed and now calls itself OTTU Jazz Band, with the adage baba ya muziki ('father of music') to reflect its standing as the oldest band in the country.
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