The benefits of a palm tree are numerous. These are captured in one of the poems by Bokhoeit Amana, titled "Mti Mle." It was Awillo Mike’s love for poetry that endeared him to the poet’s works, and when the time came for him and his fellow founders of Jammazi to name their band, he suggested the name.
"Mnazi" is a palm tree. It yields a juicy fruit, which is very edible and nutritious. It also carries a sap that can be fermented into palm wine, popularly known as mnazi along the Kenyan Coast.
Its leaves offer a classic roofing material, and its hollow trunk can be used to make furniture, build structures, etc. The plant is very resourceful, and that’s exactly what the trio of Ongoro Milton, popularly known as Ja’Karachuonyo, Awillo, also known as Michael Otieno, and Peter Dalidi, who goes by the sobriquet Pierre, had envisioned for their band.
The prefix "Ja-" before Mnazi is a Giriama expression that means “like.” As such, Ja-Mnazi means “like a palm tree.”
It also happened that another musician, Bernard Mukabwa, was incorporated into the creation of this new band. He had his own band, Salvo Afrika, which he willingly disbanded. To make him feel accommodated in the new band, the suffix Afrika was added to the name, making it Jammazi Afrika.
The rendezvous that midwifed the birth of this new band happened at a club called Kutana in Eldoret on April 20, 2002.
Awillo, who had begun his music engagements with some rickety bands in Elburgon, some 120 kilometers east of Eldoret, had traveled to Eldoret prospecting for opportunities to grow his burning passion—not just to become a musician but to be a superstar and a big name in the industry.
Upon arriving in Eldoret and struggling to acclimatize by doing some gigs, Milton approached him, requesting to sing a song or two in a practice known as "kuomba lift."
Although the young lad was equally bubbling with talent and oozing passion, he worked with KRA, the country’s revenue authority. The duo finally agreed to create an ensemble with the able hands of a veteran musician in the town, Peter Dalidi, whose exploits on the guitar were exceptional. Having had experience with established bands, his expertise in navigating the delicate task of managing the band as its leader was much needed.
Although Ongoro began as a vocalist, he quickly learned the guitar and became the band’s rhythm guitarist. Their first studio assignment was "I Am Not Sober."
“This song wasn’t about drinking or partying, as many oftentimes mistake,” Awillo explained.
“The song is meant to sensitize the public, especially fans of live performances that happen in social environments like bars, where fans can get reckless and overspend to the detriment of their other pressing financial needs.”
The determined singer told Jabulani Radio that the song was an onslaught against recklessness.
The song was played across the country in clubs and on radio, becoming the band’s unofficial anthem. It made the band a household name. Strangely enough, its base was Eldoret, a town without a well-pronounced entertainment scene.
Eldoret doesn’t compare favorably with its peers when it comes to entertainment. The most that has been documented about the town’s social life is the racial discrimination during the colonial era, where the whites sipped their wine north of the town, the Asians had theirs south of the town, and the blacks guzzled illicit brew in the surrounding slums like Maili Nne.
That this musical team was thriving in such an odd environment tells a story of resilience, determination, and talent.
Their second album was titled "Riziki," also a composition by Awillo Mike. This 11-minute track is a classic slow rumba that captures the aggression Kenyans have in eking out a living. It reflects the reality of the country’s capital, where there is a thin buffer between day and night, with many activities that would typically be done during the day happening at night.
UON literature scholar Dr. Wambua Muindi opined:
“The song is a dense poetic verse showcasing the reality of night work in contemporary modernity. It is a sophisticated anthem that appropriates the Swahili oral poetry tradition.”
"Riziki" remained the biggest song in the country for more than two decades, especially after the emergence of a trend where every idler in town became a pseudo-musician, rushing to use computer-programmed instrumentation, adding a few rhymes, and declaring themselves musicians.
Awillo, born Michael Otieno Ooko, began schooling in Nakuru and later attended Cannof Awuor Secondary School in Busia. He then joined Mombasa Polytechnic, where he trained as an accountant.
His mother was a vocalist who sang with several bands in Kenya, among them Lunna Kidi of Ochieng Kabasele and the legendary Super Mazembe. This nurtured his love for music from a young age. His deep baritone has since become synonymous with Kenya’s entertainment circles.
In an interview with Ramogi TV, a Kenyan station that broadcasts in Dholuo, Awillo narrated how he almost quit school to pursue his dream of becoming a musician. Awillo, who adopted his stage name from the legendary Congolese drummer Awilo Longomba of Loketo, is so fluent in Dholuo that one might erroneously conclude he is Luo. However, he is actually a Luhya from the Abanyala sub-tribe in Budalangi.
A polyglot of no mean repute, Awillo fluently speaks Luhya, Kiswahili, Lingala, French, English, and German—a skill that makes his work as a composer and singer much easier.
His greatest moment as a musician was during the era of President Kibaki, when the band was invited by the president to perform in a national event in Kasarani, and his lowest moment he cites instances when after performing, club owners decline to pay as agreed.
Awillo, whose role models were the late Ochieng Kabasele and Franco, is slowly moving out of music to focus on mentorship, though he still composes, records, and performs gigs with Jammazi, which now has two units performing in Kisumu and Eldoret, respectively. He is also involved with another band, Zaidi Ya Muziki, which is based in Nairobi.
Awillo advises upcoming musicians not to venture into music driven by the desire to make riches, as they may end up disappointed. Instead, he encourages them to pursue music out of passion, an approach that comes with fewer expectations—especially regarding financial gain.
Indeed, with two decades of existence, Jammazi has grown to become as resourceful as a palm tree, with a dozen albums collectively, and having become one of the country’s most celebrated bands.By Jerome Ogola
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