THE BAOBAB OF BANGO

With 70 years on stage, blowing the saxophone and singing to entertain revelers, Mzee Ngala is undoubtedly a musical baobab in the country.

The huge fig has survived turbulent winds that brought others down. He has been there and seen it all. He could be the oldest performing musician in the country.

That's not all he pioneered a genre, made it popular, and even got it ingrained in the coastal cultures to become an integral part of their social-cultural heritage. It isn't strange to hear a local say 'Harusi si harusi bila Bango', (a wedding is incomplete without bango).

We trace the genesis of the musical journey of Mzee Ngala to 1955, when he dropped out of Shimo La Tewa Secondary School in Mombasa, in form two, and attempted to seek a job to eke a living.

Alongside his childhood friends, Ngala had begun his music career entertaining attendants in local social events, singing mostly coastal music in a scale that cannot be described as professional, but a chance for a breakthrough came when he got a job with the East African Railway, in Voi.

It happened that the state corporation had a set of unused musical instruments and equipment, and the senior officials were glad to learn that one of the new workers had interests in music. In the days, state corporations had a keen interest in music and not only sponsored bands but also operated social joints across many towns.

The team became popular, performing at events and even organising gigs when none was happening. That's where the seeds of Bango were sowed. The soothing Jazz melodies comprising of the coastal beat with some Brazilian and American influences blended so well with the palm wine drinking events and Ngala's popularity began the journey that would traverse the region and even the country in decades.

His musical abilities attracted the attention of liquor maker East African Breweries, which gave him a contract to promote its products. In this, he teamed up with famed pianist McDonald and performed at the Nyali Beach, playing the sax, backing the Goan band.

He also toured the country and the entire East Africa with the band marketing their products. In 1963, he and others created the Bahari Boys Band and cut links with his former employers. This breathed in a new life in his career.

The band performed at events and composed songs for specific weddings. It was until 1977, that they did their first recording, realising an album that contained six songs, which he said sold well across the country, but earned them peanuts, in return as the producer swindled their sweat, hiding behind contractual bureaucracies.

An attempted change of approach on marketing the songs flopped miserably, when they tried to market the songs themselves and the subsequent resultant financial handicap dismantled the band, with the drummer and the guitarist, both who were important pillars of the band quit, leaving the outfit staggering and wanting to fall. 

That, however, couldn't stop Mzee Ngala's saxophone. He patched up another team and set base in Malindi, where the team enjoyed a massive fan base and superior recording technology and equipment that took Bango to another level.

With his new ensemble, Tausi Five, incorporating his sons Mzee Ngala penetrated the core of the Coastal music and the country to gain legendary status with very popular recordings.

His songs, Teus, Pepeta Bango, and Dunia in mambo are amongst the most popular songs in the country.

Ngala lives with his family in an old Swahihi house in Frere on Mombasa and performs in hotels around the town. The 1936 born Joseph Ngala Katana celebrated his 88th birthday yesterday, November 23rd, 2024.

By Jarome Ogola

Jabulani Radio Livestream

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