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Tshaka Mayanja

Ugandan born, Tshaka Mayanja is arguably reggae music's best kept secret. With over five hundred songs already written and arranged, 36 year-old (born Winston Mayanja) Mayanja has made his mark in Africa, as a reggae singer, songwriter, producer and promoter. He has done countless radio and TV interviews in Africa, including interviews on Channel O (Africa's version of MTV on the biggest cable TV network in Africa MNET), and a live interview on Irie FM during the Sting Reggae Festival in Jamaica in 1996, with GT Taylor (top radio DJ in Jamaica) and Copeland Forbes (legendary Jamaican MC and road manager).

In February, 2007, Mayanja was contracted to be a judge for both the auditions and the finals of East Africa’s biggest reality TV music talent search; The Tusker Project Fame project. The TV show was to find talent across the three East African nations; Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. The three month contest ended successfully, with a talented Ugandan female musician that Tshaka spotted at the auditions in Uganda, winning the contest by a huge margin.

Mayanja has also taken artists including UB40 (its final concert with the original line up on Feb 23, 2008 in Uganda), Third World, Dennis Bovell, Shaggy, Chaka Demus & Pliers, Shabba Ranks, Buju Banton, Aswad, Rayvon, Spanner Banner, Papa San, Brian & Tony Gold and Twiggi to Africa for concerts, all in a bid to make reggae the force it is now, in Africa.

Mayanja has also been involved in production for artists including Hugh Masekela, Ringo, Akon and Jonathan Butler during their Ugandan concerts. As a bassist, Tshaka Mayanja is an artist in the mould of his mentors - The Wailers, Prince Lincoln & the Royal Rasses, Sly & Robbie, Roots Radics, Freddie McGregor, Dennis Brown, Third World, Burning Spear, Matumbi and other reggae icons.

The blues, jazz, funk and soul icons are very much inspirations too. Pragmo N'Saiga is a superb pianist, singer, composer, arranger and producer, comfortable with many genres of music - jazz, smooth jazz, salsa, reggae, gospel, blues and more. The BlackRoots UNLIMITED album, The Pragmo'tive Is "ii" Chill Out (Blackroots Muzik, 2007), is an album made specially for N'Saiga to showcase his talents.

K'Angie Mtime - the amazing vocalist on Dark Chocolate (Blackroots Muzik, 2005) and REGGAEOLOGY - Chapter 1: Bass After Dark (Blackroots Muzik, 2006) - says: "Music is something I have loved since childhood.

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Interview

Tshaka Mayanja: Chasing His Jazz Dream

Read "Tshaka Mayanja: Chasing His Jazz Dream" reviewed by Philip Songa


'Jazz' and 'Uganda' are rarely used in the same sentence. This little country in East Africa does not have much of a jazz tradition to speak of, let alone write about. Aside from international artists, the likes of Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela, as well as specially arranged cultural exchanges by the American, German and Dutch embassies, there has been, until recently, little to speak of locally.

All that is starting to change, for a variety of reasons. ...

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Interview

Bassist/Producer Tshaka Mayanja Interviewed at AAJ

Bassist/Producer Tshaka Mayanja Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz

'Jazz' and 'Uganda' are rarely used in the same sentence. This little country in East Africa does not have much of a jazz tradition to speak of, let alone write about. Aside from international artists, the likes of Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela, as well as specially arranged cultural exchanges by the American, German and Dutch embassies, there has been, until recently, little to speak of locally.

All that is starting to change, for a variety of reasons. Somewhere in ...

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