JOHN KITIME -bio

John Kitime was born in Iringa. His father was a multi-instrumentalist who could play the trumpet, accordion, ukulele, banjo and guitar. The guitar has always been in the house. John Kitime, taught himself early to play the guitar. His first band was the school Band in 1968, at the time the band practiced and played soul music, singing and playing songs by Otis Redding, Wilson Picket, Sam Cooke and the like. He went on to become a teacher but also performing in small bands in his hometown of Iringa. In 1983, after being the main actor in local film Song of the Bamboo, he went on to record music tracks for the film with some of his friends, and had to go to Dar es Salaam for recording, and here he met Tchimanga Assossa who was then starting a band and John joined that band and has since been a full time musician moving through a number of the then top bands in Tanzania like Orchestra Makassy, Vijana Jazz, Tancut Orchestra and Kilimanjaro Band where he is still a member. Apart from playing the guitar in a style he copied from his father John is also a singer and a songwriter.