Effective period / Period of releases: 1975

Members: W. John Ondolo, Hamza Kalala, Pascal Pius, Issa Chikupele, Manitu Musa, Richard Kiondo, Hemedi Maneti, Abdallah Kwesa

Vijana Jazz is a Tanzanian band founded in 1971 by W. John Ondolo (aka. John Ondoro Chacha) and Hamza Kalala. It reached its peak popularity in the 1980s by introducing electronic instruments (synthesizer and drum machine). Like many other bands of the time, it was sponsored by a governmental institution (Umoja wa Vijana Tanzania) or the youth wing of the Tanzanian African National Union (TANU) party (renamed Chama cha Mapinduzi in 1977). The band declined in popularity in the early 1990s, after the sudden death of its leader Hemedi Maneti in 1990.