Ally Sykes

Tanzanian Jazz musician and politician (born 10 October 1926 Dar es Salaam - 19 May 2013 Dar es Salaam). From 1943-1946, Sykes was a member of the King’s African Rifles, fighting in Burma and rising to the rank of Sergeant. After World War II, he played tenor, alto and soprano saxophone in his own bands, The Ally Sykes Band and The Merry Backbirds. His bands played a mixture of dance and jazz music when they performed at posh gigs like the Dar es Salaam Club, Gymkhana Club, The New African Hotel and the Hotel Internationale, and ngoma-influenced music for other audiences, creating the sound that became the still popular danse genre. In 1947, Sykes and his band recorded for the Jambo label in Nairobi, Kenya. Sykes was politically active as well and became one of the founding members of Tanzania's TANU party.