Jambo

East African (Kenyan) label founded in 1947 by Dr. Guy Johnson and his East African Sound Studios Ltd., the first entirely local record company in East Africa. Recordings were made in Nairobi, Kenya, but also in Dar es Salaam and Kampala. Initially, shellacs were pressed by The Decca Record Company Limited in England, but then shipped back to East Africa. By 1950, the Jambo label had issued 210 records, but experienced financial difficulties. In 1951, the African Ground Cotton Company (Afcot Ltd.) bought the Jambo label and renamed the company East African Records Ltd.. The label, now headed by Otto Larsen, a Dane, continued to repress its earlier recordings until 1955, when Larsen opened up a new recording studio on company property and began to issue new recordings as well.