ABA DIOP

ABA DIOP (AH-bah JOHP) is a Senegalese master percussionist, vocalist and composer in an unbroken ancestral line of griots (GREE-oh) – the traveling artists and cultural lineage-holders foundational to African societies. Aba tells the story of his village’s culture and history through the sabar – a traditional African drum which Aba makes himself. He brings these lifeways spanning thousands of years into the 21st century with his original compositions, which interweave traditional West African music with jazz, folk, funk and more. Listeners will experience a wholly unique sound performed with viscerally compelling electricity.

PROGRAM SELECTIONS

ABA DIOP & THE YERMANDE FAMILY

This groundbreaking group out of Senegal transmits a wholly new genre of West African sabar fusion music. Consisting of Aba Diop (sabar, vocals), Noumoucounda Cissoko (kora, vocals), Samba Ndokh (tama), and Jason Hosier (electric guitar), this unique collaboration interweaves the griot storytelling traditions from thousands of years with Sufi mysticism and rock and jazz influences. The unique combination of West African and western instruments creates a conversation between tradition and modernity, east and west, acoustic and electric. Every listener is invited into the journey unfolding within each songs, touching our common humanity.

• Aba Diop: sabar, vocals

• Noumoucounda Cissoko: kora, vocals

• Samba Ndokh: tama

• Jason Hosier: guitar