Pape Demba "Paco" Samb
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Griot
- drummer
- singer
- dancer
- storyteller
Pape Demba "Paco" Samb | |
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![](#/media/File:Pape_Demba_"Paco"_Samb_in_Delaware,_side_view.jpg) Samb performing in Wilmington, Delaware, 2023. | |
| Born | 1976 (age 49–50) |
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| Musical career | |
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| Member of | Super Ngewel Ensemble, McDaniel College's Student African Drum Ensemble (leader) |
| Website | papedembasamb |
Pape Demba "Paco" Samb is a Senegalese-American griot, hand drummer, storyteller, and educator of Wolof ancestry.[1] Based in the United States, he performs throughout the country and has been described by the Delaware government as an "internationally acclaimed artist."[2] Paco has performed with musicians of Senegal and the Gambia including Laba Sosseh, Musa Ngum, and Bala Sidibé.[2]
Aside from performing, he leads drumming classes, workshops,[3] and McDaniel College's Student African Drum Ensemble.[4][5][6][7][8] Paco has stated his belief in his ability to instruct those "who have never touched a drum before."[9]
Paco plays both traditional and contemporary Senegalese music[10] as well as "reggae, rap, funk, jazz, pop and a variety of other styles."[11]
His own band, the Super Ngewel Ensemble,[6] "performs traditional Senegalese rhythms on authentic handmade instruments while incorporating dance and storytelling."[12]
Pape Demba Samb was born in 1976 in Dakar, Senegal.[13] He was born into the Samb griot family, who "have been the keepers of the ancestral history, stories, and music of his native Wolof peoples in Senegal for hundreds of years."[3] His entire family is skilled in dance, drumming, singing, and storytelling.[3] He began playing djembe when he was 7 years old[9] and did not have a formal education in his youth.
In an unknown year, he married Karen Rege.[14] As of 2023, Paco lives in Wilmington, Delaware.[15]