Doudou N’Diaye Rose, who has died aged 85, was Senegal’s most famous percussionist, known as the “mathematician of rhythm” and praised by Unesco as a “human living treasure” for his role in preserving his country’s culture and passing his skills on to future generations. He was also an innovator who was happy to work with rap and rock musicians, and came to international attention with his album Djabote, released on Peter Gabriel’s Real World label in 1994.
Recorded on Gorée island in Senegal, the album featured Rose playing with 50 other drummers and 80 singers, often thunderously, and with complex and ever-changing rhythm patterns as well as changes of mood and pace. His favoured instrument, the sabar drum, is played with one hand and one baton, and was traditionally used to send messages between villages. But when Rose conducted a drum orchestra the instrument was transformed. Gabriel described this energetic, pixie-like musician in Star Wars terms as “a Yoda type of figure whose magic powers extended deep into the rhythmic arts”, adding: “He would appear in various incarnations, in different family groupings, turning wonderful, complex rhythms into beautiful compositions.”
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