Pape Demba "Paco" Samb

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]

Pape Demba "Paco" Samb
Samb performing in Wilmington, Delaware, 2023.
Born1976
Dakar, Senegal
NationalitySenegalese, American
Occupations
  • Griot
  • drummer
  • singer
  • dancer
  • storyteller
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
Member ofSuper Ngewel Ensemble, McDaniel College's Student African Drum Ensemble (leader)
Websitepapedembasamb.com

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]

Personal life

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]

Musical performances

Circa 2013, Samb drummed in charity concerts for SOS Children's Villages in Chicago.[16] The following year, Samb released his first album.[11]


In a 2018 interview with Delaware Online, Paco described his mindset before each show:

I like to give people good energy through the drums and my African culture. Always, before a performance, I say to myself that I want to give the audience love and make them happy.[9]

Educating

McDaniel College

In 2016, Paco was invited to instruct "Global Drumming Traditions,"[17] a course on drumming at McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland.[14] The original instructor had fallen ill, and McDaniel's music department head Robin Armstrong asked her friend Karen Rege if her husband Paco could step in to lead the course. Paco agreed to join the Maryland campus even though it was "two hours from his Delaware home," so he hosted a weekly 90-minute course, instead of three-hour sessions typical to the school.

Rege and four instructional designers retrofitted the course to be a better match for Paco; due to English being his second language, the new course "prioritized action over words" and encouraged students to devote the entire lesson time to ensemble practise, refining their drumming technique at home. At the end of the course, students were required to film themselves playing the drum to monitor their progress. This was titled the "double-flip model" (a reference to the flipped classroom).

The new course format was successful; the school reported that "[attendance] during the first semester of the new format was more than 95 percent, and the instructor tallied a 98 percent on-time submission rate for assignments. When registration for the second semester began, both 15-student sections filled up in a day and a half, and several students reached out to Rege asking to get on the waitlist."[14]

Other classes

In 2022, Paco taught "West African rhythms via hands-on bucket drumming" during The Grand Opera House's Summer in the Parks series in Wilmington, Delaware.[18]

Throughout February 2023, the Oxford Arts Alliance collaborated with Paco to lead a "drumming masterclass" as well as performing as part of an ongoing exhibit series in Oxford, Pennsylvania.[19][20]

References
  1. "Dover Citywide Black History Month events on tap". Bay to Bay News. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
  2. "Artist Roster - State of Delaware". delaware.gov. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
  3. Faculty Spotlight: Pape Demba "Paco" Samb, retrieved 2023-02-16
  4. "Community Calendar". ABC27. 2019-06-12. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  5. "Celebrations". GreenwichTime. 2018-11-11. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
  6. "McDaniel student African Drumming ensemble hosts first performance". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
  7. "Silver Spring University Students Earn Academic Distinctions". Silver Spring, MD Patch. 2023-01-09. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
  8. Cristi, A. A. "McDaniel College Announces Cultural Activities, Performances And Exhibitions For Spring 2023". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
  9. "Focus on talent at CCArts - Pape Demba Samb". The News Journal. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  10. "Pape Demba "Paco" Samb". Raye Jones Avery. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
  11. "Faculty". groove.ksq. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  12. Staff reports. "Adeoye to perform with African Drum Ensemble at McDaniel". Herald-Mail Media. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  13. "2023 Citywide Black History Celebration | Dover Library |". Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  14. Lieberman, Mark (2018-06-06). "Creative Course Finder: Learning to Drum in a 'Double Flipped' Classroom". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  15. "Oxford Arts Alliance showcases music and the art of drum making | Chester County Press". www.chestercounty.com. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  16. Baldeh, Nije. "Gambia: Egalitarian, Dinkendo Family Band to Stage Concerts in USA". AllAfrica. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
  17. Grantl, Eric; Reporter, Staff. "Global Drumming at McDaniel – The McDaniel Free Press". Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  18. "Summer In the Parks The Grand Opera House, Wilmington, DE". www.thegrandwilmington.org. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  19. "Masterclass with Pape Demba "Paco" Samb Master Hand Drummer from Senegal". Eventbrite. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  20. Paco Samb Live at groove Oxford, retrieved 2023-02-16
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