African & World Music

Abdou Mboup was born in the small town of Kebemer, Senegal to a family of oral historians and musicians. Having studied traditional drum under the tutelage of his family, Abdou soon became a key figure in the development of the Mbalax style (Senegalese dance music). In fact in the early 1970’s he was the first musician to incorporate various traditional instruments into Senegalese popular music. A few years later, he Joined the renewened Dakar based groupe Xalam, which he toured Europe and Africa under the patronage of South African Trumpeter, Hugh Masekela.

By the 1980’s, Abdou was living and working in Paris, there he attracted the attention of the American trumpeter Jon Hassell, with whom he recorded and performed at the 1982 Womad festival in the UK. Soon thereafter, he became the percussionist of Eddy Louiss’s band with whom he toured and recorded for the next ten years. Concurrently, Abdou taught percussion at Loisirs et Culture music school in France and founded the jazz fusion band Sixun. In the years to come, Abdou’s career has only expanded.He has toured and recorded in Africa, Europe, America, Southeastern Asia, Japan, Nepal and (link hidden)om the 1990’s until now, Abdou has written original compositions for Jean Luc Ponty, Pharaoh Sanders,Tom Tom Club and Randy Weston
Abdou currently taught World Music Rhythm at the New School University, New York. He is the leader of his own and Waakaw, meaning “Country People” in his native language Wolof os Senegal