For over two decades Massamba Diop and Tony Vacca have been bringing together the traditions of their music and the peoples of their countries. From their spectacular duo performances to festival appearances with Tony’s World Rhythms Ensemble, these two musicians and their remarkable music remind us all of what we already know… that we are all connected.
Massamba Diop, born in northern Senegal, once part of the great Mali Empire, a featured player in Baaba Maal’s world famous band… and Tony Vacca, born just beyond the shadow of Newark, in Kearny, New Jersey, performing cutting edge world fusion music with his World Rhythms Ensemble… Seemed unlikely they would ever cross paths… until they did. Tony was invited to open up a concert for Baaba Maal at the now famous Iron Horse Concert Hall, a mile down the street from his home in Northampton, Massachusetts. That night Baaba invited Tony to Senegal, suggesting that he and his tama drummer, Massamba Diop, should work on something together for his upcoming tour in Senegal.
And they did.
Tony showed up in Senegal with twenty years of experience composing and performing what he called “world fusion music” on the balafon. Massamba generously worked with Tony on the intricacies and legacy of the tama, the Senegalese talking drum. They found ways of learning with and from each other, and it was a perfect fit, an avalanche of overlapping rhythms, melodies and traditions. Tony’s response was: “Massamba Diop is truly one of the great masters of the tama drum. For him to take this time to share his knowledge with me… that meant a lot. And he was equally wide open and ready to dive into my world of music. Towards the end of that visit, Tony performed with Baaba and his Dande Lenol band at Festival le Blues du Fleuve in his home town of Podor, and then again in Aire Lau, one of the many remote villages that Baaba’s band always visits. Tony and Massamba together, playing tama drums and balafon with Baaba Maal… in Senegal…that was something new for Baaba’s Senegalese audiences.
Tony then invited Massamba to the US for what would be the first of many tours, doing concerts, recordings and school programs. It was clear they were creating something special from the music of their respective worlds. One day Tony just said it out loud: “Massamba Diop. Tony Vacca… The Senegal-America Project. Yeah, let’s call it the Senegal-America Project, and see where that takes us.”
That’s how it began. And here are a few places it has taken them:
Their work together has created extraordinary partnerships with schools and non-profit arts organizations, and together, under the banner of The Senegal-America Project, they have purchased and distributed over 3000 UN approved mosquito nets in at-risk neighborhoods in and around the capital city of Dakar; they have worked with and performed for over 400,000 US students during twenty years of school visits and residencies; they set up free health screenings and access to follow-up care for diabetes and high blood pressure; they’ve lead a group of twenty-five US musicians, teachers and students on a “Projects and Visions” trip to Senegal, instigating further collaborations and school-to-school partnerships, and have performed at festivals in America like The Chicago World Music Festival and The Lotus World Music Festival, and in Senegal at Baaba Maal’s Festival le Blues du Fleuve, at Festival Rhythms et Formes du Monde, and at The Daniel Sorano National Theatre of Senegal.
For more info and to book Massamba Diop and Tony Vacca, or to book The Senegal-America Project please contact :
Listen to Massamba’s Tama mastery on this track from the Senegal-America project album.
