Self-taught guitarist and composer Hervé Samb from Senegal has established himself in both West Africa and France over two decades. He has performed with greats such as saxophone legend Pharoah Sanders, Meshell Ndegeocello and Pat Metheny, and contributed to over a hundred albums. With his own sound, which he calls ‘sabar jazz’, Samb bridges the African-American jazz language and his Senegalese roots.

With Teranga he presents his ‘Jazz Sabar’ concept, where Senegalese dance and jazz come together. The sabar, a traditional Senegalese percussion instrument played with one hand and a stick, gives the music its characteristic drive. Samb’s arrangements move between Afro-Brazilian rhythms and surprising reworkings of jazz standards such as John Coltrane’s ‘Giant Steps’ and Henry Mancini’s ‘Days of Wine and Roses’, enriched with West African percussion.

‘One of the greatest revelations of the African continent in this early 21st century’ (Jazz Magazine).

Hervé Samb guitar/vocals, Samba Laobe Ndiaye bass, Cheikh Diallo Ouza keys/vocals, Mor Ndiaye sabar/percussion, Macodou Ndiaye drums