Master hand drummer, Pape Demba "Paco" Samb, is an internationally known musician born 1976 in Dakar, Senegal who has performed with many major musicians based in Senegal and the Gambia including Youssou N’Dour Cultural Group, Marie Samuel N’Diaye Group, Laba Sosseh, Moussa Ngom, and Bala Sidibé. Paco is a griot. He comes from the Samb family that has been the keepers of the ancestral history, stories, and music of his native Wolof peoples in Senegal for hundreds of years. He performs both traditional and contemporary Senegalese music.

Paco arrived in the U.S. in 2013. Since then Paco has performed regularly as part of the local Delaware and Philadelphia music scenes, including performances with Fatoumata Diawara from Mali, Tony Vacca, and the Philadelphia group, the Universal African Dance and Drum Ensemble. In November 2015, Paco was hired as a guest musician for the renowned Philadelphia-based African drum and dance ensemble, Kulu Mele, to coordinate the music for two newly choreographed works based on traditional Senegalese rhythms.

In addition to performing, Paco teaches and builds and repairs drums including djembes, dun duns, tamas (talking drums) and sabars. He regularly teaches private drum classes and workshops at a variety of levels for different ages, including children, adults and people with emotional and cognitive disabilities. Paco currently serves as adjunct faculty for McDaniel College in Westminster, MD.

In October 2014, Paco released his first solo album in the U.S., and he performs regularly with his own group Super Ngewel. The group, which includes storytellers and dancers, portrays Senegalese music the way it is traditionally performed in Africa.

This program is supported, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The Division promotes Delaware arts events at www.DelawareScene.com.