Doudou Ndiaye Rose Dies in Senegal Aged 85

Senegalese drummer Doudou Ndiaye Rose has died aged 85, his family has announced.

Famous for playing the sabar drum, Doudou Ndiaye Rose toured the world and played with jazz legends such as Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis, and the Rolling Stones.

Doudou Ndiaye Rose led an orchestra of more than 30 drummers, many of them his children and grandchildren.

In 2006, UNESCO declared Doudou Ndiaye Rose a “living human treasure” for keeping alive traditional rhythms.

Doudou Ndiaye Rose continued to play up until his death and a few years ago explained how happy he was to have spawned a dynasty of percussionists.

According to AFP, Doudou Ndiaye Rose was born into a griot family of musicians and story-tellers, but his accountant father did not want him to continue in the tradition.

When Doudou Ndiaye Rose defied his father, they went for seven years without shaking hands, it reports.