Aiyb Dieng
Aiyb Dieng was born in Senegal, West Africa, where in the early 1960's
he was a founding member of Xalam, the seminal and influential band
that inspired numerous groups throughout West Africa. In 1968 Dieng
made his way to Paris, where he established himself quickly as an infinitely
adaptable and powerful rhythmic root for a vast variety of adventurous
music. In Paris, he worked with Don Cherry, Colin Wolcott, Kenny Clark,
Rashied Ali and others playing everything from blues and funk to free
jazz dates. Dieng was a crucial element in Brian Eno and Jon Hassell's
ground breaking "Possible Music" album, which was an early percussion-oriented/ethnic/dreamy-sounding
precursor to what is now known as "new age." Dieng's individual feel,
sense of time, way of carrying the rhythm, placement and choice of beats,
trademark patterns that turn into bigger cycles, and "fractal" approach
are what set him apart in a world of rhythmic virtuosos. As a bandleader,
he has recorded Elephant Dance - Free the World" on Jimco and Rhythmajic.
Aiyb Dieng's primary instruments consist of a variety of percussion:
congas, chatan (clay drums from West Africa), talking drum, bells, gongs,
timbales, cowbells, cymbals, bongos, wood blocks, and any number of
hand-drums and exotic instruments.
Aiyb
Dieng's ability to lay back into a variety of settings are best exhibited
in a plethora of Laswell productions, Herbie Hancock's "Sound System",
and records by Manu Dibango, Fela, Toure Kunda, Mick Jagger, Yoko Ono,
and many more. He is currently a crucial member of the current live
band configuration of Material, and appears regularly with Masabumi
"Poo" Kikuchi, Nicky Skopelitis, and others.