Doudou N’diaye Rose (Mamadou N’diaye), (born July 28, 1930, Dakar, French West Africa [now in Senegal]—died Aug. 19, 2015, Dakar), Senegalese drummer and bandleader who was a virtuoso percussionist who earned the appellation “mathematician of rhythm” for the complex rhythmic structures, including vigorous polyrhythmic textures, that he developed, using a wide variety of African drums; he was particularly noted for his expertise with the traditional ceremonial drum known as a sabar. He was born into the griot troubadour caste, but his father, an accountant, insisted that he train as a plumber, and the two men were estranged for several years following Rose’s decision to adopt a new name and focus on a career in music. By 1960 Rose was the leader of a 100-member sabar orchestra, which performed before Pres. Léopold Senghor during Senegal’s formal independence ceremonies. Rose was a Muslim who reportedly had four wives and scores of children and grandchildren, many of whom played in his bands and carried on his traditions. Over the years he founded a percussion school, served as drum major of the Senegalese National Ballet, and led such family-based bands as Drummers of West Africa and the Rosettes, a rare all-female drumming group. He also collaborated with Western musicians, including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, the Rolling Stones, and Peter Gabriel, who worked with the percussionist on the album Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ (1989) and produced Rose’s album Djabote (1994). Rose was declared a Living Human Treasure by UNESCO in 2006.

Melinda C. Shepherd