OUR STORY

Teraanga (meaning 'good hospitality' in Wolof) is a word that embodies warmth, sharing and generosity that is at the core of Senegalese life. With the traditional rhythms of Senegalese Sabar and Djembe drumming at it's heart - the London-based quintet demonstrates that jazz doesn't have to sound as you'd imagine.

Teraanga was founded by bandleader, saxophonist and composer, Jack Perry-Cockings in 2021. It was at this time Jack received the prestigious DYCP award from Arts Council England. The award kick started Jack’s vision to compose a new body of work that fuses elements of his background in Jazz with his love for groove based music that he’d encountered travelling across Africa In 2019. Whilst working onboard a cruise ship, Jack was fortunate enough to be exposed to a plethora of enriching music from countries the ship docked at along the west coast of Africa. It was the hypnotic grooves of Senegalese, Mbalax music that particularly captivated Jack - leading him to develop a new body of work that holds Senegalese music firmly rooted as the rhythmic foundation of Teraanga’s heart.

The award enabled Jack to explore new approaches to writing by focusing on methods of incorporating both percussion & drum-kit simultaneously within the ensemble. During this period, Jack studied in London with Senegalese Percussionist, Mohamed Gueye. This lead to gaining a place on an intensive two week Sabar course in Dakar with Mohamed and several members of Mohamed’s family. Returning to Senegal for a longer period of time meant that Jack was able to immerse himself deeper into the music. The experience and knowledge gained from the course was invaluable. Moreover, during his journey, Jack was able to build musical connections and friendships with Mohamed and fellow student, Richie Sweet - both who later joined Teraanga and feature on the debut album. Peter Komor and Billy Marrows (both long time collaborators of Jack’s on the London Jazz scene) were later introduced to complete the quintet. During Jack’s time visiting Africa, he fell in love with the sound of the Kora and felt that it was essential for the instrument to feature on the album. Ansumana Suso’s virtuosic Kora playing adds energy and a completely new dimension to the tracks that he’s featured on.

It has always been imperative that Teraanga honours the tradition and nuance of Senegalese rhythms - most importantly the tracks that feature the Sabar. Each Sabar drum has its important role to play. In Mbalax, each modern instrument adopts the role of a particular Sabar drum - the guitar tends to take on the role of the Talmbat, bass guitar a combination of Tungune and Mbung-Mbung etc. The album honours these traditions but pushes boundaries with the external contributions of jazz and electronic music.

Emerging from the blend of Mbalax, Jazz and electronic music - Teraanga brings hypnotic grooves, improvisation, energy and dance!

THE STORY BEHIND EACH TRACK

Yangap

Technically 3 tracks; Ya Gnu Mom, Yangap & Bara Mbaye (tracks to be split during mastering). The structure of this composition was inspired by classes taught during my trip to Dakar. The grooves, frame work & rhythmic cues were taught over the course of 2 weeks as part of a suite of music - performed as a large Sabar ensemble. I’ve used this frame work as the basis of my composition by writing melodies on Western instruments that reflect the role of each Sabar voice (i.e Guitar - Talmat, Bass - Tungune and Mbung Mbung etc). The Album opens with Ya Gnu Mom. Ya Gnu Mom is an opening bàkk (set rhythm played in unison) that can be heard at the start of every ceremony. The rhythm honours, Amadou Bamba the Sufi saint and founder of the Mouride Brotherhood. Members of the Baye Fall movement look up to Amadou Bamba for guidance to bring them closer to God.

The following groove, Yangap, is a complex rhythm. If thinking about counting the rhythm through an overly analysed western lens, it can be thought of as having 5 beats per bar. The rhythm is part of a very old tradition in Senegal and is seldom heard. It is never danced to but might be heard at the start of a celebration, used for the drummers to warm up.

The third section of this track starts with Bara Mbaye. Bara Mbaye was originally performed at baptisms as part of a ritual of protection on the eighth day of the child’s life (the day of the naming ceremony, or ngente). Although it’s origins lie in the bëkëtë ritual, today bara mbaye is an integral part of the dance repertory and one of the most popular rhythms.

Taps 

With pulsating pentatonic bass lines & the building momentum generated by the Krakebs, Taps is a nod to the hypnotic music of Gnawa - a genre that originates from Morocco. Taps breaks away from the tradition by incorporating instruments that are more commonly heard in neighbouring countries in West Africa; Kora & Djembe. An extra textural dimension to the track can be heard at the climax of the piece - a highly energetic saxophone solo filtered through multiple electronic effects.

A Fleeting Moment 

The Sabar groove that grounds this piece is called Djogoy, meaning Lion in Wolof. In Senegal, traditional wrestling (làmb) remains the most popular national sport. A mixture of sport, drumming and many complicated mystical rituals, làmb is steeped in tradition. The wrestlers will dance to the rhythm of Djogoy at the start of the wrestling match to warm up and evoke the spirt of the lion.

I was fortunate enough to watch a wrestling match and hear this rhythm being played during my time in Dakar.

Ode To A Boneshaker 

In this track I wanted to explore the idea of an auditory illusion where a melody can be heard in one context at the start but arrives re-contextualised when it returns at the end. The aim is that the listener is blissfully unaware that a rhythmic modulation has subtly occurred throughout the piece.

This track also provides a platform for Richie Sweet to demonstrate his Afro-Cuban percussion expertise featuring on Drum Kit, Shekere and Congas.

Tales of the Talibé 

The title track of the album. A Talibé is a boy who, in most cases, leaves their parents for a certain amount of time to study the Quran at a daara (West African equivalent of madrasa). This education is guided by a teacher known as a marabout. 

During my trip to Dakar, we visited a daara where Mohamed’s family have provided invaluable financial and humanitarian support throughout the years to help provide cleaner and safer living conditions for the children living there.

The rhythm at the start of the track is called ndjouk. Depending on whether or not a family has a particular connection to this rhythm within their community, you may hear this rhythm at a healing ceremony called N’deup (or ndöep). N’deup is a  traditional, syncretic healing ceremony in Senegal, particularly among the Lebu and Wolof people, designed to treat mental health issues and illnesses believed to be caused by spiritual possession. I was very fortunate to hear this rhythm being played when I was invited to witness an N’deup during my trip to Dakar.

Streets of Dakar 

A beautifully improvised Kora solo from Ansu. The sample of street sounds heard in the background were recorded on a hand held Zoom H2N and captured the sounds of a busy Saturday night in a market in Dakar.

Petit-Mbao 

This is the name of the area where stayed  during my two week immersive trip to Dakar. It’s also the title of the first track I ever composed for Sabar. The rhythm heard is called Kaolack.

Kaolack (also known as mbalax or ndëc) is the most important of all the rhythms because it is the primary rhythm used in musique, or mbalax music. The names Kaolack, mbalax and ndëc can be used interchangeably. Ndëc is the name of the rhythm, but it is more often referred to as Kaolack, it’s city of origin. To make matters even more complicated, this rhythm is also commonly referred to as mbalax, which itself has multiple meanings. The word mbalax literally means ‘accompaniment’. However, due to the rhythm’s use in the popular music genre, mbalax had come to mean the popular music genre itself. Wolof percussionists refer to the popular music genre as musique and reserve mbalax for ‘accompaniment’. Kaolack is the primary rhythmic accompaniment onto which most bàkks (extended musical phrase, usually played in unison. Originally derived from spoken word but more recently purely musical compositions) are overlayed.

Fête de Clôture 

Meaning Closing Party/Ceremony. In Senegal, just as a ceremony or celebration is opened honouring Amadou Bamba by playing Ya Gnu Mom, it is always closed with the same opening rhythm. The journey that I’ve been on creating this album has felt like a celebration so I felt it was only fitting to close my debut album in the same way!