What is the link between Manu Dibango, Prince, Sting, Snoop Dogg, Lenny Kravitz, France Gall or Salif Keïta? An endless list of prestigious musicians who were accompanied by a brilliant drummer: Félix Sabal-Lecco. The Franco-Cameroonian died on the night of March 3 to 4, 2024 at his home in Paris where he was living.
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Félix Sabal-Lecco, Féfé for short, as gifted with bass, with his voice as with his drums. Came to France in the luggage of a diplomat dad, but obliged to prove himself to become a musician as he told us on our channel in 2020. “ We slept on public benches and took showers in public baths. We played for crap to be seen. »
With his brother Armand, Félix Sabal-Lecco will have the meeting that will change everything. “ The big tours started with Manu Dibango. So that’s why he’s a gentleman to whom I owe a lot. »
Manu Dibango opens a door, the drummer continues: world tours with Peter Gabriel, recordings with the greatest – Youssou N’DourJonas Hellborg, the saxophonist Jowee Omicil and the pianist Cheick Tidiane Seck. “ Félix had a lot of depth in the game, a lot of humility », Affirms the latter joined by RFI.
Discreet, but among his treasures, Félix Sabal-Lecco nevertheless leaves a legacy of recordings of French songs that he loved so much. “ A drummer who becomes a composer is a kind of psychoanalysis », declared the musician.
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