Ms. Cassandra Wilson and Me: A Musical and Human Journey

My relationship with Cassandra Wilson has been one of the most meaningful musical journeys of my life. It is a relationship built over many years through music, friendship, trust, touring, recording and a shared curiosity about the African roots of jazz.

When I first began working with Cassandra, I did not see my role simply as being a percussionist in an American jazz ensemble. I was bringing with me a musical inheritance shaped by Yorùbá rhythm, African spirituality, ritual performance and my own journey through Nigerian music. Cassandra was receptive to that knowledge. She understood that African percussion could speak within jazz not as decoration, but as a language with its own history, philosophy and spiritual intelligence.

Our musical relationship developed through performances, recordings and conversations. I had the privilege of working with her on important projects, including Loverly, and later Silver Pony, where I was credited as both percussionist and associate producer. We also travelled and performed together internationally. Those experiences gave me the opportunity to understand Cassandra not only as one of the great voices of contemporary jazz, but as an artist deeply committed to listening, experimentation and cultural connection.

For me, our friendship has always been bigger than the credits on an album or the stages we shared. Cassandra created space for me to bring aspects of my African identity into a musical environment where those traditions could be heard and respected. In return, I brought my understanding of Yoruba rhythm into her continuing exploration of the relationship between Africa and African-American music.

Looking back, I see our journey as part of the larger Black Atlantic story: Africa and America continually speaking to one another through rhythm, memory and creativity.

My relationship with Cassandra remains a deeply valued part of my musical life and of my continuing journey to reconnect African musical knowledge with the wider history of jazz. Ẹ sùn irè ò Sistà mì.