Olatunji, Babatunde

▪ 2004

      Nigerian-born drummer (b. April 7, 1927, Ajido, Nigeria—d. April 6, 2003, Salinas, Calif.), brought the sound of African drumming to an American audience and influenced a number of jazz and rock musicians. While studying in New York City, Olatunji formed an African drum and dance group. His seminal album, Drums of Passion (1959), was credited with sparking a vogue for Afro-jazz fusion music in the 1960s, and in 1964, with jazz musician-composer John Coltrane, he opened the Olatunji Center for African Culture in New York City. During the 1990s Olatunji appeared and performed on recordings with drummer Mickey Hart (of the Grateful Dead) and Hart's percussion group, Planet Drum, including an eponymous album that won a Grammy Award in 1991. In 1997 Olatunji and his troupe, Drums of Passion, released the Grammy-nominated album Love Drum Talk.

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