Cheikh's fascination by the diverse, rich sounds and rhythms of the Senegalese music scene started in his prime age. Early in life, he was attracted by jazz masters such as Charlie Parker, Monk, Miles Davis, Wes Montgomery and many other jazz greats.However, after listening to Weather Report 8:30 album, he was so captivated by Jaco's melodic and harmonic developments that he immediately fell in love with the bass guitar.
In the beginning, Cheikh played the piano between the ages of 9 and 11. He didn't pick up the bass until the age of 14. He would encounter two obstacles in his early musical adventure. On the one hand, he would have to convince his parents who believed that school should always come first. On the other hand, given the expensive musical instruments, Cheikh could not afford his own bass guitar
However, that did not discourage him. Fortunately, he had tremendous support from his friend Thierno Camara, an already reputable musician, who would let him borrow his bass guitar.
Years later, Cheikh secured his first professional gig with a Dakar jazz band, Opus. The band had its first national exposure at the notable St Louis Jazz Festival in which appeared great jazz musicians such as Pharoa Sanders, Jack Dejhonnette, Herbie Hancock, and many others.
In 2001, while studying Computer Science at Montgomery College, Cheikh joined the school Jazz Ensemble as the lead bass player. During his two years with the ensemble, Cheikh refined his reading and writing skills under the coaching of Ward Harris. Most recently, he joined a well known jazz group in the DC metropolitan area, the Postmodern Blues Band which won Takoma Park's 2005 Jazz Browl. Currently, Cheikh spends his free time as a studio musician, making sessions with many musicians whose genres vary from jazz, rock and roll, and also afro-jazz.
www.dragonflymile.com
www.postmodernblues.com
www.scotthedges.net
