Master drummer Felix Sabal-Lecco passed away in Paris
In the dim hours of a Parisian morning, where the Seine whispers to the sleeping city, death has sung its elusive melody and robbed the world of a master of rhythm: Félix Sabal Lecco, whose heartbeat was in sync with the metronome of life.
Born in the shadow of the Eastern Cameroon Kadey, where the sun shares its first kiss with the earth, Félix was the son of a man who served his nation as prefect, minister and ambassador. But it was not the political echo of his father’s steps that Félix chose to follow; he chose a path littered with staves and rhythms, a path that would change the world. Felix was Armand Sabal Lecco’s brother, the man who makes the bass strings sing like an old griot.
His nickname ‘Féfé’ was an affectionate note in the symphony of his life, a softly sung refrain by those who knew and loved him. With his drumsticks, which were more swords of creation than instruments, he painted skies full of timbres, making time his dining companion and silence his muse.
The greats of the earth sought his company in their musical quest: Sting felt the breath of his rhythm, Peter Gabriel danced to the cadence of his strokes, and Paul Simon’s words found their way on the roads that Félix paved. Felix played on Simon’s album “Rhythm of the Saints”, the follow-up to “Graceland”. He shared the stage with Manu Dibango, he played with Prince during his legendary SuperBowl performance in 2007, playing the most legendary version of “Purple Rain” in the rain, he lent his rhythm to the mbalax of Youssou Ndour, fused with Lenny Kravitz, was the heartbeat behind France Gall, and made Herbie Hancock’s keys dance on the waves of his drum heads.
Félix, our French-Cameroonian wizard on the drums, crossed the boundaries of cultures as he played the heads of his instrument: with a gentle determination and a passion that burned like a lighthouse in the night. His legacy is not engraved in stone, but carved in the annals of musical masterpieces, and will continue to vibrate in the hearts of those yet to come.
At his passing, the music world weeps, not just for a drummer, but for a maestro of the human spirit. His comrades in art, those who had the honor of crossing his path, and we, the silent witnesses of his magic, feel a void that echoes with the sleeping cadence of a drum set missing its master.
We, the lovers of sound and words, offer our condolences to his family, and to the friends who now walk in the shadow of his immense legacy. Félix Sabal Lecco, these words fail to capture his influence.
In the silence of a Parisian morning, where the Seine now whispers a little less loudly, the rhythms of Félix Sabal Lecco still resonate, and will continue to resonate, forever and ever, in the melody of our existence.
