Njacko Backo

Entertainer, musician, composer, dancer, choreographer, author, and educator Njacko Backo shares his uplifting music, energizing dance, and hope-filled stories with audiences of all ages and all walks of life. Born in Cameroon, musically and spiritually, Backo draws on the lessons he learned in Africa from his musical family, mentors and village life. Although he loved life in the village where he was immersed in music, his dream was to discover the world and learn all he could about people and different cultures. Backo left home at the age of 17, eventually landing in Europe, and then Canada. He moved to Toronto in 1998 where he recreated his band Kalimba Kalimba. Since that time, Njacko has grown his band’s sound to include a world flavour by blending traditional instruments (kalimba, djembe, ngoni, balafon) with more modern sounds (bass guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, accordion, flute, drum kit, cello, bagpipes, sitar, dilruba, grand piano, oboe) and other traditional percussion (bata from Cuba, tabla from India, udu, cajon)