Hamza el Din and the Nubian Desert Trip

From a 1981 Musician article, Addendum #1:

"It's so great to meet someone who could be so damn strong and yet not
exude even a trace of evil, meaness, or  fear." A few years ago, Hart
accompanied Hamza on a journey  up the Nile to visit his ancestral
village in the Nubian Desert.  "The first thing those Nubian drummers
taught me was that Bo Diddley didn't invent that beat," said Mickey.
Not speaking Arabic, Hart utilized the universal language of music to 
exchange ideas and converse with the Sudanese, who were 
impressed with his dexterity. "Hamza had taught me to play the tar,
a single-membraned African drum, and his people were really blown
out by the rhythmic exercises I'd worked  up." The Nubians would
often hold the same rhythmic groove for hours, with different
sections of the ensemble coming forward to improvise over the
basic pattern. But when Hart's turn to solo came up he met with an
unexpected reaction from his hosts. "My polyrhythms startled them
at first. I asked  Hamza why they were staring at me, and he
explained that when they heard the off beat and polyrhythms they
felt I was forcing the drum. They feel the drums should tell you what
to  do, and not vice versa, which they see as artificial. They say, 
'Excite the drum and it will tell you what to play'," reflects Hart: 
"It's a great concept, and I've found it works if you approach the
instrument with the right attitude."