West Africa's most iconic dance-band are back. A decade on from their last album and almost half a century since their formation, Senegal's Orchestra Baobab return with a timeless set of classic, swaying tunes fusing Afro-Cuban rhythms and African tradition in the group's trademark style.
Recorded locally in Moussa X's Dakar studio, the new recordings sound fresh and yet reassuringly familiar, retaining the ripeness of the sound that made Orchestra Baobab a legend but interpreted with a vigour and vibrancy, and with a few twists, that are vital and captivating.
As enduring as the mighty African Baobab tree from which the group derives its name, the veteran core of the band remains as strong and sturdy as ever. Vocalists Balla Sidibe and Rudy Gomis, saxophonists Issa Sissoko and Thierno Koite and the long-serving, rock steady rhythm section of Balla Sidibe, timbales, Charlie Ndiaye bass and Mountaga Koite on congas.
Alongside this impressive continuity there have been changes in the ten years since Baobab's last World Circuit album, 'Made in Dakar' - but they have been executed seamlessly. Guitarist Barthelemy Attisso, now a lawyer in Togo, is absent due to the demands of his day job but kora player Abdouleye Cissoko from the Cassamance region in southern Senegal is a welcome addition. It's the first time Baobab has numbered a kora player in its permanent ranks but Cissoko's rippling strings have blended seamlessly into the sound and lent a fresh dynamic. Elsewhere Baobab's distinctive two saxophone attack - which combines the vibrato laden declamatory style of Issa Cissoko with the softer more lyrical playing of Thierno Koite – has been bolstered by trombonist Wilfried Zinzou and the young virtuosic guitarist Rene Sowatche, both from the fertile musical pastures of Benin.
Veteran vocalist Balla Sidibe is a commanding presence on the album with his triple threat of musical influences - Manding from Gui....... more
West Africa's most iconic dance-band are back. A decade on from their last album and almost half a century since their formation, Senegal's Orchestra Baobab return with a timeless set of classic, swaying tunes fusing Afro-Cuban rhythms and African tradition in the group's trademark style.
Recorded locally in Moussa X's Dakar studio, the new recordings sound fresh and yet reassuringly familiar, retaining the ripeness of the sound that made Orchestra Baobab a legend but interpreted with a vigour and vibrancy, and with a few twists, that are vital and captivating.
As enduring as the mighty African Baobab tree from which the group derives its name, the veteran core of the band remains as strong and sturdy as ever. Vocalists Balla Sidibe and Rudy Gomis, saxophonists Issa Sissoko and Thierno Koite and the long-serving, rock steady rhythm section of Balla Sidibe, timbales, Charlie Ndiaye bass and Mountaga Koite on congas.
Alongside this impressive continuity there have been changes in the ten years since Baobab's last World Circuit album, 'Made in Dakar' - but they have been executed seamlessly. Guitarist Barthelemy Attisso, now a lawyer in Togo, is absent due to the demands of his day job but kora player Abdouleye Cissoko from the Cassamance region in southern Senegal is a welcome addition. It's the first time Baobab has numbered a kora player in its permanent ranks but Cissoko's rippling strings have blended seamlessly into the sound and lent a fresh dynamic. Elsewhere Baobab's distinctive two saxophone attack - which combines the vibrato laden declamatory style of Issa Cissoko with the softer more lyrical playing of Thierno Koite – has been bolstered by trombonist Wilfried Zinzou and the young virtuosic guitarist Rene Sowatche, both from the fertile musical pastures of Benin.
Veteran vocalist Balla Sidibe is a commanding presence on the album with his triple threat of musical influences - Manding from Gui....... more