Orchestra Baobab
N'Wolof
$17.99

"The most sultry, unbelievably voluptuous band in Africa in the seventies had to be Baobab. With swirling guitars that sound like they are buried in layers of honey, saxophones as sweet, and a rhythm section that just never lets up, this Senegalese crew made a series of recordings in the late seventies and early eighties that have become something of a legend. Their Pirates' Choice, 1984 sessions released in 1990, was as welcome an issue as I heard that year. This latest release, Paris studio sessions from 1978, is equally lush, equally raw, and equally welcome. "Baobab is the band that best shows the trans-oceanic link between west Africa and Cuba, sounding more Cuban than most of the Caribbean bands of the era, right down to the timbales and shakers, but with a classic guitar sound that is all African. The sound is so true to its Cuban roots one of WPKN's Latin music freaks refused to believe it wasn't a Latino band. Their fusion of rhumba with African drums and Afro-pop is irresistible, each murky guitar riff more enigmatic and enchanting than the last, each squeak of the saxophone more endearing. "El Son De Llama" crystallizes 100 years of musical cross-fertilization in seven Latin soaked, guitar driven minutes, and the rest of the hour on this CD keeps it going. This pan-African band played music like few since, with a real abandon that never let perfection get in the way of the groove. References to Malian, Senegalese and other west African forms popular at the time are everywhere in this record, but their's is really quite an unusual and original sound." - CF (RootsWorld)

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