Orchestra Baobab - Tribute to Ndiouga Dieng: sweet, soulful and sublime

Orchestra Baobab's easy-paced Afro-Cuban style is one of the signature sounds of west African music. They were formed as the house band for the Baobab Club in Dakar around 1970 and didn't split until 1987, when the higher energy mbalax music took over. In 2001, spurred by the legendary status accorded to their 1982 recording Pirate's Choice, they reformed and released two more albums.

Now, after another 10-year gap, we receive the next instalment, a tribute to their recently deceased former vocalist. The ensemble sound is gloriously intact, swinging and swaying in time-honoured fashion, vocals sweet and soulful.

Kora and trombone are new elements, plus a young guitarist, all slotting seamlessly into sublime instrumental passages over an effortless rhythm section of Orchestra veterans. Baobab are back in business.

[ worldcircuit.co.uk ]