ORCHESTRA BAOBAB (EN)

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 at the Moussa X studio in Dakar, the new recordings are both tinted with freshness and a reassuring intimacy, conserving the maturity of the sound that made Orchestra Baobab into a legend, but interpreted with strength and intensity and with some essential and captivating twists.
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 Sidibé and Rudy Gomis, saxophonists Issa Cissoko and Thierno Koite and the long-serving, rock steady rhythm section of Balla Sidibé (timbales) Charlie Ndiaye and Mountaga Koite (on congas).

“Baobab make music for all-night dancing, and a rapt London audience are teased on to their feet by classics such as Bul Ma Miin and Ndiaga Niaw. These seasoned players can still raise the roof while barely breaking a sweat.”
THE GUARDIAN

“Orchestra Baobab returns with a new album that deserves all the superlatives.”
LE MONDE

“It’s these good-humoured grandpas, with their energy, their sparkling Buena Vista-like charm and their vintage groove that makes the show irresistible.”
TÉLÉRAMA CONCERTS (ffff) (June 2017)

“Enchanting light songs, the result of a perfect hybridisation between Cuban and African music.”
LES INROCKUPTIBLES

“Senegalese tradition, Cuban rythms and jazzy brass, the combination is still heady.”
LIBÉRATION

“The Senegalese formation offers a series of timeless exhilirating and dansing tracks.”
FIP

“Orchestra Baobab maintains its status of leading light of Senegalese music with its new album, Tribute To Ndiouga Dieng.”
RFI

“The voice of Balla Sidibé has lost none of its splendour and it is perfectly enhanced by the talent of the musicians accompanying him.”
INROCKS .COM

“With the impeccable Nick Gold at musical production, Orchestra Baobab exalts once again afro-cuban rythms and african tones.”
JAZZ NEWS

“These vintage Mandinguo salsas and charming rumbas have not aged a day.”
TÉLÉRAMA SORTIR (May 2017)