Orchestra Baobab "Pirates Choice: The Legendary 1982 Session" 1989(released)*****

I listened to this album when it first came out even though -like most people in the late 80's- I wasn't hip to "world music". It didn't exist as a genre yet - hell it doesn't exist as a genre now, it's just as a label for everything that's not anglo pop. Anyway, it helps to at least have hip friends even if you're not, and my best friend (later a music journalist) taped it for me. I was blown away right from the start by the relaxed dance groove, mellow sax and -above all- by Barthelemy Attisso's fluid guitar arpeggios. Not having another frame of reference at the time, I thought of him as the African J.J. Cale. I think that was just because of the laid-back groove though, since I don't discern any country or blues influences, the music is purely a mix of African and Cuban elements. Orchestra Baobab came together in 1970 as the house band of Dakar's exclusive Baobab club, and have different ethnic backgrounds: Attisso comes from Togo, drummer Mountaga Koité and sax player Issa Cissokho are (East Senegalese and Malian, respectively) Mandinka hereditary griots. Of the singers, Ndiounga Dieng belongs to the main Senegalese ethnic group Wolof, while Rudy Gomis and Balla Sidibe (the latter also plays timbales) come from Casamance, a region near the Guinea Bissau border with a strong Portuguese influence. They were very popular in the mid-70's and in high demand as entertainers, although by the time of this recording their Cuban rhythms were starting to fall out of favor with Dakar's club crowd who preferred the funkier style of younger bands like (Youssou N'Dour's) Étoile de Dakar. These recordings come from a 1982 studio session, recorded live without overdubs, and were originally circulated in cassette and limited LP form. By the time they were discovered by World Circuit and re-released under the title "Pirates Choice" the band had disbanded. It took the second re-release (in 2001, when the "world music" fad had caught on for good) for the band to return to active duty, make more records and tour the world. I saw them soon after in Athens (on a double bill with Salif Keita) and they were still amazing. The CD starts with a couple of laid-back rumbas ("Utru Horas" and "Coumba") sung by Rudy Gomis in creole Portuguese and French, respectively. The next two tracks ("Ledi Ndieme M'bodj", "Werente Serigne") are sung by Dieng in Wolof, and are more upbeat. "Ray Mbele" features yet another lead singer in Medoune Diallo and sounds unmistakably Cuban - except for the language, of course. The original album closer was the slow, almost wistful, "Soldadi", apparently based on a traditional Casamance tune. This CD edition adds alternate versions of "Utru Horas" and "Coumba", while the 2001 re-release (with a different cover) added a whole CD with 6 more songs recorded during the same sessions. That latest edition is still in print and easy to find, not exactly a "buried treasure" even though it was awarded that status by Mojo Magazine. Well, "buried" or not, a musical treasure it certainly is. Highly recommended, whether you like African, Jazz, or Latin music - or even if you're an out-and-out rock fan as I was when I first heard it.

***** for Utru Horas, Coumba, Werente Serigne, Ray Mbele

**** for Ledi Ndieme M'bodjm, Soldadi, Utru Horas (Alternate Take), Coumba (Alternate Take)