Streetlight Records

Reviews:

Senegal's Orchestra Baobab is the biggest world music story of the pastfew years. The band ruled Senegal from 1970-85 with a style that combined CubanRumba, West African folk music and arrangements using guitar and sax stylesinfluenced by American rock and R&B. Changing musical trends ended theircareer in the ‘80s, but their albums remained popular—despite thefact that they were long out of print—thanks to the bootleggers. Last yearNick Gold, the man behind the success of the Buena Vista Social Club, releasedBaobab's Pirate's Choice in Europe. Nonesuch picked it up forAmerica, and it became one of the year's best selling world music discs.

This year the band reformed, added a few members, toured Europe and the U.S.to rave reviews and cut Specialists in All Styles, a dazzling album thatshows the band in top form, despite its 17 year hiatus. "Bul Ma Miin"opens the set with a soulful vocal from Ndiouga Dieng and a guitar solo fromBarthelemy Attisso that ranges from a simple Cuban fills to rippling 32nd noteruns that sound a bit like Dick Dale. "Hommage a Tonton Ferre" isan Africanized rumba that features the guest vocals of Buena Vista's IbrahimFerrer and Youssou N'Dour, and sizzling sax work by Issa Cissokho and ThiernoKoite. On the down tempo tip, there's "Dee Moo Woor" a meditationon life and death with a poignant vocal from Dieng and a sparse percussion track.