Orchestra Baobab and Africando, Bringing Afropop Full Circle


By Fernando Gonzalez
Special to The Washington Post
Wednesday, February 6, 2002; Page C05


World-music fusions might still strike some people as something new, but
borrowing, blending and remaking sounds to one's own taste has always been
at the heart of pop music. Technology simply has made available more music
from more places faster and more easily.
One of the most intriguing turns in this process occurred in West Africa
after World War II, continuing through the 1960s and '70s. As colonial rule
came to an end and independence fostered feelings of national pride, a new
popular music emerged. African musicians appropriated and re-Africanized
Cuban music – much of which was rooted in African culture to begin with –
and this, along with traditional styles and the local musicians' take on
black American music, became the foundation of modern African pop.
Completing the circle, Afropop has come to influence Latin music in the
'90s. Two recent releases, recorded 20 years apart, one by Orchestra Baobab
from Senegal, the other by the Senegalese-Latin New York salsa band
Africando, offer delightful snapshots of this fascinating, and continuing,
process.
Orchestra Baobab's "Pirates Choice" was released originally as a cassette in
Senegal in 1982, and later on vinyl in France. As is recounted in the CD
liner notes, it "became something of the Holy Grail for fans of African
music." As an enticing extra, this two-disc reissue includes a disc of
previously unreleased original sessions.
Formed in 1970 as the house band for a dance club of the same name in Dakar,
Orchestra Baobab quickly became a landmark in modern Senegalese music by
integrating Afro-Cuban rhythms with elements from the local Wolof and
Mandinka traditions. The group sang in French, Spanish and local languages
while deploying, side by side, saxophones, electric guitars and the
traditional tama (small talking drum). In just a few years the band came to
be considered one of the best in Africa, but by the early '80s, the
ascendancy of singer Youssou N'Dour and his more aggressive style marked the
arrival of a new wave in pop music and the beginning of the end for
Orchestra Baobab. In 1987, the band dissolved.
The music in "Pirates Choice" sounds fresh but also wise and sensual – and
has an unsinkable, irresistible swing. Check out the swaying "Coumba" or the
Cuban son-inspired "Utrus Horas," sung in a mixture of Spanish and Wolof. Or
sample the rolling "Werente Serigne," an example of an updated Wolof song.
In fact, not all is Afro-Caribbean languor. "Toumaranke" has a relentless
energy, and it's easy to imagine a packed, sweaty dance floor as the music
simply goes on and on. This is great dance music-cum-cultural history lesson
and, either way, great fun.
If Orchestra Baobab seemed to organically articulate the African-Latin
connections, Africando is a quite deliberate fusion. African and Latin
musicians had been collaborating for years, but in 1993 Malian flutist
Boncana Maiga and Senegalese producer Ibrahima Sylla (who, by the way, had
been once the producer of Orchestra Baobab) organized Africando, a meeting
of three top Senegalese vocalists and a group of New York salseros. Coming
at a time when many were lamenting the decadence of salsa and the commercial
success of offshoots, such as the heavy-breathing salsa romantica, the
Africando recordings, at once neo-traditional and fresh, captured the
imagination of salsa fans on both sides of the Atlantic.
Despite the many changes of personnel since, Africando has become a
remarkably successful, durable franchise. Recorded last year and impeccably
produced, "Live" captures the ensemble in full flight, revisiting its
greatest hits. The blend feels so natural that when it becomes clear the
singing is not necessarily in Spanish, it comes as a jolt. The sound is
muscular and in your face, yet always graceful; the grooves are tight yet
lay back slightly. Once the group gets on a roll – "Trovador," "Colombia, Mi
Corazon," and yes, even "Guantanamera" – you will just have to get up and
move.
So here is where the classic salsa sound was all this time: back in the
future.

(To hear free Sound Bites, call Post-Haste at 202-334-9000 and press 8163
for Orchestra Baobab and 8164 for Africando.)
© 2002 The Washington Post Company







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