Orchestra
Baobab was formed in Dakar in 1970 when a group of Senegalese Government
ministers that included Adrien Senghor, Ousmane Diagne and Dame Drame decided
to create an intimate club where they could meet with their friends. They
took over the premises in the basement of 144 Rue Jules Ferry, a stone’s throw
from Independence Square and the Presidential Palace, and fashioned its walls
and ceilings to resemble the ubiquitous Baobab tree, known among other things
for its longevity and the shade of its branches. They called it the Baobab
Club.
Baro N’Diaye (Saxophone) the
first band leader and Sidathe Ly (bass guitar) chose the other founding
members of Orchestra Baobab. Moussa Kane played congas and toumba, Biteye was
the first drummer. Barthelemy Attisso (lead guitar) and the singers Balla
Sidibe (who also played drums, guitar and congas) and Rudy Gomis were enticed
away from the Star Band at Ibra Kasse’s Miami Club. Laye M’Boup, the
charismatic star of the National Troupe at the Daniel Sorano Theatre came with
his stunning good looks, his local griot singing talents, perfect pitch and a
vast repertoire of Wolof songs; Orchestra Baobab hit the scene.
Latin music had been popular
in Senegal since the 1940s when visiting sailors brought Cuban records through
the port of Dakar. By the late 1950s Senegal and neighbouring countries,
including Guinea and Mali, were seeking independence from colonial rule and
growing political links with Cuba served to reinforce the interest in Cuban
music. But it was the intriguingly cool mix of Latin pachanga, salsa, cha cha
cha and African music that became the great strength of Orchestra Baobab.
Initially the group played
the Baobab Club at weekends but they were soon so popular they were playing
every night and the dance floor was always full. By the mid-1970s they were
being hailed as the best band in Senegal, if not in Africa, enjoying a status
similar to Bembeya Jazz in Sekou Toure’s
Guinea.
The founding members stayed
firmly with the group but they welcomed regular guest musicians and singers.
Orchestra Baobab was distinctive in that the musicians came from a wide mix of
cultures, reflecting the ethnic diversity of Senegal. Balla Sidibe, Rudy Gomis
and later Charly NDiaye (bass guitar) came from the southern Senegalese
province of Casamance bringing a rich repertoire of Mandinka, Mandiago and
Diola folk songs. Medoune Diallo represented Toucouleur music from the north
of Senegal. Issa Cissoko (tenor saxophone) and his cousins, Mountaga Kouate
(drums) and Seydou Norou “Thierno” Kouate came originally from the Malinke
tribe in Mali (Their uncle had perfected his saxophone playing with Dexter
Johnson). Barthelemy Attisso from Togo added touches of Congolese and other
West African musical styles to his arrangements. Latfi Ben Geloun (rhythm
guitar) was born in St. Louis of Moroccan parents, Peter Udo (Clarinet) was
from Nigeria. The Wolof singers Laye M’Boup and N’Diouga Dieng, from the
major ethnic group in Senegal put a particularly strong Senegalese stamp on
the music.
Despite his enormous talent,
Laye M’Boup was unreliable, finding it difficult to cover his commitments with
both the Sorano Theatre and Orchestra Baobab, so the group looked around for a
singer to stand in for him. At his audition, the young and very talented
Thione Seck sang “Demb”, a tribute to his mentor Laye M’Boup and was accepted
without hesitation. His younger brother, Mapenda Seck, was also drafted in.
In 1975, the 27-year-old
Laye M’Boup was killed in a car accident, although rumours concerning a
jealous husband surrounded his death.
Outside the Baobab Club the
group were invited to play on state occasions such as the “soiree” organised
to celebrate the nomination of Abdou Diouf as Prime Minister, at glamorous
army and navy dress dances and at New Year’s Eve dances in Ziguinchor, held to
raise funds for municipal improvements. In 1978 they played at the wedding
reception of Pierre Cardin’s daughter in a glitteringly expensive setting near
the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. They also played on the Casamance Express
passenger boat during its inaugural trip, travelling from Dakar to Ziguinchor
and on to Conakry.
In 1979 the Baobab Club
closed down and Orchestra Baobab moved to the Ngalam nightclub at Point E. By
the early 1980s, at the height of their popularity, Orchestra Baobab could
command a very respectable fee of 1.800,000 Fr CFA per night (about £3,000 in
today’s money). However, everything was about to change.
In 1982, the young
23-year-old Youssou N’Dour formed his first band and burst upon the scene with
a new wave of popular Senegalese dance music called “mbalax”, based on the
sounds of traditional sabar drums. This was a natural rival to the more
leisurely and languid dance grooves of Orchestra Baobab.
In 1985, in what proved to
be a vain attempt to update their style, the group introduced sabars and the
female singers, Ndeye Seck and Nattou Sarr - but the new additions were not a
success and in 1987, after a difficult tour in France, the group folded.
The recordings on
Pirates Choice
were made by Moussa Diallo, from Thies, in 1982 on a simple four-track
machine. Diallo had made the first recording of Salif Keita and Mory Kante
when they travelled to Thies on the Bamako – Dakar railway. Laye M’Boup had
already passed away but the main singers are represented, including Thione
Seck’s younger brother, Mapenda Seck. The recordings capture the spontaneity
of Issa Cissoko’s whimsical tenor saxophone, the unique guitar style of
Barthelemy Attisso as well as his wizardry as an arranger, and they are imbued
with the energy and camaraderie of the friends who gathered nightly around the
Baobab to make fabulous music.
Written by Jenny Cathcart
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