Produced by:
KBOO
Program::
Air date:
Thu, 12/03/2015 - 2:00pm to 4:00pm
Music from Dakar, Senegal
Orchestra Baobab was formed in Dakar in 1970, playing a luxuriant, exquisitely mellow, and unique synthesis of traditional Senegalese Wolof and Mandinka melodies combined with the rhythms of Afro-Cuban "son" fashionable in Senegal during the 60s and 70s. Initially the group played the Baobab Club at weekends but they were soon so popular they were playing nightly 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 Guinea's Bembeya Jazz. And Orchestra Baobab was distinctive in that the musicians came from a wide mix of cultures, reflecting the ethnic diversity of the Senegalese capital. Disbanded in 1987, the group reformed in the early 2000's, recording 2 new albums and touring the world following the successful reissue of their most famous record, "Pirates Choice".
this week's host: Andy Hosch
this week's host: Andy Hosch