Band members were local heroes: a talented guitarist from Togo, a traditional storytelling praise singer, a Nigerian oboe player, a Gambian drummer and a saxophone player from Mali who had been influenced by jazz and blues. But by the 1980s, Senegalese audiences had turned to the percussion-based street music known as mbalax (made world famous by musicians like Youssou N’Dour). Acrimony replaced accolades for the fading stars of Orchestra Baobab. They squabbled over what direction to take their music. By 1987 the band had split up and its members had gone their separate ways.
Fortunately for them, their music remained. Baobab’s 1982 album “Pirate’s Choice” quietly made its way around the globe, passed on by record merchants and world-music aficionados. In Europe and America, the album became a cult classic. When British producers remixed the CD and re-released it last year, the band began to recapture some of its old heat: a series of concerts across the United States last summer drew thousands. Last month the band, which reformed, released a critically acclaimed new album, “Specialist in All Styles”–its first in 15 years. “They invented a new take on the Cuban sound,” says Lucy Duran, lecturer in African music at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. “And because they are regionally diverse, bringing a variety of musical traditions into the mix, they have a wide appeal.”
It’s an appeal that much of the world could easily have forgotten about. Inspired by the success of the “Pirate’s Choice” re-release, the organizers of a Dakar night at London’s Barbican Centre suggested reuniting Baobab to play a one-off concert in May 2001. British producer Nick Gold and Jenny Cathcart, a world-music fan and now the band’s manager, had no trouble getting most of the band excited to play. The reunion had long been a dream of Gold’s, who discovered the Grammy-winning Buena Vista Social Club. He credits Baobab with sparking his interest in Latin music, and inspiring the search that led him to Buena Vista. But there was a problem: “Attisso is one of the best guitarists I have ever heard,” says Gold. “[But] nobody knew where he was!” After a frantic search, Baobab’s members discovered Barthemy Attisso back in his native Togo running a quiet law practice. He was keen to participate, but hadn’t picked up a guitar in 10 years. It took a month of practice, but “my fingers began working, and my technique came back,” Attisso told The Independent. And when the band stepped onstage, the old magic returned with them. Ian Anderson, editor of world-music magazine fRoots, saw Baobab’s set last summer at the Womad Festival in Reading, England. “Everybody said that Baobab was the best part of the whole festival. People were just blown away,” he says.
Critics have been no less enthusiastic about “Specialists.” Each song on the album flows easily into the next, the gentle rhythms of each instrument loosely bumping up against one another, with no single player dominating the overall sound. The music is easy to listen to, soothing and invigorating all at once. Though the music retains its unique fusion of Latin and African sounds, the new album is blessed with the added benefit of state-of-the-art production quality and professional sound engineering.
Certainly, nobody is more pleased with the album than the band members themselves. Though most are now well into their 50s, they say they’ve been reinvigorated by their reunion. “It was amazing being together again, making music,” says rhythm guitarist Latfi Ben Geloune, himself of Moroccan descent. “Baobab for me was like a finished notebook you put away. I never thought in my life we would join back together.” Says Cathcart, the band’s manager: “All of us do not quite understand how it all happened; it is like a magical mystery tour. We don’t know where we are going but we are happy to be on it.” So, too, are thousands of world-music fans, who can’t wait to see where the magical bus that started in Dakar 32 years ago goes next.
