Fifty years ago, the president of Senegal’s nephew was putting together a band for his new, upscale Dakar nightclub, and he recruited a handful of musicians who are still together today. Bringing together elements from their homes across West Africa to the Afro-Cuban style of the time, the Orchestra Baobab became one of Dakar’s top bands. From the rough recordings made in Club Baobab, to their 21st century revival, their music ranges from slow folk ballads to wah-pedal heavy psychedelia. We’ll talk to members Rudy Gomis, Barthelemy Attisso, Theirno Kouyate, Balla Sidibe and more, and hear selections from a truly one-of-a-kind group, the specialists in all styles, half-a-century old and still evolving: the mighty Orchestra Baobab.

APWW #822