Orchestra Baobab - Specialist in All Styles
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Free Music Notes for Specialist in All Styles
Free Music Review: Majestic music!!
Hit: 5 Stars
I was only recently introduced to the music of Orchestra Baobab and what a fantastic discovery their music is!
Formed in Senegal in 1970, the group took its name from a nightclub they performed at, named after the Baobab tree found in the African savannah, and renowned for its majesty and endurance, qualities the band shares.
Their musical style sounds to me like a fusion of Cuban, and African Highlife music; loads of prominent melodic guitars, horns (especially explosive sax), and rich percussion. The lyrics (on this CD) are largely in Wolof and French, dealing with themes including anti corruption messages, a dying parent, and the importance of having integrity. However, music, especially this beautiful, is a universal language.
`Specialist In All Styles' is their first CD in 20 years, co produced by Youssou N'Dour, the album comprises 9 tracks - mostly reworked versions of their classics with a few new songs thrown in - with a rich, live (it was recorded live over 10 days) party feel to the sound. The CD comes in either a yellow cover (shown here) or blue.
Tunes range from the very rhythmic upbeat guitar driven opening cut `Bul Ma Miin', the downtempo `Sutukun' with lovely guitar licks, the very Latin sounding `Jiin Ma Jiin Ma', the gently shuffling `Hommage ? Tonton Ferrer' features Ibrahim Ferrer & Youssou N'Dour, and the more upbeat Cuban sounding horn filled `El Son Te Llama'.
A beautiful CD, and a worthy addition to any music collection.
Free Music Review: Cuban music with African vocal overtones
Hit: 4 Stars
?Orchestra Baobob is an old band - they've been around well over 20 years, and the Latin tinge is both unusual and powerful, here, setting their music apart from competitors and creating a niche all their own.Free Music Review: Slightly Overrated
Hit: 4 Stars
Unless this is your only O.B. album, there's some filler here. Hommage A Tonton Ferrer is essentially a shorter version (with different lyrics) of Utrus Horas, the first track on Pirates Choice, and the longer version is better played and more hypnotic. El Son Te Llama is a faster, shorter cover of the better-played version from On Verra Ca. (The original version, by the way, is also available on Putumayo Presents Afro-Latino, an excellent compilation.) The remaining seven songs are quite good and offer plenty of variety. One only wishes O.B. could have re-entered the studio, after so many years, with totally original material.Free Music Review: A legendary (if unknown) Senagalese band
Hit: 5 Stars
I was visiting Quebec City in mid-July and Orchestra Baobab happened to be playing live at the Quebec City Music Festival. It was an extraordinary electric guitar/saxophone sound with soaring vocals. Although the crowd was French, the music was universal. Orchestra Baobab absolutely blew the doors off the joint. A great live experience based on material from "Specialist In All Styles." You won't go wrong listening to this music.Free Music Review: You Need This
Hit: 5 Stars
I was exposed to the Orchestra a few months back, and I was blown away by the funky rhythms of this group. I recently saw them at the House of Blues in Los Angeles, and they gae such an amazing show -the music was basically from this latest album, but hearing them live let me know just how great a group like this is. The audience was the widest cross-section of people I've ever seen at a concert. From young black kids to middle aged French people to Senegalese and Nigerian, to Columbian and German!African music is the root of all musical styles, and the Orchestra Baobab demonstrate that music is truly universal.
Tracks like Om Verra Ca sport some of the funkiest bass-lines this side of George Clinton, and even though you won't necessarily be able to understand the lyrics (in French or Waloof) the magical voices of the various singers transcend the listener to a state of pure joy.
If you listen to this and don't like, then I don't know what to say.
I've been expanding my listening to West African music, mainly through Black President Fela Kuti, but this is a welcome difference that we'll get you groove at the house party, the car or the club.