28 29.2.2004 Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall Orchestra Baobab Running time: approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes with no interval To make this performance a pleasant experience for the artists and other members of the audience, PLEASE switch off your alarm watches, MOBILE PHONES and PAGERS. Eating and drinking, unauthorised photography and audio or video recording are forbidden in the auditorium. Thank you for your co-operation.
Vocals Assane Mboup Ndiouga Dieng Rudy Gomis Youri Lenquette Page 7 Band Members Vocal/Timpanis Balla Sidibe Lead guitar Barthélemy Attisso Rhythm guitar Latfi Ben Genloune Bass Charley Ndiaye Saxophones Issa Cissokho Thierno Koite Drums Mountaga Koite The audio equipment is sponsored by Orchestra Baobab Members of Orchestra Baobab are flown in by
Song List Songs performed tonight are selected from the following: Utru Horas Soldadi Ray M bele Coumba Ledi Ndieme M Bodj Ngalam Toumaranke Foire Internationale Le Rebellion Ndiaga Niaw Balla Daffe Bul ma miin Sutukun Dee moo woor Jiin ma Jiin ma Ndongoy daara On verra ça Hommage à tonton Ferrer El son te IIama Ganawoe Page 9 Programme
Page 10 Background Issa Cissokho Geraint Lewis 1970
The Masters of Fusion Senegal is a country with a rich musical heritage and one of the most vibrant pop music scenes on the African continent. Its music today is dominated by one main sound the breathtaking rhythms of mbalax, the music of the Wolof people in the north of the country. But it was not always so. In the 1970s the style that filled Senegal s airwaves was a fusion of Afro-Cuban elements with various local sounds drawn from Senegal s diverse cultural traditions. The undisputed masters of this fusion were the legendary Orchestra Baobab. Baobab exploded onto the Dakar scene in 1970 and immediately became the top local band, famous for their sublime and sophisticated arrangements, lyrical vocals and dazzling guitar solos. For a decade they reigned supreme, recruiting some of the finest musicians from around the country, making them one of Senegal s most cosmopolitan and versatile bands. There were two qualities that set them apart from most other groups of the period. One was their approach to the Cuban sound, which went far beyond mere imitation. They actually created their own deliciously mellow Cuban-style rhythms in a uniquely Baobab way. Second, while other bands were fusing the Latin tinge with Wolof melodies, this was only one of the regional styles that Baobab drew upon. More important for them were the rolling harmonies and intensely melodic drumming traditions of Casamance (in southern Senegal), where several of the band members had grown up. The combination of Casamance plus Cuba created something completely new and entrancing that was to become Baobab s trademark. Orchestra Baobab in the 1970s The band was founded in 1970 to animate an elegant new nightclub just opened in central Dakar, around the corner from the Place de l Independence and not far from Senegal s National Assembly. It was meant to be a meeting place for politicians, intelligentsia and wealthy businessmen, so the band needed to have a certain chic. The club owners poached six musicians from their famous rivals, the resident Star Band (later to launch Youssou N Dour) of the Miami Club. These included the two singers Balla Sidibe and Rudy Gomis, both from Casamance, and the brilliant self-taught guitarist Barthélemy Attisso from Togo. Attiso, who had moved to Dakar to study law, had initially taken up music just as a Page 11 Background
Page 12 Background 1970 1960 1974
night job to finance his studies, but it was soon clear that he had a phenomenal talent. In addition to these three musicians, Orchestra Baobab recruited the charismatic Wolof griot singer Laye Mboup with his soaring Wolof griot vocals. Other musicians included Latfi Ben Geloune, of Moroccan origin, on rhythm guitar; Charlie Ndiaye, from Casamance, on bass; Mountaga Koite, a Maninka griot from eastern Senegal, on drums and Issa Cissokho, also a Maninka griot from Mali, on saxophone. The new nightclub called itself Baobab and so did the newly formed band, which under the circumstances turned out to be an uncannily appropriate name. The baobab is one of the most emblematic and majestic trees of the African savannah. It is slow growing and enduring; it lives many hundreds of years, and is considered sacred and therefore is not used for carving or for firewood. The early 1970s were years of optimism and economic growth in Senegal and there was a flourishing nightclub scene with dozens of bands. The country had gained its independence in 1960 and under the leadership of its first president, the poet Leopold Sedar Senghor, culture was high on the political agenda. The young Orchestra Baobab was an instant success and their first recordings were huge local hits. Tragically, however, Mboup died in a car crash in 1974 and the band began moving in new directions. Balla Sidibe and Rudy Gomis, both from non-griot backgrounds, took over as lead vocalists along with Wolof griot Ndiouga Dieng, while other well-known singers such as Thione Seck and Medoune Diallo were brought in on an ad hoc basis. The Wolof element continued as one of the musical strands, but it was Sidibe and Gomis who introduced the sounds of their native Casamance, with all its sensuality and hint of melancholy. Page 13 Background Mamadou Toure Behan
Page 14 Background 1981 1979 1987 Mamadou Toure Behan 2001 5 2001 1982 2002 2003
Casamance and the 1980s The band regroups Casamance is a very different sonic world to that of Dakar. This is reflected in its more tropical climate and lush vegetation along with the different ethnicities and languages, each with their own musical styles: Jola, Manjak, Mandinka, Balanta, and Portuguese-Creole, among others. The sounds of Casamance were diverse in themselves and diversity became the trademark of Baobab. The cement that held all this together was the crystal-clear guitar of Attisso, who fearlessly runs the entire fret board, sometimes in chords, sometimes in brilliant solo lines, always with staggering precision and musicality. As a composer and arranger for the band he gave their music structure and pace, but above all, he gave them groove. By the early 1980s times were changing and there was a definite mood swing in Senegal. In 1981 a new president, Abdou Diouf was inaugurated and there was a new sound in the nightclubs, the sound of Wolof mbalax. Youssou N Dour was the young rising star, the Baobab Club had closed down in 1979 and the band had moved on to new locations. Their mellow style was overtaken by the craze for mbalax and they found themselves with dwindling audiences. One by one, members of the band left, either to form their own groups, or in the case of Barthélemy Attisso, to return to his hometown and take up his original profession. By 1987 the band had completely broken up. In 2001 Nick Gold, director of World Circuit, decided to reissue Orchestra Baobab s cult album Pirates Choice, this time with some previously unreleased material from the same 1982 sessions. Gold was already collaborating with Youssou N Dour on several other Senegalese projects and so he enlisted N Dour s support for an Orchestra Baobab reunion concert. It didn t take much persuasion to get the core members of Baobab back together again for a reunion concert at London s Barbican Centre in May 2001. Attisso dug his guitar out of the cupboard in Togo, went to Dakar and began working around the clock to recapture his technique. Although Baobab hadn t played together in almost fifteen years, they proved that they were still one of the great live bands of West Africa. Their music sounds as powerful as ever, a refreshing take on Senegal s cultural diversity, driven by the mesmerising solos of Attisso, who must be rated as one of Africa s finest guitarists. Specialist In All Styles, the album they released in 2002, won two awards at the BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music 2003. As one of the hardest working bands in music, Orchestra Baobab shows no signs of slowing down, and so the ancient tree breaths a renewed spirit back into Senegalese music with some of the most sublime dance grooves to come out of West Africa. Excerpt from an article written by Lucy Duran Page 15 Background
Page 22 Interview BB King
An Interview with Barthélemy Attisso After an absence of 15 years, Orchestra Baobab has not only come back to the Senegalese music scene, but also made themselves heard in the international music world. Here, Barthélemy Attisso, tells us about their music and the re-group. Interviewer Barthélemy Attisso How best would you describe your music? Our music is educational. People can listen to it and learn a different style of playing. You mention in your biography your approach to the Cuban sound and how you have created it in your music in a unique way. Can you explain this in more detail? Who writes most of the music and lyrics? There are 5 composers in the group Balla Sidibe, Rudy Gomis, Ndiouga Dieng, Barthélemy Attisso and Laye Mboup (who died). Each composer writes both the music and the lyrics, and the songs are then arranged by me. Who have been major influences on your music? Page 23 Interview We didn t set out to create a sound all I can say is that we developed it by playing together night after night in the nightclubs. We just blended in a particular way. Have you ever travelled to Cuba to listen to some of the famous musicians there? No, but we hope to soon. Django Reinhardt when I started playing guitar I listened to him and he influences me still. I even picked up one of his CDs while on tour recently. Since we were playing in the 1970s we were influenced by rhythm and blues, soul and reggae. For me it was musicians such as Carlos Santana, BB King, Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell and of course the great Dr Nico from Zaire. We also listened to a lot of Afro-Cuban singers, music from Cape Verde and various other African artists.
How easy or difficult was it to re-group after such a long period of time? Barthélemy Attisso (left) with Issa Cissokho Youri Lenquette It wasn t difficult at all, thanks to Nick Gold from World Circuit who gave us all the help we needed. This motivated us and it all took off very quickly and easily. We got back together in Dakar and rehearsed for a show at the Barbican in London. This was a test to see if we were up to the job. The show was a great success and the critics were very positive. I had personal difficulty as I had gone 15 years without touching the guitar, and I had to start all over again. At first it was really difficult and it required a lot of courage and perseverance to get my fingers working again. I became a student of myself and listened to the old tracks. I still work hard on keeping my playing up to speed. Page 25 Interview Did you find that anything had changed? Style, music and maturity perhaps? Our style has stayed the same. We ve always had a very elegant style that was appreciated by the high society of the day. We ve found that people all around the world love this style too. Where in the world have you toured? In the last two years we have toured extensively, including numerous dates throughout Europe, the US, Canada, Mexico, Morocco, and Japan.