When Latin styles crossed to West Africa in the 1970s, a beautiful hybrid was born. Senegal’s Orchestra Baobab distilled Afro-Cubana to perfection on 1982’s Pirate’s Choice, though it was 20 years before the west discovered their genius and they reformed. Producer Nick Gold, of Buena Vista fame, doesn’t fix what ain’t broke; this first album in a decade purrs along, a sumptuous matrix of slinky rhythms, soaring voices and tooting saxophones. Foulo and Caravana exemplify Baobab’s languid appeal, and there are spirited guest appearances from singers Thione Seck and Cheikh Lô, though the dancing guitar work of Barthélémy Attisso is absent. Old-school Africa at its finest.
