For a year, the Orchestra Baobab has been traveling the world, following the legendary scenes that have punctuated a 50-year career. Last Friday, it was in Dakar, on the stage of the French Institute, that the legendary group performed. Time to open the souvenir album.Thierno Koïté, saxophonist and conductor: “A new album will be released in April”
“We started celebrating these 50 years since 2023. And we always continue to celebrate to be able to remember the elders who were there and who formed this famous group. We will not get tired of continuing to celebrate every time, because these are monuments that created this group that lives until now. And we want to continue this work much longer, as long as we live. The Orchestra Baobab is a variety orchestra. We don’t focus on one genre of music. We touch everything because music is universal. The orchestra always plays variety. And the album we started working on 5 years ago will be released in April. It’s not very easy. Each time, you have to play, review, replay and recompose. And here we are almost at the end of the work. In the album, we have almost 14 songs including “50 years of Baobab”, “Jambars yi” in homage to the elders. And “Boulen dem”, a piece which talks about illegal emigration because the future of this country is youth. The Baobab Orchestra, new generation why, because we play with our children, our sons. It’s only me and my brother Yahya Fall and my cousin Moussa who are the oldest. Everything else is our children. They try to adapt to us and listen to us compared to what we did with the elders. So there’s half of what they feel is inspiration. It’s very important, the new generation arriving there. We will soon stop, but we will have to support these young people so that the baobab can continue to live.”
Papino Kouyaté, Lead vocal: “For me, the Baobab Orchestra is a great university”
“I started in 2021 with the seniors. For me, the Orchestra Baobab is a great university, it’s an institution. And I’m very proud to be part of this group. Already, I’m learning a lot of things with them and there are always strong moments. I grew up with Baobab’s music. Of course, I didn’t understand the lyrics, but I already knew the songs. And today, this celebration is a great thing, especially for the old people because we haven’t done anything yet. It is an honor to play on an anniversary of more than 50 years of career. Orchestra Baobab is a multidimensional group, a group that must not die. And as a son, I ask everyone to support us. We are here to carry the torch even further.”
René Sowatche alias Boléro, guitarist: “There is a discipline, a maturity in the Orchestra Baobab…”
“I joined the group in 2015. But, it’s a very small story because at the beginning, it was still a little difficult to cover the songs, the classics… One day, I was in the studio, they had needed a guitarist who could play African music, salsa… And when I played the producer was there, they were all surprised given my age. At the time, it was surprising to see a young person who immersed himself so much in the music of his dads. That’s what gave me the chance to start participating in the Orchestra Baobab group. And I also had the chance to participate in their latest album Tribute to Ndiouga Dieng. And today in the group, I have acquired a lot of things. There is a discipline, a maturity in the Baobab Orchestra. And that gives me a lot of leverage in my professional career. There is a Baobab school. You don’t play what you want. You’re already taught knowledge and discipline in the game. It’s really profound. With Baobab, the elders were able to bring young people into the system very early on to teach them.”
Papa Manou Diop, friend of the Orchestra Baobab: “I wrote a book on the Orchestra Baobab from 1970 to the present day”
“I wrote a book on the Orchestra Baobab from 1970 to the present day which will perhaps appear in a month. The book is called The Baobab Orchestra: Pan-Africanism. I am a friend of the Orchestra Baobab that I started attending in 1974. I have friends like Thione Seck, Mountaga Kouyaté and Balla Sidibé, one of whose children bears my name. From 1974 to 1979, the orchestra produced 5 albums which toured the world. And these are pieces that are always present in the minds of the Senegalese. In 1979 and 1980, the orchestra disbanded, and it was in 2007 that the orchestra resumed. It’s a group that marked its time. The Baobab was a family. People were united. After the disappearance of the tenors, people thought the orchestra was dead. They couldn’t think that there would be young people who could take up what Orchestra Baobab does. Thierno Koïté, conductor, has played with all the major groups of the Orchestra Baobab in Senegal. There is Mountaga who is there, who has the entire repertoire of the Orchestra Baobab in his head. The arrangements are Mountaga and Thierno Koïté. There can be no flaw. Today, as a singer, we have Mountaga Kouyaté’s son called Papino and who covers all the songs of Balla Sidibé, Rudy Gomis and Médoune Diallo. So, we have no problem with that. There is also a girl who joined us called Korka Dieng who also sings very well and extraordinarily. She integrated well into the group. Today, there is a new repertoire because we said to ourselves that we need to evolve a little and that we also have young people who have their mark to leave in Senegalese music. And that’s what they’re doing. So, there are pieces arranged and which respond today to the demands of the Senegalese public. The proof is that when the Baobab Orchestra plays, we notice the presence of young people. For those over 50, the resources are there and we have nothing to fear. Succession is assured.
