David Dalle
Thursday August 6th, 2020 with David Dalle
Farewell to Balla Sidibé, founding member and lead singer of Orchestre Baobab
Today we say farewell to the great singer, percussionist and founding member of Orchestre Baobab, Balla Sidibé who died last week in Dakar, aged 78. He co-founded Orchestre Baobab in 1970. Sidibé was a constant mainstay of Baobab until 1987 when they disbanded and he took the helm once again when they reunited in 2001, singing, touring, recording right up until the end; he was rehearsing with the band just the day before he died. Orchestre Baobab, like many of its contemporary bands in West Africa featured many multilingual singers. Balla Sidibé was Mandinka from the Casamance region of Southern Senegal and he sung primarily in Manlinke as well as Portuguese and French. He was also one of the songwriters and percussionist as well. We will begin today's show with a selection from his very long career with Orchestre Baobab with Balla Sidibé providing lead vocals.
| "On Verra Ca" has been the Baobab signature tune since 1976 when Balla first used it to introduce the members of the band at the Balafon night club in Dakar. For this recording from their reunion album from 2002 after Baobab had been split up during the 90's, all of the singers and musicians mentioned in the song 26 years earlier were present! |
| On Verra Ca Orchestra Baobab - Specialist In All Styles - World Circuit/Nonesuch |
| One of the unreleased tracks from a 1982 session reissued by World Circuit, a song in Malinke by Sidibé. |
| Ndiaga Naw Orchestra Baobab - Pirates Choice - World Circuit/Nonesuch |
| From 1980 |
| Sou Sedhiou Orchestra Baobab - Bamba - Stern's |
| Sutukun Orchestra Baobab - Specialist In All Styles - World Circuit/Nonesuch |
| Their most recent album was released in 2017, it was a tribute to another founding member and lead singer of Orchestre Baobab, the W'olof singer Ndiouga Dieng who had died in 2016. It featured for the first time the kora, with the new addition to the band Abdouleye Cissoko from Casamance. We hear two songs sung by Sidibé with very prominent kora. |
| Fayinkounko Orchestra Baobab - Tribute to Ndiouga Dieng - World Circuit |
| Alekouma Orchestra Baobab - Tribute to Ndiouga Dieng - World Circuit |
| An early song by Orchestre Baobab, only one today with another lead singer, the great Abdoulaye Lay M'Boup whose career was tragically cut short after he died in a car accident in 1974. We hear a gorgeous, haunting song sung in Wolof, one of my favourites. |
| Lamine Gueye Orchestra Baobab - N'Wolof - Dakar Sound |
| Toumaranke Orchestra Baobab - Pirates Choice - World Circuit/Nonesuch |
| A song by the famed Bembeya Jazz from Guinea, which was originally performed by (later) members of Baobab in 1969 to welcome Bembeya Jazz who was playing the Miami Club in Dakar. |
| Beni Baraale Orchestra Baobab - Made in Dakar - World Circuit/Nonesuch |
| Rag Tila Kamod - The Aochar, Gat in Teental Anibarn Dasgupta and Sandip Bhattacharya - Anibarn Dasgupta - Papyros |
| Banon Dari SambaSunda - Rahwana's Cry - Network |
| Africa Clement Djimongne - Pop Makossa: The Invasive Dance Beat of Cameroon 1976-1984 - Analog Africa |
| Cours de Danse Diblo Dibala - Ca Passe ou Ca Casse - Melodie |
| Longi Di Bo Grupo Pilon - Leite Quente Funana de Cabo Verde - Ostinato Records |
| Forrozando em Berlim Oswaldinho Do Acordeon - Forro Novo - Piranha |
| Pra Danca Meu Siria Mest Cupijo e Seu Ritmo - Siria - Analog Africa |
| Muchacha De Boedo Pablo Ziegler Trio - Jazz Tango - Zoho |
| Trouble In Mind Ahmad Jamal, Reginald Veal, Herlin Riley, Manolo Badrena with Yusef Lateef - Ahmad Jamal featuring Yusef Lateef - Jazz Village |
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Thanks David.
10:37 AM, August 7th, 2020