Orchestra Baobab

When Orchestra Baobab reunited in 2001, lead guitarist (and professional lawyer) Barthelemy Atisso hadn't touched a guitar in 16 years. Can you say stress? But the worries are over -- five-plus years of touring have returned this seminal group to stunning form, and Made In Dakar quite simply rocks. Atisso's guitar is a revelation, dialoguing subtly and continuously with the other instruments, while the band's magnificent amalgam of Cuban son, American soul and African pop still offers up oceans of joy to new listeners, nearly 40 years after they first invented it.

Reunions rarely rival history. But with this collection of burbling grooves, these Senegalese
legends recapture the Afro-Cuban bliss of their 1982 classic, Pirates Choice — imagine the
Buena Vista Social Club weaned on motherland polyrhythms. The secret weapon remains
Barthélemy Attisso, a guitar giant with a touch as delicate and melodically sublime as Jerry
Garcia's. His lines on "Nijaay" and "Cabral" are so chill they'll buckle your knees.