The Case of the Senegal Fever

Here is another 'first' for the Adventures:  today we will be focusing on music of Senegal for the full two hours.

Senegal was one of the late bloomers in the West African music scene, at least in terms of recorded output... although there was a lively scene for performing, there are almost no recordings of Senegalese bands from the 1960s. But Senegal quickly made up for lost time in the 1970s, establishing itself as one of the liveliest music scenes in the region. As many other West African countries experienced political and economic instability in the 1980s, Senegal proved to be a more reliable market for musicians, and the music scene there has continued to thrive up to the present day.

In terms of style, Senegalese music has deep roots in Afro-Latin. This can be traced to the legendary Star Band de Dakar, a group formed in 1960 to play at Dakar's Club Miami. Band leader Ibra Kasse favored Cuban music, which was the staple of the band's playlists. This influential band acted as an incubator for virtually all of the famous Senegalese musicians of the 1970s; famous acts such as Star Number One, Etoile de Dakar, and Orchestre Baobab all began when musicians broke away from Star Band to branch out on their own.

The first hour of today's show is dedicated to my favorite Senegalese band Orchestre Baobab. The second hour today is a sampling of various Senegalese acts from the 70s and early 80s... this hour shows the music progressing from straight Afro-Latin into the unique Senegalese genre M'Balax.