Orchestra Baobab - La Belle Epoque [2CD Set] (2009)

Orchestra Baobab is one of Africa's most famous bands. That stands to reason, for not only does this ''orchestra'' comprise excellent instrumentalists and singers, it also combines artists from several West African ethnic groups and countries. This accounts for its variety of styles: Afro-Cuban, mbalax, Manding, Afrobeat, jazz, rock and more. Formed in 1970 to be the house band at the swanky Club Baobab in Dakar, the capital of Senegal, Orchestra Baobab's fans were for many years mainly Senegalese. In the 1980s, however, as Europeans and Americans began taking an interest in African music, Baobab's audience grew far beyond West Africa, and in the past two decades it has been truly global.

This 2-CD album covers the band's early years, 1971 to 1977 (the ''Golden Era''), and includes many recordings that appear here for the first time on CD.