Specialist in All Styles

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Specialist in All Styles
Studio album by
Orchestra Baobab
Released2002
StudioLivingston Recording Studios
LabelWorld Circuit[1]
Nonesuch[2]
ProducerNick Gold, Youssou N'Dour
Orchestra Baobab chronology
Pirates Choice
(2001) 		Specialist in All Styles
(2002) 		A Night at Club Baobab
(2006)

Specialist in All Styles is an album by the Senegalese band Orchestra Baobab, released in 2002.[3][4] After the success of the Pirates Choice reissue, the band decided to record a reunion album.[5] It was Orchestra Baobab's first album in 15 years.[6] The album title was taken from a sign hanging outside a barbershop.[7]

The band supported the album with a world tour.[8] The album was nominated for a Grammy Award, in the "Best Contemporary World Music Album" category.[9]

Production[edit]

Recorded over 10 days in London, Specialist in All Styles was produced by Nick Gold and Youssou N'Dour; ironically, N'Dour's rise in popularity in the 1980s led in part to Orchestra Baobab's disbandment.[10][11][12][13] Among the returning members were singers Balla Sidibe and Rudy Gomis, guitarist Barthelemy Atisso, and saxophonist Issa Cissoko.[14] Attiso had barely played guitar in 15 years, and had to relearn after Gold and the band's singers sent one to him.[15] A new singer, Assane Mboup, contributed to the album.[16] Like previous Baobab albums, Specialist was influenced by Cuban music; it also made use of mbalax and reggae sounds.[17][18]

Ibrahim Ferrer and N'Dour sang on "Hommage à Tonton Ferrer".[19][20] Many songs are remakes of the band's earlier hits, although "Bul Ma Miin" was written for the album.[7][21] "Ndongoy Daara", about malfeasance in Qur'anic educational institutions, was written by the band's first singer, Laye Mboup.[22][23] The vocals are in Wolof, Mandinka, Spanish, and French.[24]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[25]
Robert ChristgauA[26]
Detroit Free Press[13]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[27]
New Internationalist[22]
Philadelphia Daily NewsB+[2]
The Province[28]
Rolling Stone[16]

Robert Christgau called the album "the ideal introduction to Baobab's relaxed mastery of American instruments, Cuban rhythms, and Senegalese form-and-content."[26] The Guardian deemed it "one of the great comeback albums," writing that "many of the songs offer a relaxed, rolling blend of Cuban salsa, African rhythms and boisterous pop melodies, dressed up with uplifting harmony singing and strong saxophone work."[29] The Toronto Star labeled it "a rich and groovy brew of African salsa, with lyrics that track mostly familiar social concerns."[20] Rolling Stone wrote that "this is groove music at once relaxed and unyielding, insistent enough for the dance floor, trance-y enough to lull an infant."[16]

Financial Times stated that "Attiso is on fine, fluid form, throwing out rippling, jazzy solos against Issa Cissokho's saxophone."[30] Newsweek determined that "though the music retains its unique fusion of Latin and African sounds, the new album is blessed with the added benefit of state-of-the-art production quality and professional sound engineering."[31] The New York Times concluded that "the great surprise on Specialist is Mr. Attiso's haunted, expressive performance."[7] The San Diego Union-Tribune opined: "More nuanced and sophisticated than its predecessor, Specialist features nine intoxicating songs that showcase the group's ebullient call-and-response vocals, swaying rhythms and pinpoint instrumental work."[32]

AllMusic wrote that "Attisso is all over this record, offering beautiful, inventive solos and playing whose fluidity, especially on 'Gnawe' and 'Dee Moo Wor', is wonderfully atmospheric."[25] The Chicago Tribune listed Specialist in All Styles as the 16th best album of 2002; the Los Angeles Daily News considered it the 4th best.[33][34]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleLength
1."Bul Ma Miin"6:02
2."Sutukun"5:30
3."Dée Moo Wóor"4:16
4."Jiin Ma Jiin Ma"6:03
5."Ndongoy Daara"5:19
6."On Verra Ça"4:56
7."Hommage à Tonton Ferrer"5:52
8."El Son te Llama"5:25
9."Gnawoe"6:21

References[edit]

  1. ^ Bacon, Peter (28 Sep 2002). "WORLD CD OF THE WEEK". Features. Birmingham Post. p. 52.
  2. ^ a b Takiff, Jonathan (8 Oct 2002). "EXOTICA". Features. Philadelphia Daily News. p. 37.
  3. ^ "Orchestra Baobab In Concert". NPR.
  4. ^ Cohen, Aaron (Dec 2002). "Recaptured essence". DownBeat. 69 (12): 52.
  5. ^ Pareles, Jon (16 July 2002). "All the Variety of Africa, Played at a Genteel Pace". The New York Times. p. E5.
  6. ^ Trapp, Roger (27 July 2002). "JAZZ & BLUES". Features. The Independent. p. 38.
  7. ^ a b c Ratliff, Ben (3 Nov 2002). "Playing Catch With All Kinds of Styles". 2. The New York Times. p. 15.
  8. ^ Moszynski, Peter (Nov 2002). "Senegal: Orchestral Baobab—a legend reborn". New African (412): 65.
  9. ^ "Orchestra Baobab". Recording Academy. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  10. ^ Williamson, Nigel (July 12, 2002). "Back to their roots". Features. The Times. p. 15.
  11. ^ Fairley, Jan (22 July 2002). "BLACK WITH A VENGEANCE". The Scotsman. p. 8.
  12. ^ Williamson, Nigel (July 20, 2002). "ORCHESTRAL MANEUVERS". Billboard. 114 (29): 61.
  13. ^ a b Lawson, Terry (10 Nov 2002). "SOUND JUDGMENT REVIEWS". Detroit Free Press. p. J4.
  14. ^ van Vleck, Philip (Oct 19, 2002). "Specialist in all Styles". Billboard. 114 (42): 19.
  15. ^ Moon, Tom (15 Oct 2002). "Reunited African band bridges the years". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. C1.
  16. ^ a b c Kot, Greg (Dec 12, 2002). "Specialist in All Styles". Rolling Stone (911): 96.
  17. ^ Cazares, David (3 Jan 2003). "STRONG VOICE ECHOES OUT OF AFRICA". Showtime. Sun-Sentinel. p. 24.
  18. ^ Pareles, Jon (4 July 2003). "Pop and Jazz Guide". The New York Times. p. E25.
  19. ^ Whitmore, Aleysia K. (May 7, 2020). "World Music and the Black Atlantic: Producing and Consuming African-Cuban Musics on World Music Stages". Oxford University Press – via Google Books.
  20. ^ a b Chapman, Geoff (29 Oct 2002). "Worldbeat". Toronto Star. p. D6.
  21. ^ Robbins, Li (7 Nov 2002). "Specialist in All Styles". The Globe and Mail. p. R4.
  22. ^ a b Gray, Louise (Dec 2002). "Specialist in All Styles". New Internationalist (352): 30.
  23. ^ Mengel, Noel (30 Nov 2002). "Orchestra Baobab, Specialist In All Styles". The Courier-Mail. p. M9.
  24. ^ Rogers, Matt (13 Nov 2002). "Specialist in All Styles". The Village Voice. 47 (46): 72.
  25. ^ a b "Orchestra Baobab - Specialist in All Styles Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  26. ^ a b "Robert Christgau: CG: Orchestra Baobab". www.robertchristgau.com.
  27. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1. MUZE. p. 412.
  28. ^ Derdeyn, Stuart (31 Dec 2002). "ORCHESTRA BAOBAB: Specialist in All Styles". The Province. p. B17.
  29. ^ Denselow, Robin (6 Sep 2002). "The second coming". Friday. The Guardian. p. 15.
  30. ^ Honigmann, David (21 Sep 2002). "SPECIALIST IN ALL STYLES COMPACT CHOICE". Arts. Financial Times. p. 6.
  31. ^ Brownell, Ginanne (Oct 7, 2002). "Dakar's Superstars". Newsweek: 68.
  32. ^ Varga, George (October 24, 2002). "Brightest Africa - Three prime acts, three prime albums". Entertainment. The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. 7.
  33. ^ Kot, Greg (15 Dec 2002). "Under pressure from all sides, the music business plays it conservative". Arts & Entertainment. Chicago Tribune. p. 7.1.
  34. ^ Shuster, Fred (1 Jan 2003). "MUSIC INDUSTRY WELCOMED ALIEN CONCEPTS IN 2002". Los Angeles Daily News. p. U6.
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