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Specialist in All Styles

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2002 studio album by Orchestra Baobab
Specialist in All Styles
Studio album by Orchestra Baobab
Released2002
StudioLivingston Recording Studios
LabelWorld Circuit
Nonesuch
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. After the success of the Pirates Choice reissue, the band decided to record a reunion album. It was Orchestra Baobab's first album in 15 years. The album title was taken from a sign hanging outside a barbershop.

The band supported the album with a world tour. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Contemporary World Music Album".

Production

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. Among the returning members were singers Balla Sidibe and Rudy Gomis, guitarist Barthelemy Atisso, and saxophonist Issa Cissoko. Attiso had barely played guitar in 15 years, and had to relearn after Gold and the band's singers sent one to him. A new singer, Assane Mboup, contributed to the album. Like previous Baobab albums, Specialist was influenced by Cuban music; it also made use of mbalax and reggae sounds.

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

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic
Robert ChristgauA
Detroit Free Press
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
New Internationalist
Philadelphia Daily NewsB+
The Province
Rolling Stone

Robert Christgau called the album "the ideal introduction to Baobab's relaxed mastery of American instruments, Cuban rhythms, and Senegalese form-and-content." 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." The Toronto Star labeled it "a rich and groovy brew of African salsa, with lyrics that track mostly familiar social concerns." 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."

Financial Times stated that "Attiso is on fine, fluid form, throwing out rippling, jazzy solos against Issa Cissokho's saxophone." 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." The New York Times concluded that "the great surprise on Specialist is Mr. Attiso's haunted, expressive performance." 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." 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.

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."

Track listing

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

  1. Bacon, Peter (28 Sep 2002). "World CD of the Week". Features. Birmingham Post. p. 52.
  2. ^ 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. Vol. 69, no. 12. p. 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. ^ Ratliff, Ben (3 Nov 2002). "Playing Catch With All Kinds of Styles". The New York Times. p. 2.15.
  8. Moszynski, Peter (Nov 2002). "Senegal: Orchestral Baobab—a legend reborn". New African. No. 412. p. 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. Vol. 114, no. 29. p. 61.
  13. ^ Lawson, Terry (10 Nov 2002). "Sound Judgement Reviews". Detroit Free Press. p. J4.
  14. van Vleck, Philip (Oct 19, 2002). "Specialist in all Styles". Billboard. Vol. 114, no. 42. p. 19.
  15. Moon, Tom (15 Oct 2002). "Reunited African band bridges the years". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. C1.
  16. ^ Kot, Greg (Dec 12, 2002). "Specialist in All Styles". Rolling Stone. No. 911. p. 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.
  20. ^ 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. ^ Gray, Louise (Dec 2002). "Specialist in All Styles". New Internationalist. No. 352. p. 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. Vol. 47, no. 46. p. 72.
  25. ^ "Orchestra Baobab Specialist in All Styles". AllMusic.
  26. ^ "Orchestra Baobab". Robert Christgau.
  27. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1. MUZE. p. 412.
  28. Derdeyn, Stuart (31 Dec 2002). "Orchestra Baobob: 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. p. 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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