Mariama

Laba Sosseh was born in Bathurst, now called Banjul, in 1943. When he was ten years old, he moved to Dakar. There, he got introduced to a life of music, at that time, this life was about Cuban rhythms like rumba and son. When Laba Sosseh returned to Gambia after finishing his French education, he started to play with bands. Later on, he sang in several orchestras in Dakar and Abidjan. Then, he got the chance to visit New York, and he stayed there for thirty years, still connected to the salsa world.

Salsa is mainly popular in French-speaking African countries. Laba Sosseh found the salsa in Senegal. Orchestras from Guinée also played salsa rhythms in the ’60s, like Bembeya Jazz and Kante Manfila, the guitar player of the ‘Les Ambassadeurs Internationaux’ orchestra.

Yet, orchestras from Ghana and Nigeria also played some salsa songs. More recently, the Nigerian Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe played salsa songs on his CD ‘Kedu America’. Keep in mind that this CD was recorded when he stayed in America.

Several bands from the West-African country Bénim have played and recorded much Afro-Cuban music, especially Gnonnas Pedro and his band ‘Gnonneas Pedro et ses Dadjes’. He also was the lead singer in ‘Africando’, from 1995 until his death in 2004. ‘Africando’ is an orchestra in New York, founded in 1992 by salsa musicians from New York and singers from Senegal. When the Benin orchestra Poly-Rythmo performed in the Netherlands in 2016, they played a song by their friends ‘Gnonnas Pedro et ses Dadjes’; it was a salsa song.

Still, Poly-Rythmo, or “Le Tout-Puissant Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou” in full, have also released some salsa songs of their own. They still play those 40-year-old songs, like the song ‘Angelina’, originally released in 1971, but recorded live in Ouidah in 2011, a coastal town in Bénin (known for its slave trade, the sanctuary of Vodoun Da, the snake god, and the birthplace of singer Angélique Kidjo). Poly-Rythmo has also accompanied many other musicians, like the singer Sébastien Pynasco Ahouangnimon with the song ‘Zizi’ from 1972.

Playlist:

1. Laba Sosseh: Marie Gomis, 3’53, LP Salsa Africana vol. II, 1980, Sacodis LS-27
2. Laba Sosseh: Ade ade, 4’50, written by: Laba Sosseh, LP Le roi de la salsa II, 1983, Disques Espérances ESP 165 556
3. Bembeya Jazz National: Djanfamagni, 4’08, LP Bembeya Jazz, 1968, Editions Syliphone Conakry SLP 4
4. Kante Manfila: Tira kaba, 2’26, CD Free Africa, 2010, Le Son Du Maquis LM 54176
5. Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe: Ka-Anyi Jikota, 5’06, written by Osadebe, CD Kedu America, 1996, Xenophile CT 06810
6. Gnonnas Pedro & ses Dadjes: Mid’ho Miton, 3’51, written by Gnonnas Pedro, CD Gnonnas Pedro La compilation vol. 1, Ledoux Records ASLCD/1 79556-2 DK018
7. Gnonnas Pedro & ses Dadjes: Abigbedoto, 4’30, written by Gnonnas Pedro, CD Gnonnas Pedro La compilation vol. 1, Ledoux Records ASLCD/1 79556-2 DK018
8. Africando: Musica en verité, 4’24, written by Gnonnas Pedro, CD Africando Gombo Salsa, 1996, Sterns Africa STCD 1071
9. Poly-Rythmo: Angelina, 4’22, written by Clément Mêlomê, CD Radio Poly-Rythmo, 1971/2011, Sons d’Ailleurs, LC00699 / 2767244
10. Ahouangnimon Sébastien Pynasco accompanied by L’Orchestre Poly Rythmo De Cotonou Dahomey: Zizi, 3’59, written by Ahouangnimon, CD Echos Hypnotiques Volume 2, 1972/2009, AnalogAfrica 2009 AACD 066 LC18467
11. Laba Sosseh: Yatimama, 8’23, written by Laba Sosseh, LP Le roi de la salsa II, 1983, Disques Espérance ESP 165 557
12. Laba Sosseh: Boranito, 10’28, LP Salsa Africana vol. II, 1980, SACODIS LS-27