The origin of
Africando is unique in African music: it stems from
a project initiated by West African star producer
Ibrahima Sylla and Malian arranger
Boncana Maïga reuniting New York based salsa musicians with Senegalese singers
who have been singing latin tinged songs since decades, i.e.
Pap Seck (ex-Star Band de Dakar),
Nicolas Menheim (ex-Youssou N'Dour's
Super Etoile de Dakar),
and
Medoune Diallo (formerly with
Orchestre Baobab).
Boncana Maiga, who was part of the
Maravillas de Mali, a band of Cuba based Malian music
students, is originally a flautist but also an expert in Cuban music (he is said to own a collection of
6,000 Cuban records!). The Senegalese singers were among the best, and the salsa musicians
had worked with Fania All Stars, Orquestra Broadway, Eddie Palmieri or Tito Puente.
The first two volumes were a big success both in Africa and in the rest of the world. Tragically,
singer Pap Seck died soon after, in 1995. Replacement was found in
Gnonnas Pedro
from Benin and
Ronnie Baró of Orquestra Broadway, who had already worked with Africando
previously. Sadly, Gnonnas Pedro died in 2004.
On later albums, a range of other singers were added in the project (also during live tours), for instance
Sekouba Bambino,
Amadou Balaké. For particular songs, guest singers were invited, such as
Koffi Olomide,
Thione Seck,
which led to the new name
Africando All Stars.
In the beginning, some of the songs were Latin classics sung in Wolof or a mix of Wolof and Spanish, others were
Senegalese hits from the past decades. On more recent albums, a number of African classics were redone with latin rhythms
and instrumentation. With both approaches, Africando has been equally successful.