Bambay Gueej

Personnel includes: Cheikh Lo (vocals, guitar, drums, percussion); Oumou Sangare (vocals); Habib Faye (acoustic guitar, bass); Oumar Sow (guitar); Richard Egues (flute); Thierno Kouyate (alto & tenor saxophones); Pee Wee Ellis (tenor & baritone saxophones, Hammond B-3 organ); Daniel Ramos, Yanko Pisaco, Yaure Muniz, Raul D'Olivera (trumpet); Joe De Jesus (trombone); Bigga Morrison (Hammond B-3 organ); Pathe Jassy (bass); Badou N'Diaye (drums); Carlos Gonzales (bongos); Williams Cumberbache (congas); Samba N'Dokh M'Baye (tama); Thio M'Baye, Babacar Faye (percussion).
Recorded at Jololi Studios, Dakar, Senegal, Africa and Youssou N'Dour's Studio, Senegal, Africa.
Cheikh Lo has been cultivating his infectious West African pop vibe for more than a decade. BAMBAY GUEEJ, the follow-up to his acclaimed 1996 debut, punctuates the Senegalese songsmith's earthy Afro-folk and sweet, reedy voice with funky horn blasts and a buttery brew of American R&B.
Cheikh's Dakar-based band--featuring talking drums, percussion, acoustic/electric guitars and bass--gets a groove lift from a horn section led by James Brown alumnus Pee Wee Ellis. The brassy hits and stop-on-a-dime breaks of "Jeunesse Senegal" conjure images of the JBs passin' the peas at a juju party, while the title track shifts the Godfather's "Soul Power" into tama-fueled overdrive. Elsewhere, influential Cuban flautist Richard Egues floats through the passages of "M'Beddemi," underscoring Cuba's deep African roots, while Malian singer Oumou Sangare lends her striking voice to "Bobo-Dioulasso," a moving duet sung in the Bambara language. Produced by crossover king Youssou N'Dour, BAMBAY GUEEJ is heady and danceable world fusion into which Cheikh Lo stirs a sense of musical mystery and heartfelt spirituality.