b. Laba Badara Sosseh, 12 March 1943, Bathurst, Gambia; d. 21 September 2007, Dakar, Senegal. Laba Badara Sosseh, the son of a Senegalese mother and a Gambian father, was born in Bathurst, which was renamed Banjul, in 1973. This is the capital of The Gambia at that time, a British colony. He is considered one of the most important musical innovators in Senegambia. He grew up listening Cuban dance music during the ’40s, and ’50s. Johnny Pacheco was a favorite of his and he is well-known for imitating the Dominican bandleader’s style. He was born to a family of praise singers and played the sabarrdrum at traditional ceremonies. Later, he joined the Foyer Jazz Band and began singing popular Latin songs and African Jazz dance numbers. Laba was with his father, a civil aircraft worker, in the early 1960s when he was transferred to Dakar airport, Senegal. He joined the Star Band de Dakar which was founded by Ibra Kassa in 1960 as the house band at his Miami nightclub celebrating Senegal’s independence. Dexter Johnson from Nigeria, Amara Toure, Lynx Tall (conga drummer) and Amara Toure (singer) were his sidemen. Laba was also a part of the group in numerous clubs throughout Dakar, Bathurst, and the rest of the sub-region. Kasse and the Star Band got into a dispute in 1964. They renamed themselves Super Star de Dakar and moved to Etolie nightclub. Super Star’s Laba recorded his hit song “Aminata” while with them. He continued to record it a few times throughout his career. Dexter Johnson / Super Star De Dakar 1 (CNR Music 1998) includes a fantastic rendition of the song performed by Laba and Super Star, recorded by Moussa Diallo at his Dakar nightclub Sangomar between 1964 and 1974. Starband – Superstar De Dakar – International Band features: Dexter Johnson (CNR Music 1999). Laba performs his hit “La Bicycletta”. These CDs are essential collections that cover the roots of salsa africana. Super Star sent him to Abidjan, capital of Ivory Coast. There he set up his residence and organized the Super International Band de Dakar. It was composed of Senegalese as well as local musicians at the start of the 1970s. Singer Pape Fall (b. Singer Pape Fall (b. 3 July 1947, Rufisque in Senegal) was briefly a member at Super International in early ’70s. The rare French vinyl albums El Sonero de Africa (N’Dardisc) and El Sonero de Africa Vol. 2 / El Manisero (Disques M.A.G.) Compile Laba’s mid- and early ’70s recordings. Circa. 1977, he recorded with Special Liwanza Band. He made his debut on Aboudou Lassissi’s Ivory Coast-based Sacodis Label with Lassissi Presente A formidable Laba Saosseh – Special Liwanza Band. Lassissi brought Laba to New York for the recording of the classic album Monguito El Unico Presents Laba Sosseh in USA / Salsa Africaa Vol. 1, Monguito El Unico Presents Laba Sosseh In USA / Salsa Africana Vol. II and Lassissi Presents Laba Sosseh/ Salsa Africana vol. 4 (all Sacodis 1980), directed by Monguito El Unico, an Afro-Cuban sonero (b. Ramon Quian in Manguito Province, Cuba; died 26 May 2006 in New York), who made his debut on Sacodis in 1979 with the bestseller From Cuba to Africa / Monguito El Unico 80. The sessions featured pianist Alfredo Valdes Jr., and Pupi Legarreta as musicians. The 2005 Sacodis reissue Salsa Africana Monguito El Unico and Laba Sosseh in U.S.A. includes two tracks taken from the original Salsa Africana Vol. 1, 3 and 4 tracks from Salsa Africana Vol. II. Both Vol. The standout tracks, both originally from Vol. 1, include “Sitiera”, which features solos by Valdes Jr.and tres guitarist Jose Garcia, as well as “Mi Corazon”, with Monguito contributing lead vocals and chat and Mario Rivera (1939-2007), playing some great sax. Laba made two albums for SAR, which was founded in 1979 by Sergio Bofill and Adriano Garcia. Roberto Torres Presenta a Laba Sosseh (1981), was produced by Torres, and arranged and performed by Alfredo Valdes Jr. and Laba Sosseh (82). This album includes “Aminata”, “Diamoule Mawo”, and was renamed “Yamulemao”, by Joe Arroyo, a Colombian superstar, for his 1987 album Echao Pa’lante. SAR’s house musicians recorded the albums, which included Valdes Jr. on piano and trumpeter Alfredo “Chocolate” Armenteros, trombonist Leopoldo Pinda, bassist Mariano Solano (d. 23 Mai 2007, New York City), conguero Alberto Valdes, and tres player Charlie Rodriguez. Laba traveled to Paris in the early 1980s to record Maestro Laba Sassoh con l’Orquesta Aragon : Akoguin Theresa (Disco Stock), with Cuba’s Orquesta Aragon. He was a member of the Cosmos Band, Benin. He sang “Afromanicero”, Cheikh Ibra fall (Dakar Audio Diffusion 1998, El Hadji Faye u0026 Etoile 2000 de Dakar), 1998. He joined the ranks Africando to record their fourth album Baloba! (Stern’s Africa), to sing “Ayo Nee” and reprise his “Aminata” performance. He celebrated his 40th year in salsa africana with El Maestro: 40 Anos De Salsa, Melodie. This album featured remakes of older hits such as “La Bicycletta”, Sitiera and the unavoidable “Aminata”. He recorded Los Afro Salseros De Senegal En La Habana (Pam 2002) with James Gadiaga, Pape Fall and Mar Seck at Havana’s Egrem Studios. He sings “El Manisero” again, and revisits “Aminata”. Laba, after a long battle with cancer, died in a private hospital in Dakar at 3:00 a.m. local time. Pape Fall and Cheikh Tidiane Tall, the guitarist, announced his death via RTS (Senegal’s state-owned media company). According to reports, he was buried in Yoff (Dakar) at the Muslim cemetery. He is survived by 27 children. www.descarga.com
