Cheikh Lô

• Né La Thiass [World Circuit, 1995] *
• Bambay Gueej [World Circuit/Nonesuch, 2000] A-
• Jamm [World Circuit/Nonesuch, 2012] **

Consumer Guide Reviews:

Né La Thiass [World Circuit, 1995]
neotraditionalism hits Dakar ("Ndogai," "Boul di Tagale") *

Bambay Gueej [World Circuit/Nonesuch, 2000]
Senegalese out of Burkina Faso, Lô plays traps, wears dreads, quotes Fela, and names as his favorite musician Orchestra Aragon flutist Richard Egües, who takes the album-opening guajira home. Better equipped to roughen a croon than sweeten a shout, he's not quite the singer his wide-flung admirers say he is. But with Pee Wee Ellis arranging hornmen who include easy-swinging permanent saxophonist Thierno Kouyate, the pan-Africanism never sounds forced on what remains a studio creation even though Lô's band drives every cut. A-

Jamm [World Circuit/Nonesuch, 2012]
Just too nice a guy to make his pan-Africanism panoramic ("Jamm," "Dieuf Dieuf") **