“Senegal’s Call” (1975) – Ousmane M’Baye and His African Ensemble * Written by Cat Stevens * Produced by Everett Rickett * 45: “I Love My Dog” / “Mind Excursion” * Label: Capitol
The two Ousmane M’bayes with the highest name recognition are a filmmaker and a designer who were born around the time this Folkways album came out. The Senegalese singer-songwriter M’Baye, though, perhaps got busy with the teaching career he talks about in the notes of Songs of Senegal, his only full album, after recording it. It’s a humble affair with that raw-grain sound that field recordings often have, but it’s unusual (and refreshing) in that a good portion of its songs are credited to M’baye as the songwriter. “Senegal’s Call” is the first of these, and it’s ripe and ready for a cover version with its cheerful, hop-around melody.
M’baye is from Ziguinchor, which is the capital of Senegal’s southern Casamance region. In 1961, the Disques Vogue label in France released a number of EPs under the Echos D’Afrique Noire heading. M’baye is featured on volumes 4 and 5, with each song sounding like haunted, nocturnal messages drifting in from the Atlantic.