There's always something heart-warming about a bunch of musicians that can kick back and have a laugh and discuss, or rather argue, about the hometown spots for sampling the best “ceeb bu jeen” (Wolof for fish ’n’ rice, roughly pronounced “cheh-boo-jenn”) in Dakar, Senegal. It’s always either fish, music or the Baobab tree to break the ice when interviewing Senegalese musicians, advised a fellow world music enthusiast. Whatever the case, the suggestion worked.  

Earlier this week, that useful bit of advice was heeded when Senegal’s legendary outfit Orchestra Baobab arrived in town for a two-night engagement at the Dewan Filharmonik Petronas, Kuala Lumpur. Rated as probably one of the finest and most authentic bands to emerge from West Africa in the 1970s, Orchestra Baobab proved to also be an inspired selection for the venue’s painfully conservative and grey Jazz & World Music Series. After two captivating sold-out shows, there’s no arguing that the A-list pedigree of this fascinating and diverse Senegalese bunch is exactly the sort of spark the uptight venue sorely needed.