Issa Cissokho (September 1946 – 24 March 2019) (also written as Cissoxo or Cissoko) was a Senegalese musician of Malian griot roots, a composer, and saxophone player for Orchestra Baobab.
Cissokho was recruited to Orchestra Baobab in 1972 while playing in Dakar's Vedette Band, which featured singer Laba Sosseh.[1] With the Orchestra, he played tenor and occasionally alto, with Thierno Koite (replacing original member Baro N’Diaye) playing Soprano and alto. Cissokho was noted for his charisma on stage, and his eclectic musical taste, which led him to write reggae- and ska-flavored tunes for Orchestra Baobab.[2]
Cissokho performed and recorded with other musicians, notably Youssou N'Dour. Cissokho was also a member of the "Afro-Salseros de Senegal", a Senegalese ensemble that recorded in Cuba in 2001, shortly after diplomatic relations with Senegal were normalized, and toured intermittently in the years after.[3] In this project, he was reunited with Sosseh, who had spent many years in the Americas building a reputation as a mainstream salsa singer.
He died on 24 March 2019 at the age of 72.[4][5]
- ^ ORCHESTRA BAOBAB a night at club baobab, LP released on 2006 on label oriki music Archived 22 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Planet - 13 September 2006 - Orchestra Baobab Archived 8 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ los afro salseros de senegal en la habana - CD / cdRoots Archived 18 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Annas, Max; Busch, Annett (1 April 2019). "Der Sound der Unabhängigkeit" [The sound of independence]. Die Tageszeitung (in German). No. 11897. p. 16. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ "Sénégal: le saxophoniste de l'Orchestra Baobab Issa Cissokho est décédé" [Senegal: Orchestra Baobab saxophonist Issa Cissokho dies]. Radio France Internationale (in French). 25 March 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2024.