Fifty years ago, the president of Senegal’s nephew was putting together a band for his new, upscale Dakar nightclub, and he recruited a handful of musicians who are still together today. Combining elements from their homes across West Africa into lush Afro-Cuban arrangements, the Orchestra Baobab became one of the continent's top bands.

Follow the group from the rough recordings made in Club Baobab, through their breakup and verdant 21st century revival, enjoying their mastery of everything from slow folk ballads to wah-pedal heavy psychedelia. Members Rudy Gomis, Barthelemy Attisso, Thierno Koite, Balla Sidibe talk about life in this truly one-of-a-kind group, the specialists in all styles, half-a-century old and still evolving: the mighty Orchestra Baobab.