Barthélémy Attisso (1945 – August 29, 2021) was a

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

lese

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and self-taught

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

ist, most famous for his work with

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

-based Pan-

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n band Orchestra Baobab.

Biography

Attisso, born in 1944 or 1945, moved to

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

in 1966 to study law at the University of Dakar. He took up guitar to earn money, playing in the club scene and joining the Star Band. In the early 1970s he joined Orchestra Baobab, and rode the band's success into the 1980s. When the band disbanded in 1987, Attisso returned to Togo to practice law. He did not play the guitar until the 2001 reunion, and has recorded and toured with Orchestra Baobab ever since, although has also maintained his practice in Lomé.

References

1945 births 2021 deaths Togolese musicians Cheikh Anta Diop University alumni Togolese lawyers 21st-century Togolese people 20th-century Togolese people {{guitarist-stub