NYC Album Art: Laba Sosseh

We're really challenging ourselves with this one, since we don't know too much about this genre of music, but the album cover is just too amazing to pass up. Laba Sosseh, the master vocalist of Senegalese Salsa, was an early pioneer of the tradition of Africans travelling to New York to record with Latin musicians. Aboudou Lassissi (a producer) brought him over to record in the 70's, here's a little background on their history:

"Laba Sosseh began singing Salsa with the Star Band de Dakar in 1960. He moved to Abidjan and joined Cubano music specialists the Special Liwanza Band, which recorded for producer Aboudou Lassissi's Sacodis label. Lassissi then brought Sosseh as a solo artist to Delta Studios in New York to record the classic LPs, "Salsa Africana Vol.1 & 2". "

Lassissi had an office on 8th Avenue in New York in the early 1980's when these records were released, then rumor hit that he was jailed for tax evasion. Sosseh later came back to New York to record several LPs for Roberto Torres' Latin record label; these albums have now become sought-after collector's items. This album cover was for one of those. Taken on the Brooklyn Bridge, you can see the World Trade Center in the background.