Omar Pene & Super Diamono

Deemed a “living legend” by no less an authority than his Senegalese competitor, Youssou N’Dour, Omar Pene plays a relatively mellow version of mbalax, the national pop hybrid. In 1976, he joined Super Diamono, who have long provided mbalax fans with a smoother, bluesier alternative to N’Dour’s brash Super Etoile combo. Pene and Diamono’s “Afro feeling,” as their sound came to be known, combines socially conscious Wolof lyrics with a supertight skein of local rhythms tinged by reggae, jazz, and salsa.

Sat., March 20, midnight, 2010