Mali, Guinea: Ali Farka Toure lives on!
I know a lot of you guys already know this, but I am finding out what a rich source of cultural material YouTube is! Whilst trying to get together a post on a Jazz festival in Guinea in honour of the Malian guitarist Ali Farka Toure, who sadly died a couple of years ago, I found a lot of YouTube clips. Born in the village of Nafunke near Timbuktu he never forgot his northern Mali roots, and in fact was ignored for some time in Mali because he was regarded as a ‘northerner’. In 2004 he was elected mayor of Niafunke. He is considered the pioneer of ‘Mali Blues‘ and his jazz style is appreciated all over the world. He won 2 Grammy awards for Talking Timbuktu and again in 2006, for his album in collaboration with another famous Malian musician, Toumani Diabate, In the Heart of the Moon (both links have clips you can play).
I did a little searching. I found this interesting video of the great man, posted by pusanguy, not just playing but giving his thoughts about ‘African Americans’. I hope you find it encouraging!
Well, back to the Jazz festival. According to APA News it is being held in Guinea at the Franco-Guinean Centre. It started on 7th will end on 11th May. The Guineans are honouring Farka Toure
because had given up attending a cultural festival in Nice, France, where he was to earn €80,000, to take part in the 2nd edition of the Jazz Festival
The following link can only be listened to through YouTube, I can’t embed it. But is is such a seminal recording of Farka Toure I really wanted to bring it to your attention. It was recorded at the Segou festival in 2005. The other instrument being played is the Ngoni or xalam and is played by Bassekou Kouyate. Enjoy!
