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Ali Farka Toure and Toumani Diabate
Ali & Toumani (World Circuit)
Sunday 14 March 2010
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Ali Farka Toure and Toumani Diabate link up for the last time on Ali & Toumani
The untimely demise from bone cancer of the late, great Malian guitarist Ali Farka Toure robbed Africa of one of its most important musical figures.
In the months before his life ended, he travelled to London to link up for the last time with his long-time collaborator, friend and musical equal Toumani Diabate.
This album is the product of that session, recorded in the shadow of Toure's impending death. It was also to be one of Buena Vista Social Club bassist Orlando "Cachaito" Lopez's last appearances.
It fuses the Malian blues sound which Toure made his own with the Latin American rhythms which bear such a close resemblance to parts of the west African canon. It also highlights the stunning, intimate synthesis between Toure and kora maestro Diabate.
The pair's last joint outing was the Grammy award-winning In The Heart Of The Moon. While this release revisits sounds familiar to their long-term followers, its tragic context elevates it beyond pure music itself.
A fitting final chapter to a life spent promoting African music globally.
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