* Ry Cooders American West Nov 26, 2008
If you add all the records he has made with other musicians, like Gabby Pahinui, Flaco Jimenez, Ali Farka Toure, Mavis Staples, the Chieftains and, most famously, the Cuban all-stars of the Buena Vista Social Club, you can only wonder where on earth he could go next. The answer: his own backyard. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World Business)
The Rough Guide To The Music Of Mali Aug 4, 2008
If you have never heard Toumani Diabate, Boubacar Traore, Tinariwen, Rokia Traore and the late Ali Farka Toure, then here is a perfect introduction ... Compulsive, mesmerising modern rhythms (Amadou & Mariam's La Realite), sweet traditional ballads (Habib Koite & Bamada's Mali Ba and Rokia Traore's Kanan Neni), glorious finely plucked African stringed instruments (gasp at Ali Farka Toure and Toumani Diabate's Simbo), the roots of the blues (Afel Bocoum's sonorous Ali Farka), exciting ensembles... (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
50 essential cds from around the world Jun 15, 2008
Great bands - Tartit, Tinariwen - plus all-time legend Ali Farka Toure ... Suddenly it wasn't just the likes of Ali Farka Toure or even Taj Mahal who wanted to work with the Malian kora virtuoso but Damon Albarn and Bj ... And kudos to producer Ry Cooder (sometimes sparring partner of Ali Farka Toure, too). (Guardian Unlimited -- World)
* Exploring new beats May 22, 2008
Its cult status comes from the almost mythical status of Timbuktu, its inaccessibility and the fantastic music thats played there X the late Ali Farka Toure and Touareg rockers Tinariwen have played there. The fact that Robert Plant, Manu Chao and Damon Albarn have also made the journey has given it added kudos. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
What to see at SXSW Mar 6, 2008
He is 47 years old; he has been produced by Ali Farka Toure and Damon Albarn. His music is wildly hypnotic, teetering on the edge of chaos. (Variety)
Dolly Parton, Erykah Badu have new CDs Mar 1, 2008
Whether you cue up the delicate interplay of Kaounding Cissoko, the robust, asymmetric form of El Nabiyouna or Diabates tribute to another fabulous Malian musician, Ali Farka Toure, you will be mesmerized by the timeless soul of this West African music. Goldfrapp, Seventh TreeThe gently plucked acoustic guitars on opener Clowns may seem like an uncomfortable step in a mainstream direction for Goldfrapp, but fans should fear not: Seventh Tree is as... (MSNBC -- Music)
* Telling stories on the kora Feb 24, 2008
Three years ago, he made the award-winning album, In the Heart of the Moon, with Mali's greatest guitarist, the late Ali Farka Toure, in a mobile studio set up in Bamako's Hotel Mande. A year later, he was in the same studio recording a very different album, Boulevard de L'Independence, this time with his experimental Symmetric Orchestra, a band which places his amplified kora against electric guitar, massed percussion, brass and keyboards. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Carrying On Dad's Tradition Oct 28, 2007
Bedridden and in the final stages of bone cancer, the great Malian guitarist Ali Farka Toure made one last recording in 2005 - a collaboration with his son Vieux that required people to carry the elder Toure into the studio. Ali Farka Toure performs on two tracks of Vieux's first album, which showcases so many musical similarities between father and son that it seemed Ali had been grooming his offspring since the time Vieux was born ... Still, history is full of young musicians (Julian Lennon... (San Francisco Chronicle -- Entertainment)
Read on... Sep 12, 2007
JT: Debe, Ali Farka Toure and Toumani Diabate, from In the Heart of the Moon. Favorite Drink: ST: Mighty Leaf chamomile tea and icy cold Cristal champagne. (Variety)
* Events & Entertainment Aug 24, 2007
The rarely-seen selection of award-winning films takes viewers into the minds of the world's greatest musicians from contemporary composer Gyorgy Ligeti, elusive jazz vocalist and trumpeter Chet Baker, New York composer and saxophone players John Zorn to post-punk band Joy Division's lead singer Ian Curtis and Mali's Ali Farka Toure, known as "the bluesman of the desert" in the West. Other selected works take viewers on lyrical voyages to the Gamelan musicians in Indonesia, the Aboriginal tribe... (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- Business)
For choreographer, loneliness comes in many shapes Aug 17, 2007
Over the next 10 minutes, accompanied by the sultry blues of the African guitarist-singer Ali Farka Toure, he tries to find a way to lift himself up and out, but is pulled to earth. He tries a bit of breakdance, and that fails. (Boston Globe)
71 generations of making music Jul 3, 2007
But the 71st-generation Diabate is the only one to collaborate with musicians as disparate as Bjork, Ali Farka Toure, Roswell Rudd, Taj Mahal and the Spanish flamenco "supergroup" Ketama. Diabate speaks with pride about these collaborations, and about his status as first kora player to win a Grammy Award (which he did in 2005 for In the Heart of the Moon, with the late Ali Farka Toure) ... " Diabate doesn't hesitate to single out the collaborator who has ultimately meant the most to him, though.... (Globe and Mail)
The Buzz: World Music May 20, 2007
Vieux Farka Toure : Vieux's famous father , Ali Farka Toure , was initially against his son becoming a musician. It is doubly sad then that he didn't live to see Vieux release his acclaimed first album -- on which Ali played after recognizing his son's talent. (Boston Globe)
We'll Never Turn Back May 5, 2007
Over the years he has drawn attention to the greatness of Flaco Jimenez ( Chicken Skin Music), Ali Farka Toure ( Talking Timbuktu), Ruben Gonzalez, Compay Segundo and Ibrahim Ferrer ( Buena Vista Social Club) and now he has turned his attention to the legendary 67-year-old soul singer Mavis Staples and produced an album of such political power, emotional honesty and deeply felt integrity that it deserves to pick up every award on the planet. Cooder's brief has been simple: take Staples, who... (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
World music awards announced Apr 1, 2007
Malian singer and guitarist Ali Farka Toure took album of the year with Savane while Somali hip-hop artist K'naan won best newcomer. French vocalist Camille came out top in the Europe category while Lebanese singer Ghade Shbeir winning the Middle East and North Africa section. (BBC News -- Entertainment)
Past meets present in Malian's music Mar 25, 2007
Last year, Diabate won a Grammy with "Heart of the Moon," a series of unrehearsed duets with the late Malian blues guitarist Ali Farka Toure. The songs were recorded in just two hours. (Boston Globe)
From the Dust Mar 5, 2007
No old photographs posing with Captain Beefheart or the Rolling Stones (Cooder played on Let it Bleed, but fell into a dispute with Keith Richards, who confessed he took him 'for all that he knew', over ownership of the 'Honky Tonk Woman' riff); no gold discs commemorating his string of classic Seventies solo albums such as Chicken Skin Music; no framed guitar from the soundtrack sessions for the Wim Wenders movie Paris, Texas, the most feted of several film scores he wrote in the Eighties;... (Guardian Unlimited -- Arts)
Soul to savour Feb 28, 2007
Nearly a year has passed since Malian music legend Ali Farka Toures death ... For his swansong project, Malis guitarist supreme felt the necessity to preserve the expiring hometown music of Niafunke in northern Mali Ali Farka Toure is linked to the Sonrai and Peul peoples ... Ali Farka Toure will always be remembered as the voice of Malian music. (The Star Online, Malaysia)
A father's musical legacy Feb 13, 2007
But for a young Canadian named Eric Herman, the row of small rooms on a dusty street in Bamako, the capital of Mali, was a pilgrimage destination -- the home of Ali Farka Toure ... First he discovered Fela Kuti, then the hypnotic guitar work of Ali Farka Toure ... Some were famous, like Martin Scorsese, through his documentary series, The Blues: A Musical Journey, and filmmaker Marc Huraux, with A Visit to Ali Farka Toure. (Globe and Mail -- Entertainment)
Grammy winners announced Feb 12, 2007
for Variety's Award Season newsletter. Feb. 11, 2007, 1:42pm PT. (Variety)
Weekend Hotlist Feb 8, 2007
Pittsburgh stages are bulging right now with "The Muckle Man" (City Theatre), "Bug" (barebones at the Upstage) and "Cabaret (Public). Now, Quantum Theatre jumps in, flamenco style, with the Friday opening of "The Red Shoes," a humorous fable adapted from Hans Christian Andersen by Karla Boos and Carolina Loyola-Garcia. It's presented at Allegheny Unitarian Universalist Church, 416 W. North Ave., North Side. Performances are Wednesdays-Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 7 p.m. Tickets are $27 ($24... (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA)
Marvel heroes make learning fun at Ontario Science Centre Feb 4, 2007
A highlight of the weekend is a concert and CD release party for Vieux Farka Toure, son of legendary musician Ali Farka Toure, at 10 p.m. Saturday. The proverbial torch was passed from father to son when Grammy Award-winning Ali Farka Toure lost his battle to bone cancer in 2006. (Buffalo News -- Arts)
