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Vieux Farka Toure Carries on Mali Blues Tradition
Ancient African melodies meet reggae and Saharan blues for the Maine debut of the legendary Ali Farka Toure's prodigious son Vieux Farka Toure, who will perform in concert wilh his fourpiece band at the Strand Theatre in Rockland on Friday, March 2, at 8 p.m.
A highly talented guitarist, singer, songwriter and percussionist, Vieux Toure has crafted a global-minded style all his own. With flourishes of rock and reggae amidst Saharan blues and traditional Malian melodies, he ushers in the next generation of Mali blues. His newly released self-titled CD includes the last recording from his Grammy Award-winning father.
Since his childhood, Tourc has been deeply inspired by the music of his father, who passed away in March 2006. Growing up in Mali's capital, Bamako, as well as in his father's hometown of Niafunke in the Sahara desert — both teeming with rich musical life — Toure proved himself a precocious talent as a drummer and calabash player. Ali, however, was concerned about his son's future. Having long suffered in the music industry himself before finally finding a home with World Circuit Records, he did not want his son to have to face the same hardships. He forbade Vieux to play music and decided that he should become a soldier instead. The young man secretly took up the guitar behind closed doors. He enrolled in the Arts Institute in Bamako, the same institution where Habib Koite and many other Malian musicians of note studied. When his father realized he was not going to give up music, he enlisted his good fricnd Toumani Diabate as Vieux's advisor. When young North American producer Kric Herman of Modiha Productions expressed interest in recording Vieux, he had to seek permission from Diabate, the senior Toure and other community elders. Toure says. "Though my father initially resisted my playing music, once he saw that it was truly my ambition and my calling, he was at my side ... and he stayed there until the end."
It's not surprising that Toure's debut album is full of homages to his father, to other elders in his community and to the people of Mali. That spirit is consistent with the musical tradition and his album strikes a balance between tradition and innovation. His own compositions pay musical homage to his father's roots with familiar trance-inducing guitar-work while incorporating new musical influences from reggae to rock into the tradition of desert blues from northern Mali. The album, which also features kora-player Toumani Diabate, draws heavily on the same blues-inflected North African desert traditions that Ali Farka Toure made famous on such albums as the Grammy-winning Ry Cooder collaboration "Talking Timbuktu" (World Circuit). It is also the only recording of father and son playing together. Reviewers are calling Toure's debut recording "stunning," "a beautifully realized debut" and "a musical triumph."
Toure is bringing the energy and charisma that has mesmerized audiences in Europe to the U.S. for the first time with his "Fight Malaria " North American Tour. He is committed to raising awareness of African culture and the political/economic challenges faced by the continent through music. He has spent the last several years promoting the UNICEF "Fight Malaria" campaign to spread awareness about malaria, the number-one life-threatening disease for African children. Ten percent of all proceeds from album sales are being given to the campaign. "I want to be able to give back to my village.... There are those in Niafunke that don't have enough to eat, others don't have medicine, and many children don't get the chance to grow up because of malaria."
Tickets to the concert are $ 17 in advance, $20 at the door. For tickets or information, call the Strand Theatre at 5940070 or visit www.rocklandstrand.com.
02/22/07
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