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Concert Pick / Feature
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Boston Sunday Herald, Concert Pick / Feature >>
Toure builds on father's legacy
By BOB YOUNG
MUSIC
When the footsteps you're following in are as big as Ali Farka Toure's a guitarist and singer renowned as one of Africa's greatest artists you're bound to encounter a few bumps along the way.
When it's Toure's son who's doing the following - and against his father's wishes - the bumps can seem like mountains.
Vieux Farka Toure, who makes his local debut Thursday at Johnny D's, decided to do exactly what his father didn't want him to do: pursue a life in music.
"As soon as I told my father that I wanted to enroll in Mali's National Arts Institute in Bamako and become a musician, he came down very hard on me," Toure said in an e-mail exchange that was translated from French. "He was completely against the idea, and reacted very openly and strongly against it: He stopped paying for my transportation, doing me favors where he used to without question, and so forth.
"Obviously that was very difficult for me. I didn't understand at the time why he would feel so strongly against my becoming musician, especially since it had brought him such great success. But now I see he was trying to protect me from the hardships and nastiness of the music industry."
Ali Farka Toure died last March and left a legacy as an African conduit to American blues, a musician with an open mind about the world beyond the North African desert that inspired him. Toure's 1994 CD collaboration with Ry Cooder, "Talking Timbuktu," not only won a Grammy, it topped Billboard's world music chart for 32 weeks.
His 25-year-old son is doing his best to carry the torch.
"My father was the greatest single inspiration for my music, despite the fact that it took him long time to finally accept that it was my destined path," said Toure, who switched from calabash, a West African dried gourd drum, to acoustic guitar, the instrument that made his father famous. "I grew up adoring his music and taught myself guitar by listening to his records. I am now trying to continue his work and spread his message."
Toure is off to a good start and doing it his own way.
His impressive, self-titled CD pays homage to his father with warm nods to languorous desert blues. His godfather and mentor, fcora master Tourmani Diabate, also appears. Most importantly, so does Ali Farka Toure himself on several transporting songs, the last studio recordings before his death.
"The most important tradition in Malian music is to transmit the wisdom and moral guidance of our elders and ancestors," the son said. "That's what I try to do with my lyrics. Their wisdom is our greatest treasure, and it's necessary to share that with the world. The world must be conscious of the importance of leading a proper moral life of not cheating people and speaking behind one an other's backs. We must communicate honestly and openly."
While Toure clearly respects tradition, he's also a product of the times. His guitar heroes include John Lee Hooker, B.B. King and Jimi Hendrix, but he's just as likely to listen to Alpha Blondy and 50 Cent. This comes through in his music, in which the contemporary mixes with the past's reggae grooves and rock chords.
"The modern sound on my album is something very natural, very organic," Toure said. "My musical sensibility is of the new generation, so my compositions reflect that modern style.
"I want listeners to understand the path that I am walking how I am following the same path as my father but moving forward into new worlds with our traditions and native style as my compass. Also, I want people to understand a little bit about our manner of thinking and looking at the world. We want to express the joy of life and at the same time the responsibility that comes with it."
robertcyoung@comcast.net
Vieux Farka Toure, at Johnny D's, Somerville, Thursday at 9 p.m. Call 617-776-2004.
02/25/07
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