Malian Blues Mojo
Guitar phenom Vieux Farka Touré crests wave of inspiring music from Mali
By Bliss 05/19/2011
Electrifying Malian guitarist Vieux Farka Touré is currently reaching for global recognition, barnstorming North American stages and press outlets in support of his enthralling “The Secret.” Featuring Soulive guitarist Eric Krasno, Dave Matthews, Derek Trucks, John Scofield and Ivan Neville, plus a final collaboration with Farka Touré’s late father, legendary Malian guitarist Ali Farka Touré, the album is an ear-refreshing fusion of trance-like Malian grooves with elements of American blues, jazz, funk and rock.
But while “The Secret” fortifies Farka Touré’s growing international presence, it’s just the crest of a veritable wave of inspiring music tumbling out of Mali. Brooklyn collective the Sway Machinery recently teamed with Timbuktu diva Khaira Arby for “The House of Friendly Ghosts Vol. 1.” A vocal powerhouse who was mentored by Ali Farka Touré, Arby is an emphatically independent woman in a famously conservative society (she divorced her husband and later remarried) who champions women in her songs, which address various social issues in Arabic and various Saharan dialects. She is finally achieving recognition here after decades of making music in Mali.
Late guitarist Lobi Traoré’s hypnotic performance on “Bwati Kono” is grittier and less pyrotechnic than Vieux Farka Touré, but comes closest to the latter’s visceral charisma. Diehard guitar geeks would do well to give “Bwati Kono” a listen. The disc captures Traoré in his element at two Bamako nightclubs, rocking on extended jams like “Banan Ni” and exploring the long, deeply sensual drones at the heart of Malian music with hypnotic workouts “Bi Donga Fa Ko” and “Ya Time.”
Boubacar Traoré, whose “Mali Denhou” is slated to be released here June 14 on the Lusafrica label, is one of the Malian music community’s most revered elder statesmen. As a teenager, teaching himself to play, he adapted Mandingo kora riffs to the guitar, and his songs still incorporate many traditional elements: praise singing, fables and historical stories. Recorded at Salif Keita’s Studio Moffou, “Mali Denhou” represents the more melodic, sweet-sounding end of Mali’s musical spectrum. Songs like “Dundôbesse M’Bedouniato” and “N’Dianamogo” are textured by French harmonica player Vincent Bucher, whose intricate phrasing complements Traoré’s deceptively complex guitar lines while infusing the music with a pronounced blues flavor.
“Desert blues” is a misleading descriptor for much of this music, but it has nonetheless caught on with international audiences. Vieux Farka Touré is taking it onto the global pop stage with “The Secret,” magnifying Malian drones with American blues, funk and rock rhythms and his dazzling fretwork, with its lightning-fast attack and triplet-imprinted phrasing. Other than Tuareg outfit Tinariwen, who’ll be in Los Angeles in July, no other Malian artist is generating quite as much heat.
Vieux Farka Touré performs at the Satellite, 1717 Silver Lake Blvd., Silver Lake, 9 p.m. Thursday, May 19; $15-$17. Also on the bill: Balle Fette. Info: (213) 833-2843. vieuxfarkatoure.com
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