Ali Farka Touré, an African musician and one of the best guitarists the world has ever seen, was born on October 31, 1939. Touré was born in the village of Kanau, on the banks of the Niger River in the northwestern Malian region of Tombouctou.
Touré became known as “the African John Lee Hooker.” His musical styles had many similarities to the American blues man. But the similarities likely came from the underlying connections between African music and the blues.
I first discovered Touré’s music in the 1990s from the album Talking Timbuktu
Talking Timbuktu went on to win the Grammy for Best World Music Album. Allmusic notes that on the album Ali Farka Touré is “singing in 11 languages and playing acoustic and electric guitar, six-string banjo, njarka, and percussion, while teaming smartly with an all-star cast.”
My favorite track off of Talking Timbuktu is “Soukora,” which Touré wrote. I was never even sure what the song was about. But the guitar strings hypnotize me into thinking I have a sense of the music I might hear in heaven.
In this short version of “Soukora,” Sékou Bembeya Diabaté joins Ali Farka Touré on the song. And if you are wondering what they are singing, sources indicate it is a romantic song in the Bambara language of a man singing to his wife. The word “soukora” means night, and the singer is telling his love (“diarabi”), that it is night and asking her to wait for him: “My love (diarabi ) it is night (soukoura).”
Touré won another Grammy in 2006 for his album In the Heart of the Moon, recorded with kora player Toumani Diabate. But Touré never got to accept the award. He died in his sleep from bone cancer on March 7, 2006.
He left a beautiful music legacy to the world that many are still discovering. Happy birthday wherever you are.
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