COMPOSERS: Diabaté,Touré
LABELS: World Circuit
WORKS: Ali and Toumani
PERFORMER: Touré (guitar), Diabaté (kora)
CATALOGUE NO: WCD 083
Continuing the kora connections in Mali, Toumani Diabaté has performed memorably with Sissoko but appears here in his most celebrated partnership. It was the final recording of Ali Farka Touré – the guitarist-singer was already unwell – and also of the bassist, Orlando ‘Cachaito’ Lopez.
The music-making is distilled, full of a bite and contrapuntal energy and immediacy that give it a dimension beyond all but the top meetings of musical minds. There are a couple of songs here that Touré had never recorded before. Robert Maycock