BAMAKO, Mali - Legendary African musician and two-time Grammy Award winner Ali Farka Toure died Tuesday, March 7th of cancer, against which he had been battling for some time. He was 67.
The Ali Farka Toure Foundation said the "bluesman of Africa" died at his home in Bamako, the capital of the West African country.
Toure collaborated with Ry Cooder on his 1995 album "Talking Timbuktu," which won him his first of two Grammys.He has cited Western musicians John Lee Hooker, Otis Redding and Ray Charles among those who inspired him.
Toure was one of the orginators of the Mali Blues music genre and released nine albums between 1976 and 2005.
His album with Toumani Diabate, "In the Heart of the Moon," won the Grammy for Best Traditional World Music Album this year.
Toure was born in the northwestern Mali village of Kanau, the tenth son of his mother, in 1939.
Listen to an interview with Ali Farka Toure from NPR's All Thing Considered.
- His record label, World Circuit Records, said that he had just completed work on a new solo album.
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Copyright 2006 12Bar
Images may not be used without permission.
Copyright 2006 12Bar
Images may not be used without permission.
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