Post by Michael Messer on Mar 7, 2006 23:36:05 GMT
African musical giant Ali Farka Toure dies
The Associated Press
TUESDAY, MARCH 7, 2006
BAMAKO, Mali Top African troubadour and two-time Grammy Award winner Ali Farka Toure died Tuesday in his homeland, where radio stations suspended regular play to send the Mali bluesman's signature lilting sounds out over the airwaves.
Toure, in his late 60s and known to be battling cancer, melded traditional Malian stringed instruments and vocals with the American blues guitarwork he considered firmly rooted in West Africa, from where most North American slaves were shipped.
Best known overseas for his 1994 collaboration with American guitarist Ry Cooder on "Talking Timbuktu", which netted him his first Grammy, Toure was a local giant who helped bankroll a production company that has nurtured Mali's young talent.
"His death is a great loss for Mali and also for Africa," said Malick Konate, commercial director of the label Mali K7. "We can only pay him hommage."
Toure, one of Africa's best-known artists, won his second Grammy this year in the traditional world music album category for "In the Heart of the Moon", performed with fellow Malian Toumani Diabate.
Toure died early Tuesday at his home in the capital, Bamako, after a long struggle with an unidentified illness, Mali's Culture Ministry announced. He was known to be battling cancer.
Across the deeply impoverished west African nation of Mali, radio stations played his music Tuesday.
"A monument has fallen. With the death of Ali Farka Toure, Mali is losing one of it's greatest ambassadors," said Mbaye Boubacar Diarra, a television producer.
"I'm completely in mourning," Djeneba Seck, a singer, said through her tears. "It's as if I lost my father."
Toure was born in 1939 in the northern Sahara Desert trading post of Timbuktu. Like many Africans of his generation, the exact date of his birth was not recorded.
Toure learned the traditional single-stringed gurkel at an early age, later also taking up the guitar, at which he was also accomplished. He cited many Western musicians for inspiration, including Ray Charles, Otis Redding and John Lee Hooker.
Toure spent much of his later years in his childhood town of Niafunke, near Timbuktu, which has become a pilgrimage spot for many music-loving Africans and tourists seeking one of the original progenitors of a genre known as Mali Blues.
In 2004, Toure became the small farming town's mayor.
His family said although no date had yet been determined, he will be laid to rest in the sandy loam near Timbuktu.
"For some people, Timbuktu is a place at the end of nowhere," he once was quoted as saying. "But that's not true, I'm from Timbuktu, and I can tell you that it's right in the center of the world."
BAMAKO, Mali Top African troubadour and two-time Grammy Award winner Ali Farka Toure died Tuesday in his homeland, where radio stations suspended regular play to send the Mali bluesman's signature lilting sounds out over the airwaves.
Toure, in his late 60s and known to be battling cancer, melded traditional Malian stringed instruments and vocals with the American blues guitarwork he considered firmly rooted in West Africa, from where most North American slaves were shipped.
Best known overseas for his 1994 collaboration with American guitarist Ry Cooder on "Talking Timbuktu", which netted him his first Grammy, Toure was a local giant who helped bankroll a production company that has nurtured Mali's young talent.
"His death is a great loss for Mali and also for Africa," said Malick Konate, commercial director of the label Mali K7. "We can only pay him hommage."
Toure, one of Africa's best-known artists, won his second Grammy this year in the traditional world music album category for "In the Heart of the Moon", performed with fellow Malian Toumani Diabate.
Toure died early Tuesday at his home in the capital, Bamako, after a long struggle with an unidentified illness, Mali's Culture Ministry announced. He was known to be battling cancer.
Across the deeply impoverished west African nation of Mali, radio stations played his music Tuesday.
"A monument has fallen. With the death of Ali Farka Toure, Mali is losing one of it's greatest ambassadors," said Mbaye Boubacar Diarra, a television producer.
"I'm completely in mourning," Djeneba Seck, a singer, said through her tears. "It's as if I lost my father."
Toure was born in 1939 in the northern Sahara Desert trading post of Timbuktu. Like many Africans of his generation, the exact date of his birth was not recorded.
Toure learned the traditional single-stringed gurkel at an early age, later also taking up the guitar, at which he was also accomplished. He cited many Western musicians for inspiration, including Ray Charles, Otis Redding and John Lee Hooker.
Toure spent much of his later years in his childhood town of Niafunke, near Timbuktu, which has become a pilgrimage spot for many music-loving Africans and tourists seeking one of the original progenitors of a genre known as Mali Blues.
In 2004, Toure became the small farming town's mayor.
His family said although no date had yet been determined, he will be laid to rest in the sandy loam near Timbuktu.
"For some people, Timbuktu is a place at the end of nowhere," he once was quoted as saying. "But that's not true, I'm from Timbuktu, and I can tell you that it's right in the center of the world."
BAMAKO, Mali Top African troubadour and two-time Grammy Award winner Ali Farka Toure died Tuesday in his homeland, where radio stations suspended regular play to send the Mali bluesman's signature lilting sounds out over the airwaves.
Toure, in his late 60s and known to be battling cancer, melded traditional Malian stringed instruments and vocals with the American blues guitarwork he considered firmly rooted in West Africa, from where most North American slaves were shipped.
Best known overseas for his 1994 collaboration with American guitarist Ry Cooder on "Talking Timbuktu", which netted him his first Grammy, Toure was a local giant who helped bankroll a production company that has nurtured Mali's young talent.
"His death is a great loss for Mali and also for Africa," said Malick Konate, commercial director of the label Mali K7. "We can only pay him hommage."
Toure, one of Africa's best-known artists, won his second Grammy this year in the traditional world music album category for "In the Heart of the Moon", performed with fellow Malian Toumani Diabate.
Toure died early Tuesday at his home in the capital, Bamako, after a long struggle with an unidentified illness, Mali's Culture Ministry announced. He was known to be battling cancer.
Across the deeply impoverished west African nation of Mali, radio stations played his music Tuesday.
"A monument has fallen. With the death of Ali Farka Toure, Mali is losing one of it's greatest ambassadors," said Mbaye Boubacar Diarra, a television producer.
"I'm completely in mourning," Djeneba Seck, a singer, said through her tears. "It's as if I lost my father."
Toure was born in 1939 in the northern Sahara Desert trading post of Timbuktu. Like many Africans of his generation, the exact date of his birth was not recorded.
Toure learned the traditional single-stringed gurkel at an early age, later also taking up the guitar, at which he was also accomplished. He cited many Western musicians for inspiration, including Ray Charles, Otis Redding and John Lee Hooker.
Toure spent much of his later years in his childhood town of Niafunke, near Timbuktu, which has become a pilgrimage spot for many music-loving Africans and tourists seeking one of the original progenitors of a genre known as Mali Blues.
In 2004, Toure became the small farming town's mayor.
His family said although no date had yet been determined, he will be laid to rest in the sandy loam near Timbuktu.
"For some people, Timbuktu is a place at the end of nowhere," he once was quoted as saying. "But that's not true, I'm from Timbuktu, and I can tell you that it's right in the center of the world."
BAMAKO, Mali Top African troubadour and two-time Grammy Award winner Ali Farka Toure died Tuesday in his homeland, where radio stations suspended regular play to send the Mali bluesman's signature lilting sounds out over the airwaves.
Toure, in his late 60s and known to be battling cancer, melded traditional Malian stringed instruments and vocals with the American blues guitarwork he considered firmly rooted in West Africa, from where most North American slaves were shipped.
Best known overseas for his 1994 collaboration with American guitarist Ry Cooder on "Talking Timbuktu", which netted him his first Grammy, Toure was a local giant who helped bankroll a production company that has nurtured Mali's young talent.
"His death is a great loss for Mali and also for Africa," said Malick Konate, commercial director of the label Mali K7. "We can only pay him hommage."
Toure, one of Africa's best-known artists, won his second Grammy this year in the traditional world music album category for "In the Heart of the Moon", performed with fellow Malian Toumani Diabate.
Toure died early Tuesday at his home in the capital, Bamako, after a long struggle with an unidentified illness, Mali's Culture Ministry announced. He was known to be battling cancer.
Across the deeply impoverished west African nation of Mali, radio stations played his music Tuesday.
"A monument has fallen. With the death of Ali Farka Toure, Mali is losing one of it's greatest ambassadors," said Mbaye Boubacar Diarra, a television producer.
"I'm completely in mourning," Djeneba Seck, a singer, said through her tears. "It's as if I lost my father."
Toure was born in 1939 in the northern Sahara Desert trading post of Timbuktu. Like many Africans of his generation, the exact date of his birth was not recorded.
Toure learned the traditional single-stringed gurkel at an early age, later also taking up the guitar, at which he was also accomplished. He cited many Western musicians for inspiration, including Ray Charles, Otis Redding and John Lee Hooker.
Toure spent much of his later years in his childhood town of Niafunke, near Timbuktu, which has become a pilgrimage spot for many music-loving Africans and tourists seeking one of the original progenitors of a genre known as Mali Blues.
In 2004, Toure became the small farming town's mayor.
His family said although no date had yet been determined, he will be laid to rest in the sandy loam near Timbuktu.
"For some people, Timbuktu is a place at the end of nowhere," he once was quoted as saying. "But that's not true, I'm from Timbuktu, and I can tell you that it's right in the center of the world."
African musical giant Ali Farka Toure dies
The Associated Press
TUESDAY, MARCH 7, 2006
BAMAKO, Mali Top African troubadour and two-time Grammy Award winner Ali Farka Toure died Tuesday in his homeland, where radio stations suspended regular play to send the Mali bluesman's signature lilting sounds out over the airwaves.
Toure, in his late 60s and known to be battling cancer, melded traditional Malian stringed instruments and vocals with the American blues guitarwork he considered firmly rooted in West Africa, from where most North American slaves were shipped.
Best known overseas for his 1994 collaboration with American guitarist Ry Cooder on "Talking Timbuktu", which netted him his first Grammy, Toure was a local giant who helped bankroll a production company that has nurtured Mali's young talent.
"His death is a great loss for Mali and also for Africa," said Malick Konate, commercial director of the label Mali K7. "We can only pay him hommage."
Toure, one of Africa's best-known artists, won his second Grammy this year in the traditional world music album category for "In the Heart of the Moon", performed with fellow Malian Toumani Diabate.
Toure died early Tuesday at his home in the capital, Bamako, after a long struggle with an unidentified illness, Mali's Culture Ministry announced. He was known to be battling cancer.
Across the deeply impoverished west African nation of Mali, radio stations played his music Tuesday.
"A monument has fallen. With the death of Ali Farka Toure, Mali is losing one of it's greatest ambassadors," said Mbaye Boubacar Diarra, a television producer.
"I'm completely in mourning," Djeneba Seck, a singer, said through her tears. "It's as if I lost my father."
Toure was born in 1939 in the northern Sahara Desert trading post of Timbuktu. Like many Africans of his generation, the exact date of his birth was not recorded.
Toure learned the traditional single-stringed gurkel at an early age, later also taking up the guitar, at which he was also accomplished. He cited many Western musicians for inspiration, including Ray Charles, Otis Redding and John Lee Hooker.
Toure spent much of his later years in his childhood town of Niafunke, near Timbuktu, which has become a pilgrimage spot for many music-loving Africans and tourists seeking one of the original progenitors of a genre known as Mali Blues.
In 2004, Toure became the small farming town's mayor.
His family said although no date had yet been determined, he will be laid to rest in the sandy loam near Timbuktu.
"For some people, Timbuktu is a place at the end of nowhere," he once was quoted as saying. "But that's not true, I'm from Timbuktu, and I can tell you that it's right in the center of the world."
BAMAKO, Mali Top African troubadour and two-time Grammy Award winner Ali Farka Toure died Tuesday in his homeland, where radio stations suspended regular play to send the Mali bluesman's signature lilting sounds out over the airwaves.
Toure, in his late 60s and known to be battling cancer, melded traditional Malian stringed instruments and vocals with the American blues guitarwork he considered firmly rooted in West Africa, from where most North American slaves were shipped.
Best known overseas for his 1994 collaboration with American guitarist Ry Cooder on "Talking Timbuktu", which netted him his first Grammy, Toure was a local giant who helped bankroll a production company that has nurtured Mali's young talent.
"His death is a great loss for Mali and also for Africa," said Malick Konate, commercial director of the label Mali K7. "We can only pay him hommage."
Toure, one of Africa's best-known artists, won his second Grammy this year in the traditional world music album category for "In the Heart of the Moon", performed with fellow Malian Toumani Diabate.
Toure died early Tuesday at his home in the capital, Bamako, after a long struggle with an unidentified illness, Mali's Culture Ministry announced. He was known to be battling cancer.
Across the deeply impoverished west African nation of Mali, radio stations played his music Tuesday.
"A monument has fallen. With the death of Ali Farka Toure, Mali is losing one of it's greatest ambassadors," said Mbaye Boubacar Diarra, a television producer.
"I'm completely in mourning," Djeneba Seck, a singer, said through her tears. "It's as if I lost my father."
Toure was born in 1939 in the northern Sahara Desert trading post of Timbuktu. Like many Africans of his generation, the exact date of his birth was not recorded.
Toure learned the traditional single-stringed gurkel at an early age, later also taking up the guitar, at which he was also accomplished. He cited many Western musicians for inspiration, including Ray Charles, Otis Redding and John Lee Hooker.
Toure spent much of his later years in his childhood town of Niafunke, near Timbuktu, which has become a pilgrimage spot for many music-loving Africans and tourists seeking one of the original progenitors of a genre known as Mali Blues.
In 2004, Toure became the small farming town's mayor.
His family said although no date had yet been determined, he will be laid to rest in the sandy loam near Timbuktu.
"For some people, Timbuktu is a place at the end of nowhere," he once was quoted as saying. "But that's not true, I'm from Timbuktu, and I can tell you that it's right in the center of the world."
BAMAKO, Mali Top African troubadour and two-time Grammy Award winner Ali Farka Toure died Tuesday in his homeland, where radio stations suspended regular play to send the Mali bluesman's signature lilting sounds out over the airwaves.
Toure, in his late 60s and known to be battling cancer, melded traditional Malian stringed instruments and vocals with the American blues guitarwork he considered firmly rooted in West Africa, from where most North American slaves were shipped.
Best known overseas for his 1994 collaboration with American guitarist Ry Cooder on "Talking Timbuktu", which netted him his first Grammy, Toure was a local giant who helped bankroll a production company that has nurtured Mali's young talent.
"His death is a great loss for Mali and also for Africa," said Malick Konate, commercial director of the label Mali K7. "We can only pay him hommage."
Toure, one of Africa's best-known artists, won his second Grammy this year in the traditional world music album category for "In the Heart of the Moon", performed with fellow Malian Toumani Diabate.
Toure died early Tuesday at his home in the capital, Bamako, after a long struggle with an unidentified illness, Mali's Culture Ministry announced. He was known to be battling cancer.
Across the deeply impoverished west African nation of Mali, radio stations played his music Tuesday.
"A monument has fallen. With the death of Ali Farka Toure, Mali is losing one of it's greatest ambassadors," said Mbaye Boubacar Diarra, a television producer.
"I'm completely in mourning," Djeneba Seck, a singer, said through her tears. "It's as if I lost my father."
Toure was born in 1939 in the northern Sahara Desert trading post of Timbuktu. Like many Africans of his generation, the exact date of his birth was not recorded.
Toure learned the traditional single-stringed gurkel at an early age, later also taking up the guitar, at which he was also accomplished. He cited many Western musicians for inspiration, including Ray Charles, Otis Redding and John Lee Hooker.
Toure spent much of his later years in his childhood town of Niafunke, near Timbuktu, which has become a pilgrimage spot for many music-loving Africans and tourists seeking one of the original progenitors of a genre known as Mali Blues.
In 2004, Toure became the small farming town's mayor.
His family said although no date had yet been determined, he will be laid to rest in the sandy loam near Timbuktu.
"For some people, Timbuktu is a place at the end of nowhere," he once was quoted as saying. "But that's not true, I'm from Timbuktu, and I can tell you that it's right in the center of the world."
BAMAKO, Mali Top African troubadour and two-time Grammy Award winner Ali Farka Toure died Tuesday in his homeland, where radio stations suspended regular play to send the Mali bluesman's signature lilting sounds out over the airwaves.
Toure, in his late 60s and known to be battling cancer, melded traditional Malian stringed instruments and vocals with the American blues guitarwork he considered firmly rooted in West Africa, from where most North American slaves were shipped.
Best known overseas for his 1994 collaboration with American guitarist Ry Cooder on "Talking Timbuktu", which netted him his first Grammy, Toure was a local giant who helped bankroll a production company that has nurtured Mali's young talent.
"His death is a great loss for Mali and also for Africa," said Malick Konate, commercial director of the label Mali K7. "We can only pay him hommage."
Toure, one of Africa's best-known artists, won his second Grammy this year in the traditional world music album category for "In the Heart of the Moon", performed with fellow Malian Toumani Diabate.
Toure died early Tuesday at his home in the capital, Bamako, after a long struggle with an unidentified illness, Mali's Culture Ministry announced. He was known to be battling cancer.
Across the deeply impoverished west African nation of Mali, radio stations played his music Tuesday.
"A monument has fallen. With the death of Ali Farka Toure, Mali is losing one of it's greatest ambassadors," said Mbaye Boubacar Diarra, a television producer.
"I'm completely in mourning," Djeneba Seck, a singer, said through her tears. "It's as if I lost my father."
Toure was born in 1939 in the northern Sahara Desert trading post of Timbuktu. Like many Africans of his generation, the exact date of his birth was not recorded.
Toure learned the traditional single-stringed gurkel at an early age, later also taking up the guitar, at which he was also accomplished. He cited many Western musicians for inspiration, including Ray Charles, Otis Redding and John Lee Hooker.
Toure spent much of his later years in his childhood town of Niafunke, near Timbuktu, which has become a pilgrimage spot for many music-loving Africans and tourists seeking one of the original progenitors of a genre known as Mali Blues.
In 2004, Toure became the small farming town's mayor.
His family said although no date had yet been determined, he will be laid to rest in the sandy loam near Timbuktu.
"For some people, Timbuktu is a place at the end of nowhere," he once was quoted as saying. "But that's not true, I'm from Timbuktu, and I can tell you that it's right in the center of the world."
The Associated Press
TUESDAY, MARCH 7, 2006
BAMAKO, Mali Top African troubadour and two-time Grammy Award winner Ali Farka Toure died Tuesday in his homeland, where radio stations suspended regular play to send the Mali bluesman's signature lilting sounds out over the airwaves.
Toure, in his late 60s and known to be battling cancer, melded traditional Malian stringed instruments and vocals with the American blues guitarwork he considered firmly rooted in West Africa, from where most North American slaves were shipped.
Best known overseas for his 1994 collaboration with American guitarist Ry Cooder on "Talking Timbuktu", which netted him his first Grammy, Toure was a local giant who helped bankroll a production company that has nurtured Mali's young talent.
"His death is a great loss for Mali and also for Africa," said Malick Konate, commercial director of the label Mali K7. "We can only pay him hommage."
Toure, one of Africa's best-known artists, won his second Grammy this year in the traditional world music album category for "In the Heart of the Moon", performed with fellow Malian Toumani Diabate.
Toure died early Tuesday at his home in the capital, Bamako, after a long struggle with an unidentified illness, Mali's Culture Ministry announced. He was known to be battling cancer.
Across the deeply impoverished west African nation of Mali, radio stations played his music Tuesday.
"A monument has fallen. With the death of Ali Farka Toure, Mali is losing one of it's greatest ambassadors," said Mbaye Boubacar Diarra, a television producer.
"I'm completely in mourning," Djeneba Seck, a singer, said through her tears. "It's as if I lost my father."
Toure was born in 1939 in the northern Sahara Desert trading post of Timbuktu. Like many Africans of his generation, the exact date of his birth was not recorded.
Toure learned the traditional single-stringed gurkel at an early age, later also taking up the guitar, at which he was also accomplished. He cited many Western musicians for inspiration, including Ray Charles, Otis Redding and John Lee Hooker.
Toure spent much of his later years in his childhood town of Niafunke, near Timbuktu, which has become a pilgrimage spot for many music-loving Africans and tourists seeking one of the original progenitors of a genre known as Mali Blues.
In 2004, Toure became the small farming town's mayor.
His family said although no date had yet been determined, he will be laid to rest in the sandy loam near Timbuktu.
"For some people, Timbuktu is a place at the end of nowhere," he once was quoted as saying. "But that's not true, I'm from Timbuktu, and I can tell you that it's right in the center of the world."
BAMAKO, Mali Top African troubadour and two-time Grammy Award winner Ali Farka Toure died Tuesday in his homeland, where radio stations suspended regular play to send the Mali bluesman's signature lilting sounds out over the airwaves.
Toure, in his late 60s and known to be battling cancer, melded traditional Malian stringed instruments and vocals with the American blues guitarwork he considered firmly rooted in West Africa, from where most North American slaves were shipped.
Best known overseas for his 1994 collaboration with American guitarist Ry Cooder on "Talking Timbuktu", which netted him his first Grammy, Toure was a local giant who helped bankroll a production company that has nurtured Mali's young talent.
"His death is a great loss for Mali and also for Africa," said Malick Konate, commercial director of the label Mali K7. "We can only pay him hommage."
Toure, one of Africa's best-known artists, won his second Grammy this year in the traditional world music album category for "In the Heart of the Moon", performed with fellow Malian Toumani Diabate.
Toure died early Tuesday at his home in the capital, Bamako, after a long struggle with an unidentified illness, Mali's Culture Ministry announced. He was known to be battling cancer.
Across the deeply impoverished west African nation of Mali, radio stations played his music Tuesday.
"A monument has fallen. With the death of Ali Farka Toure, Mali is losing one of it's greatest ambassadors," said Mbaye Boubacar Diarra, a television producer.
"I'm completely in mourning," Djeneba Seck, a singer, said through her tears. "It's as if I lost my father."
Toure was born in 1939 in the northern Sahara Desert trading post of Timbuktu. Like many Africans of his generation, the exact date of his birth was not recorded.
Toure learned the traditional single-stringed gurkel at an early age, later also taking up the guitar, at which he was also accomplished. He cited many Western musicians for inspiration, including Ray Charles, Otis Redding and John Lee Hooker.
Toure spent much of his later years in his childhood town of Niafunke, near Timbuktu, which has become a pilgrimage spot for many music-loving Africans and tourists seeking one of the original progenitors of a genre known as Mali Blues.
In 2004, Toure became the small farming town's mayor.
His family said although no date had yet been determined, he will be laid to rest in the sandy loam near Timbuktu.
"For some people, Timbuktu is a place at the end of nowhere," he once was quoted as saying. "But that's not true, I'm from Timbuktu, and I can tell you that it's right in the center of the world."
BAMAKO, Mali Top African troubadour and two-time Grammy Award winner Ali Farka Toure died Tuesday in his homeland, where radio stations suspended regular play to send the Mali bluesman's signature lilting sounds out over the airwaves.
Toure, in his late 60s and known to be battling cancer, melded traditional Malian stringed instruments and vocals with the American blues guitarwork he considered firmly rooted in West Africa, from where most North American slaves were shipped.
Best known overseas for his 1994 collaboration with American guitarist Ry Cooder on "Talking Timbuktu", which netted him his first Grammy, Toure was a local giant who helped bankroll a production company that has nurtured Mali's young talent.
"His death is a great loss for Mali and also for Africa," said Malick Konate, commercial director of the label Mali K7. "We can only pay him hommage."
Toure, one of Africa's best-known artists, won his second Grammy this year in the traditional world music album category for "In the Heart of the Moon", performed with fellow Malian Toumani Diabate.
Toure died early Tuesday at his home in the capital, Bamako, after a long struggle with an unidentified illness, Mali's Culture Ministry announced. He was known to be battling cancer.
Across the deeply impoverished west African nation of Mali, radio stations played his music Tuesday.
"A monument has fallen. With the death of Ali Farka Toure, Mali is losing one of it's greatest ambassadors," said Mbaye Boubacar Diarra, a television producer.
"I'm completely in mourning," Djeneba Seck, a singer, said through her tears. "It's as if I lost my father."
Toure was born in 1939 in the northern Sahara Desert trading post of Timbuktu. Like many Africans of his generation, the exact date of his birth was not recorded.
Toure learned the traditional single-stringed gurkel at an early age, later also taking up the guitar, at which he was also accomplished. He cited many Western musicians for inspiration, including Ray Charles, Otis Redding and John Lee Hooker.
Toure spent much of his later years in his childhood town of Niafunke, near Timbuktu, which has become a pilgrimage spot for many music-loving Africans and tourists seeking one of the original progenitors of a genre known as Mali Blues.
In 2004, Toure became the small farming town's mayor.
His family said although no date had yet been determined, he will be laid to rest in the sandy loam near Timbuktu.
"For some people, Timbuktu is a place at the end of nowhere," he once was quoted as saying. "But that's not true, I'm from Timbuktu, and I can tell you that it's right in the center of the world."
BAMAKO, Mali Top African troubadour and two-time Grammy Award winner Ali Farka Toure died Tuesday in his homeland, where radio stations suspended regular play to send the Mali bluesman's signature lilting sounds out over the airwaves.
Toure, in his late 60s and known to be battling cancer, melded traditional Malian stringed instruments and vocals with the American blues guitarwork he considered firmly rooted in West Africa, from where most North American slaves were shipped.
Best known overseas for his 1994 collaboration with American guitarist Ry Cooder on "Talking Timbuktu", which netted him his first Grammy, Toure was a local giant who helped bankroll a production company that has nurtured Mali's young talent.
"His death is a great loss for Mali and also for Africa," said Malick Konate, commercial director of the label Mali K7. "We can only pay him hommage."
Toure, one of Africa's best-known artists, won his second Grammy this year in the traditional world music album category for "In the Heart of the Moon", performed with fellow Malian Toumani Diabate.
Toure died early Tuesday at his home in the capital, Bamako, after a long struggle with an unidentified illness, Mali's Culture Ministry announced. He was known to be battling cancer.
Across the deeply impoverished west African nation of Mali, radio stations played his music Tuesday.
"A monument has fallen. With the death of Ali Farka Toure, Mali is losing one of it's greatest ambassadors," said Mbaye Boubacar Diarra, a television producer.
"I'm completely in mourning," Djeneba Seck, a singer, said through her tears. "It's as if I lost my father."
Toure was born in 1939 in the northern Sahara Desert trading post of Timbuktu. Like many Africans of his generation, the exact date of his birth was not recorded.
Toure learned the traditional single-stringed gurkel at an early age, later also taking up the guitar, at which he was also accomplished. He cited many Western musicians for inspiration, including Ray Charles, Otis Redding and John Lee Hooker.
Toure spent much of his later years in his childhood town of Niafunke, near Timbuktu, which has become a pilgrimage spot for many music-loving Africans and tourists seeking one of the original progenitors of a genre known as Mali Blues.
In 2004, Toure became the small farming town's mayor.
His family said although no date had yet been determined, he will be laid to rest in the sandy loam near Timbuktu.
"For some people, Timbuktu is a place at the end of nowhere," he once was quoted as saying. "But that's not true, I'm from Timbuktu, and I can tell you that it's right in the center of the world."
African musical giant Ali Farka Toure dies
The Associated Press
TUESDAY, MARCH 7, 2006
BAMAKO, Mali Top African troubadour and two-time Grammy Award winner Ali Farka Toure died Tuesday in his homeland, where radio stations suspended regular play to send the Mali bluesman's signature lilting sounds out over the airwaves.
Toure, in his late 60s and known to be battling cancer, melded traditional Malian stringed instruments and vocals with the American blues guitarwork he considered firmly rooted in West Africa, from where most North American slaves were shipped.
Best known overseas for his 1994 collaboration with American guitarist Ry Cooder on "Talking Timbuktu", which netted him his first Grammy, Toure was a local giant who helped bankroll a production company that has nurtured Mali's young talent.
"His death is a great loss for Mali and also for Africa," said Malick Konate, commercial director of the label Mali K7. "We can only pay him hommage."
Toure, one of Africa's best-known artists, won his second Grammy this year in the traditional world music album category for "In the Heart of the Moon", performed with fellow Malian Toumani Diabate.
Toure died early Tuesday at his home in the capital, Bamako, after a long struggle with an unidentified illness, Mali's Culture Ministry announced. He was known to be battling cancer.
Across the deeply impoverished west African nation of Mali, radio stations played his music Tuesday.
"A monument has fallen. With the death of Ali Farka Toure, Mali is losing one of it's greatest ambassadors," said Mbaye Boubacar Diarra, a television producer.
"I'm completely in mourning," Djeneba Seck, a singer, said through her tears. "It's as if I lost my father."
Toure was born in 1939 in the northern Sahara Desert trading post of Timbuktu. Like many Africans of his generation, the exact date of his birth was not recorded.
Toure learned the traditional single-stringed gurkel at an early age, later also taking up the guitar, at which he was also accomplished. He cited many Western musicians for inspiration, including Ray Charles, Otis Redding and John Lee Hooker.
Toure spent much of his later years in his childhood town of Niafunke, near Timbuktu, which has become a pilgrimage spot for many music-loving Africans and tourists seeking one of the original progenitors of a genre known as Mali Blues.
In 2004, Toure became the small farming town's mayor.
His family said although no date had yet been determined, he will be laid to rest in the sandy loam near Timbuktu.
"For some people, Timbuktu is a place at the end of nowhere," he once was quoted as saying. "But that's not true, I'm from Timbuktu, and I can tell you that it's right in the center of the world."
BAMAKO, Mali Top African troubadour and two-time Grammy Award winner Ali Farka Toure died Tuesday in his homeland, where radio stations suspended regular play to send the Mali bluesman's signature lilting sounds out over the airwaves.
Toure, in his late 60s and known to be battling cancer, melded traditional Malian stringed instruments and vocals with the American blues guitarwork he considered firmly rooted in West Africa, from where most North American slaves were shipped.
Best known overseas for his 1994 collaboration with American guitarist Ry Cooder on "Talking Timbuktu", which netted him his first Grammy, Toure was a local giant who helped bankroll a production company that has nurtured Mali's young talent.
"His death is a great loss for Mali and also for Africa," said Malick Konate, commercial director of the label Mali K7. "We can only pay him hommage."
Toure, one of Africa's best-known artists, won his second Grammy this year in the traditional world music album category for "In the Heart of the Moon", performed with fellow Malian Toumani Diabate.
Toure died early Tuesday at his home in the capital, Bamako, after a long struggle with an unidentified illness, Mali's Culture Ministry announced. He was known to be battling cancer.
Across the deeply impoverished west African nation of Mali, radio stations played his music Tuesday.
"A monument has fallen. With the death of Ali Farka Toure, Mali is losing one of it's greatest ambassadors," said Mbaye Boubacar Diarra, a television producer.
"I'm completely in mourning," Djeneba Seck, a singer, said through her tears. "It's as if I lost my father."
Toure was born in 1939 in the northern Sahara Desert trading post of Timbuktu. Like many Africans of his generation, the exact date of his birth was not recorded.
Toure learned the traditional single-stringed gurkel at an early age, later also taking up the guitar, at which he was also accomplished. He cited many Western musicians for inspiration, including Ray Charles, Otis Redding and John Lee Hooker.
Toure spent much of his later years in his childhood town of Niafunke, near Timbuktu, which has become a pilgrimage spot for many music-loving Africans and tourists seeking one of the original progenitors of a genre known as Mali Blues.
In 2004, Toure became the small farming town's mayor.
His family said although no date had yet been determined, he will be laid to rest in the sandy loam near Timbuktu.
"For some people, Timbuktu is a place at the end of nowhere," he once was quoted as saying. "But that's not true, I'm from Timbuktu, and I can tell you that it's right in the center of the world."
BAMAKO, Mali Top African troubadour and two-time Grammy Award winner Ali Farka Toure died Tuesday in his homeland, where radio stations suspended regular play to send the Mali bluesman's signature lilting sounds out over the airwaves.
Toure, in his late 60s and known to be battling cancer, melded traditional Malian stringed instruments and vocals with the American blues guitarwork he considered firmly rooted in West Africa, from where most North American slaves were shipped.
Best known overseas for his 1994 collaboration with American guitarist Ry Cooder on "Talking Timbuktu", which netted him his first Grammy, Toure was a local giant who helped bankroll a production company that has nurtured Mali's young talent.
"His death is a great loss for Mali and also for Africa," said Malick Konate, commercial director of the label Mali K7. "We can only pay him hommage."
Toure, one of Africa's best-known artists, won his second Grammy this year in the traditional world music album category for "In the Heart of the Moon", performed with fellow Malian Toumani Diabate.
Toure died early Tuesday at his home in the capital, Bamako, after a long struggle with an unidentified illness, Mali's Culture Ministry announced. He was known to be battling cancer.
Across the deeply impoverished west African nation of Mali, radio stations played his music Tuesday.
"A monument has fallen. With the death of Ali Farka Toure, Mali is losing one of it's greatest ambassadors," said Mbaye Boubacar Diarra, a television producer.
"I'm completely in mourning," Djeneba Seck, a singer, said through her tears. "It's as if I lost my father."
Toure was born in 1939 in the northern Sahara Desert trading post of Timbuktu. Like many Africans of his generation, the exact date of his birth was not recorded.
Toure learned the traditional single-stringed gurkel at an early age, later also taking up the guitar, at which he was also accomplished. He cited many Western musicians for inspiration, including Ray Charles, Otis Redding and John Lee Hooker.
Toure spent much of his later years in his childhood town of Niafunke, near Timbuktu, which has become a pilgrimage spot for many music-loving Africans and tourists seeking one of the original progenitors of a genre known as Mali Blues.
In 2004, Toure became the small farming town's mayor.
His family said although no date had yet been determined, he will be laid to rest in the sandy loam near Timbuktu.
"For some people, Timbuktu is a place at the end of nowhere," he once was quoted as saying. "But that's not true, I'm from Timbuktu, and I can tell you that it's right in the center of the world."
BAMAKO, Mali Top African troubadour and two-time Grammy Award winner Ali Farka Toure died Tuesday in his homeland, where radio stations suspended regular play to send the Mali bluesman's signature lilting sounds out over the airwaves.
Toure, in his late 60s and known to be battling cancer, melded traditional Malian stringed instruments and vocals with the American blues guitarwork he considered firmly rooted in West Africa, from where most North American slaves were shipped.
Best known overseas for his 1994 collaboration with American guitarist Ry Cooder on "Talking Timbuktu", which netted him his first Grammy, Toure was a local giant who helped bankroll a production company that has nurtured Mali's young talent.
"His death is a great loss for Mali and also for Africa," said Malick Konate, commercial director of the label Mali K7. "We can only pay him hommage."
Toure, one of Africa's best-known artists, won his second Grammy this year in the traditional world music album category for "In the Heart of the Moon", performed with fellow Malian Toumani Diabate.
Toure died early Tuesday at his home in the capital, Bamako, after a long struggle with an unidentified illness, Mali's Culture Ministry announced. He was known to be battling cancer.
Across the deeply impoverished west African nation of Mali, radio stations played his music Tuesday.
"A monument has fallen. With the death of Ali Farka Toure, Mali is losing one of it's greatest ambassadors," said Mbaye Boubacar Diarra, a television producer.
"I'm completely in mourning," Djeneba Seck, a singer, said through her tears. "It's as if I lost my father."
Toure was born in 1939 in the northern Sahara Desert trading post of Timbuktu. Like many Africans of his generation, the exact date of his birth was not recorded.
Toure learned the traditional single-stringed gurkel at an early age, later also taking up the guitar, at which he was also accomplished. He cited many Western musicians for inspiration, including Ray Charles, Otis Redding and John Lee Hooker.
Toure spent much of his later years in his childhood town of Niafunke, near Timbuktu, which has become a pilgrimage spot for many music-loving Africans and tourists seeking one of the original progenitors of a genre known as Mali Blues.
In 2004, Toure became the small farming town's mayor.
His family said although no date had yet been determined, he will be laid to rest in the sandy loam near Timbuktu.
"For some people, Timbuktu is a place at the end of nowhere," he once was quoted as saying. "But that's not true, I'm from Timbuktu, and I can tell you that it's right in the center of the world."
