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Author: Guardian
Posted to the web: 3/29/2006 7:30:16 AM

Ali Farka Toure, the 'Bluesman of Africa', who died recently of bone cancer at his home in Bamako, Mali, was without doubt one of Africa's best known musicians. He was aged 67. With his death, Africa has lost an illustrious son and a cultural icon. Born in Timbuktu, Mali, in 1939, Toure was the 10th child of his parents but the first to survive childhood. This experience is captured in his middle name Farka, which means donkey, a reference to his stubbornness. He lived most of his life in the picturesque town of Niafounke, Mali, where life centres on the River Niger. Toure worked initially as a dock-hand in Niafounke for the boats plying the Niger River. He subsequently moved to the state capital, Bamako, to work as a driver for the state radio and television company, ORTM. It was here that his music career flourished. His music often reflected the slow rhythmic movement of the Niger as it snaked its way through the Sahara desert. He started his illustrious music career with the traditional Malian string instrument known as the gurkel and was renowned for singing predominantly traditional songs about village life. He later switched to the guitar which he successfully adapted to Malian vocal and instrumental music. He was the architect of the genre of music now known as 'Malian blues' or 'desert blues'. He undertook extensive international tours in the United States, Europe and Japan to showcase the richness of Malian culture. He also collaborated with American music stars such as Ry Cooder and John Lee Hooker. His music was often described as showing striking similarities to the early development of American blues. Some saw him as blending African music with the blues of the southern United States. In spite of these western influences on his music and the cowboy hat he wore when performing on stage, Toure always insisted that his music was authentically African. When comparisons were made between his music and American blues he responded with the statement: 'I am the root, they are the branches.' He also preferred to stay back home in Mali and rejected the attraction and allure of the Western world. He demonstrated his abiding love for his hometown and for Africa with his response to his first Grammy award in 1994. Not only did he refuse to travel to the United States to collect the prize, he stated for emphasis: 'I don't know what a Grammy means but if someone has something for me, they can come and give it to me here in Niafounke, where I was singing when nobody knew me'. He won his second Grammy earlier this year, by which time he was already on his death bed battling cancer. Toure was also involved in farming, fishing and raising cattle in Niafounke. In fact he spent most of his life in this town. When he was appointed mayor of Niafounke in 2004, Toure used his wealth and international connections for the benefit of his people. He also used his wealth to promote Mali's next generation of artists. Music was for Toure much more than entertainment. In 1995 he said: 'Music is not just for amusement. It should be used for spiritual purposes and to educate. In this way, I have many responsibilities to my family, to my village and to society.' True to his words Toure used music as an instrument of development of his hometown Niafounke, and his country Mali. He was without doubt one of Mali's, nay Africa's great ambassadors. We join our Malian brothers to celebrate the life of this great African.