Ali and Toumani

Ali and Toumani is a 2010 record by Malian musicians Ali Farka Touré on the guitar and providing vocals and Toumani Diabaté on the kora. It is the second album featuring the two musicians; it is a follow-up to In the Heart of the Moon which was released in 2005. The album was recorded in 2005 in London prior to concert dates in Europe following the release of In the Heart of the Moon. The album was released after Touré's death in 2006.

Ali and Toumani features some older songs from Touré's repertoire: "Sabu Yerkoy", which celebrates Mali's independence, dates from the 1960's, and "Sina Mory" is the first song Touré ever heard on guitar in 1956. According to Diabaté, "[t]he album was going to be a summing up of all the albums that Ali had done in the past...It was the very last album he made."

Critical reception

In a 2010 review for Pitchfork, Joe Tangari said that the sessions for the album were recorded with "uncompomising intimacy" and that the album, along with In the Heart of the Moon, were "uncommonly beautiful". Tangari concludes, "It is not challenging music. Anyone can approach it easily, and it is the perfect initiation to Touré's talents for listeners who haven't yet heard him."

Track listing

Musicians

• Ali Farka Touré – guitar (tracks 1-11)
• Toumani Diabate – kora (tracks 1-11)
• Orlando "Cachaíto" López – bass (tracks 1,2,5,6,11)
• Vieux Farka Touré – congas (tracks 2,5,11) backing vocals (track 2)
• Souleye Kané – backing vocals (track 2)
• Ali Magassa – backing vocals (track 2)
• Tim Keiper – percussion (track 5,11)

Professional reviews

• Kitty Empire (February 14, 2010). "Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabaté: Ali and Toumani". Guardian Observer. Guardian News and Media.

References

• "Ali and Toumani" Makes Metacritic List of Best-Reviewed Albums of 2010, January 12, 2011

External links

• Ali and Toumani at Nonesuch Records
• Ali and Toumani at World Circuit Records
• David Hanks, Ali Farka Touré – A Thorough Discography

1. Toumani Diabaté
2. Ali Farka Touré
3. In the Heart of the Moon
4. List of music released posthumously
5. The Mandé Variations
6. Jerry Boys
7. 53rd Annual Grammy Awards
8. World Circuit (record label)
9. Vieux Farka Touré
10. Grammy Award for Best Traditional World Music Album
11. Nonesuch Records discography
12. Meline Toumani
13. Savane (album)
14. Ali Farka Touré (album)
15. AfroCubism
16. Issa Bagayogo
17. Union for the Republic and Democracy
18. List of UK Independent Album Breakers Chart number ones of the 2010s
19. List of African musicians
20. Kulanjan