Ali Farka Toure Dies

The BBC reports that Ali Farka Toure, the Malian bluesman whose work won two Grammys, has died. Farka Toure’s death causes me great sadness; I’ve loved his music for more than a decade — ever since I first heard his remarkable collaboration with Ry Cooder, “Talking Timbuktu,” for which he won his first Grammy. For any fan of the blues, the CD is a must-listen; you can purchase a copy here.

Farka Toure, it’s worth noting, was not just a musician; he was also a man of peace. During the rebellion by the Tuareg of northern Mali in the 1990s, he helped quell the conflict by singing in all of the region’s languages: Songhai, Fulami, and the Tuareg’s own Tamashek.