Ali Farka Touré
Ali Ibrahim “Ali Farka” Touré (31 October 1939 – 6 March 2006) was a Malian singer and multi-instrumentalist, and one of the African continent’s most internationally renowned musicians. His music blends traditional Malian music and its derivative, African American blues and is considered a pioneer of African desert blues. Touré was ranked number 76 on Rolling Stone‘s list of “The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” and number 37 on Spin magazine‘s “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”.
Some years after his death, a group of musicians playing in his style performed as the Ali Farka Touré Allstars (2012), and later the Ali Farka Touré Band (formed 2014).
On 6 March 2006, the Ministry of Culture of Mali announced Touré’s death at age 66 in Bamako from bone cancer, which he had been battling for some time. His record label, World Circuit, said that he had recorded several tracks with his son, Vieux Farka Touré, for Vieux’s debut album, released in late 2006.