Released in March 2006, shortly before his death, Savane, the last solo album by the legendary Malian guitarist and desert blues pioneer Ali Farka Touré is to be remastered and made available on double vinyl for the first time via World Circuit (on Friday, September 6th 2019).
The album was the third and final part of the Hôtel Mandé Sessions, alongside ‘In the Heart of the Moon’ and Toumani Diabaté’s widely acclaimed ‘Boulevard de l’Indépendance’. Featuring Touré and Toumani Diabaté, Savane was recorded by World Circuit head Nick Gold using a mobile studio that was set up in the “Toit de Bamako” conference room on the top floor of the Hotel Mandé overlooking the Niger River in Bamako, Mali. It was Nick Gold who had previously introduced Touré to Ry Cooder leading to the Grammy award-winning Talking Timbuktu, released in ’94 which sold 238,000 copies in the US and at least 100,000 copies throughout Europe.
For this particular album, the accompanying press release reveals how upon returning to his village in the desert north, Touré began writing for the record and assembled a traditional ngoni group featuring the virtuoso Bassekou Kouyaté. …‘Savane’ is Ali’s testament, a powerful reaffirmation of his umbilical link to Malian music and a potent reminder that the blues came from this part of Africa. The record occupied Ali right into his last weeks and he finally declared himself satisfied with it shortly before his death.
Acclaimed as his finest album, ‘Savane’ was nominated for a Grammy in the ‘Best Contemporary World Music Album’ category and remained at No. 1 on the World Music Chart for three months.
Watch Touré performing ‘Savane’ live at Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels in January 2005. The show, which at the time was his first European show for more than five years, was among the very last performances of Ali’s touring career. Ali is accompanied by ngoni masters Bassekou Kouyate and Mama Sissoko, both of whom feature on the studio album ‘Savane’.
Savane is released on Friday, September 6th 2019