Ali Farka Touré: Savane (2LP anniversary)

Savane’ is the last solo album by the legendary Malian guitarist and desert blues pioneer Ali Farka Touré. 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. Recorded in Bamako and produced by Nick Gold, ‘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 in March 2006.