Vieux Farka Performs on Saturday

When Malian legend Vieux Farka Toure performs at the Alliance Francaise in Nairobi this Saturday night, he will be returning to a stage where he last performed to a sold-out crowd in 2013.

The performance by the artist whose unique guitar playing has earned him the name the ‘Hendrix of the Sahara’ (drawing comparisons with the iconic American Jimi Hendrix) will be the highlight of the ongoing 70th anniversary celebrations of the Alliance Francaise in Kenya.

Boureima “Vieux” Farka Toure is one among several top African international acts, including Youssou N’Dour, Salif Keita, Angelique Kidjo and Manu Dibango that have performed in Kenya over the years, with the support of the Alliance Francaise.

The Malian singer, songwriter and guitarist, is the son of the late guitar virtuoso, Ali Farka Toure. The older Farka Toure released almost 20 albums over three and a half decades and the rhythmic interpretation of the traditional music of his homeland earned him the moniker “the African John Lee Hooker.’

He shrugged off these comparisons to the American blues guitarist, insisting that his music was only derived from the sounds of his native Mali. Ali Farka Toure wanted his son to follow an old family tradition and become a soldier but Vieux defied those wishes and instead enrolled at Mali’s National Institute of Arts. He secretly began playing the guitar in 2001 and won the admiration of his father whose intention had been to shield him from ruthless concert promoters and record label owners. Before his death in 2006, the older Farka Toure gave his support to his son’s fledgling career by offering his own experiences as a recording and touring artiste in Europe as a lesson in the exploitative nature of the business.

The great Malian kora player, Toumani Diabate, a family friend to the Toures, mentored the budding star by introducing him to the music styles from Southern Mali and helping him develop an ear for other genres like jazz. Much like the players of the n’goni, a string instrument popular in Mali, Vieux uses his thumb for the bass note while everything else is played with the index finger. His early experience as a percussionist and a drummer has had a profound effect on the unique sound from his guitar. Vieux’s charisma and presence on stage has earned him plaudits around the world, and his speed and dexterity with the guitar is an absolute marvel.

There are influences from his legendary father with sharp guitar licks and phrasing but the style is all his flavoured with flourishes of rock, reggae and jazz. Like his father, he rejects labels that are attached to his music, only saying that it is based on the traditional guitar style of Mali

His self-titled debut album, released in 2007 was warmly received around the world by the many fans who saw in him the heir to his father’s musical mantle. One of the songs on the album “Courage was featured on the soundtrack to the film “The First Grader” starring Kenyan actor Oliver Litondo in the role of Kimani Maruge, the world’s oldest pupil.

By the release of the second album “Six Degrees” in 2009, Vieux had developed his own distinct sound with the addition of rock, Latin music and other African influences, a new direction that was widely hailed by music critics.

In 2010, Vieux was among the performers at the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup and later released an entire live set consisting of recordings from his concerts. His 2011 album “The Secret” featured the last song he recorded with his father, before the old man’s succumbed to bone cancer in a French hospital in 2006.

Fans in Nairobi will be eager to see him perform his older material along with songs from his latest album “Samba” (Songhai word meaning “second born” his place in his family) which features a set of ten new songs recorded before a live studio audience in Woodstock, New York. The music is a diverse range of sounds from the Malian Blues, reggae, funk, gospel and rock. The outstanding pieces on the album include the opening piece “Bonheur” an instrumental groove that fuses the sounds of the guitar, n’goni, and calabash. Other highlights are the upbeat “Ba Kaitere” and “Homafau Wawa” that honours the people of Mali who fought off the occupation of jihadists who had imposed a ban on music and other forms of expression.

Vieux Farka Toure performs as part of a five-piece band at the Alliance Francaise in Nairobi on Saturday.