Choose a mood and the room itself answers — the light cools or warms, the air changes pace, and only the works that carry that feeling step forward from the dark. Everything else recedes into shadow.
**early life and musical influences** ali farka touré, a renowned malian singer, and multi-instrumentalist, was born in 1939 in the village of kanau, on the banks of the niger river. his family belonged to the songhai community, and his nickname "farka," meaning "donkey," symbolized tenacity and stubbornness. * **early musical influences:** + a performance by the national ballet of guinea in 1956 inspired touré to pursue a career in mus
ic. + he learned to play the guitar and sing in seven languages, including songhay, fulfulde, tamasheq, and bambara. + john lee hooker's music influenced him, but he insists his music is not blues. **musical career and style** * **the first african bluesman:** + touré was known as "the african john lee hooker" for his unique blend of traditional malian music and african american blues. + his breakthrough album, ali farka touré, establi…