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VIEUX FARKA TOURÉ: Today,
tomorrow (and last week):
His sold-out show at
Harbourfront last Saturday was stunning. From the first guitar
notes, the spirit of Ali Farka Touré returned. And while the
son's music was solidly rooted in that sound, and he played some
of his father's songs, his music was his own. His guitar work
was impressive, occasionally flashy (doing some runs with just
his left hand on the frets), his stage presence and personality
were even more impressive... especially for someone young and
new to the world stage.
My photos from the show are
posted here
http://to-music.ca/gallery/070210_vft. See also
http://www.to-music.ca/photos.htm for some notes and links
about VFT.
Opiyo Oloya, the original host
of CIUT's Karibuni African music radio show wrote an article
about the concert -- and the local African music scene -- for a
Ugandan print and online journal. See
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/20/548854
Touré's current tour is short,
and while he will no doubt return, you have one more chance to
see him in the area: Friday, Feb. 16 he will be playing in
London Ont. in a show sponsored by the SunFest folks. Check
http://www.aeolianhall.ca/. I may see you there!
You can also catch him on
radio, performing live today (Thursday) on Here & Now,
between 3-6pm in Toronto (4-6pm S. Ontario). Radio One 99.1
Toronto or listen
online. He
will be joined by Torontonian Eric
Herman who co-produced his CD (and plays bass on this tour)
OTHER EVENTS TO WATCH FOR
See
http://www.to-music.ca/events.htm for details of these and many
other shows.
Thu. Feb. 15: African Dance
Ensemble presents "Joy of Mama Africa". A night of dance,
music and song at the Lula Lounge. 8pm. $10.
Fri. Feb. 16: Tamsir Seck,
Kassoum Diamoutene & Katenen Diobaté at the Gladstone Hotel
(Melody Bar), 7-10 pm. Free. Sponsored by Music Africa. These
three were among the performers at the wonderful
Jan. 26
tribute to Boubacar Diabaté held at the NOW Lounge
Feb. 16: Samba Squad at
the Mod Club
Feb. 16, 17 & 18: Silk Road:
Celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year with this eclectic duo from
Vancouver who blend a variety of musics with Chinese instruments
and techniques.
http://www.silkroadmusic.ca/ You have 4 chances to catch
them this weekend!
- Friday: CBC's The World in
Performance 8-10p on Radio Two, 94.1 or listen
online
re-broadcasts a concert of theirs (plus a performance by
Tuvan throat singers Chirgilchin).
- Saturday: Silk Road
performs live at St. Nicholas Anglican Church, 1512 Kingston
Rd. Sponsored by Acoustic Harvest
http://www.acousticharvest.cjb.net/ $12/$15 8pm. Special
guest Debashis Sinha.
- Sunday: they will be
guests and perform on Ken Stowar's Global Rhythms
show Sunday around 3:30pm. 89.5,
www.ciut.fm.
And that evening, Small World
Music presents them at the NOW Lounge Sun. Feb. 18, 8pm. $15
at the door.
Reminders:
- Odetta's Hugh's Room shows
this weekend have been cancelled because of illness.
- Johnny Clegg at the Music
Hall Feb. 20. A rare chance to catch the legendary South
African performer. I believe tickets are going quickly.
- Winter Bana Y'AFrica, Feb.
24.
- Soweto Gospel Choir, Feb.
27-28: The group has just won the 2007 Traditional World
Music Grammy.
John Leeson
www.to-music.ca
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