Nicknamed the “North African Jimi Hendrix”, Vieux Farka Touré is the celebrated son of legendary Malian artist, Ali Farka Touré. In June 2010, Farka re-introduced himself as a maestro of “Desert Blues”, during the opening concert of the South African World Cup. That same month his live album, “Live”, was available to fans.

The guitarist is dubbed as a wonder whose speed and dexterity is admired across the globe. The 31-year-old was originally a drummer and calabash player, but started secretly playing the guitar in 2001. The Niafunké native’s first album in 2007, featured a song, “Courage”, that appears on the soundtrack of the film, “The First Grader” (2010). Farka paid tribute to his ailing father on the album and Ali Touré proudly played the tracks to those who would visit him towards the end of his battle with cancer in 2006.

He died a proud father with 10% of the CD sales donated to Modiba’s “Fight Malaria” campaign in Niafunké, Mali. Vieux has released a total of three studio albums, which were well received the world over. “The Secret” is Farka’s 2011 crossover album, which the Rolling Stones magazine lauded. The likes of Dave Mathews and Derek Trucks are feature in it. In April last year, Farka Touré released “The Tel Aviv Session” (Cumbancha), which is a collaborative project with the Israeli musician, Idan Raichel and one that has been labelled a masterpiece.

At 7:00 p.m. tonight, Vieux Farka Touré plays his blend of American and African blues at Nairobi’s Alliance Française. He is on an African tour of 17 countries, sponsored by Institut Français, which is the French international agency for cultural cooperation and Alliance Française. For more information, call +254 20 34 00 54/79, email Harsita, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Eugénie, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it