Photo Courtesy of Amidou Toure.

Ali went against his own family?s societal role to become a musician and suffered as a result; first toiling to make a living at home in Mali, and then getting cheated by a French producer early in his career. The BBC reported that when he won his first Grammy award, Ali chose not to travel to the United States to collect his prize, saying: ?I don?t know what a Grammy means but if someone has something for me, they can come and give it to me here in Niafunk?, where I was singing when nobody knew me.?

Ali wanted his son to become a soldier. But Vieux secretly took up the guitar behind closed doors. He enrolled in the Arts Institute in Bamako, the same institution where Habib Koit? and many other Malian musicians of note studied. When Ali realized Vieux was not going to give up on playing guitar, he enlisted his good friend  Toumani Diabat? as Vieux?s advisor.

When young North American producer Eric Herman of Modiba Productions expressed interest in recording Vieux he had to seek permission from Diabat?, the senior Tour?, and other community elders. Once Diabat? and Tour? heard Vieux?s initial recordings, they realized they had underestimated the younger Tour??s virtuosity. ?Toumani looked shocked,? recalls Herman. ?Vieux turned to me and said ?See, nobody knows I can play music like this.? I knew? and it didn?t seem to be a secret that he is a really dynamic guitarist. But among the elders who he needed to be respectful of, he was humble and hiding it.?

?Though my father initially resisted my playing music,? explains Vieux, ?once he saw that it was truly my ambition and my calling, he was at my side?and he stayed there until the end.?

It?s not surprising that Vieux?s debut album is full of homages to his father, to other elders in his community, and to the people of Mali. That spirit is consistent with the musical tradition and the album strikes a gentle balance between tradition and innovation.

Vieux Farka Toure (World Village, 2007)