The Paris Session (Cumbancha, 2014)
The Touré-Raichel Collective met in Paris for their new collaboration. The original plan was to record in Bamako (Mali) but the unstable situation in Mali led the duo to change plans and connect in France.
The Paris Session presents a collection of freeform pieces where Malian guitarist Vieux Farka Touré plays his distinctive style of Malian blues alongside the melodic piano of Israeli pop musician Idan Raichel. Several guests join the duo for this recording: Mauritanian bassist Daby Touré, Israeli trumpeter Niv Toar, Malian vocalist Seckouba Diabate, Malian ngoni player Dialimory Sissoko and Israeli flute player Eyal Sela.
Despite the initial improvisatory approach, all the pieces sound well-structured and are warmly melodic, with a mix of instrumentals and songs featuring Seckouba Diabate, Vieux Farka Touré and Idan Raichel.
“I’m a musician from Israel, and I will always make Israeli music. And Vieux Farka Touré for me represents the spirit of Mali,” reveals Raichel. “I think world music artists by definition are people who reflect the soundtrack of the place they come from. I think that this collaboration between Mali and Israel—and remember we don’t even have diplomatic relations between the two countries—creates a new imaginary island located somewhere between Bamako and Tel Aviv.”
Touré adds, “Idan comes from Israel, he’s Jewish. I come from Mali, I’m a Muslim. This project shows the point where there are no real differences between us. Working on these recordings we learn a lot about each other.”
The Paris Session is an elegant cross-cultural mix of Malian, classical and jazz.
The Touré-Raichel Collective North American Tour Dates
November 07 – Northridge, CA at Valley Performing Arts Center
November 08 – San Francisco, CA at Nourse Theater
November 09 – Grass Valley, CA at The Center for the Arts
November 11 – Phoenix, AZ at Musical Instrument Museum
November 12 – Boulder, CO at Boulder Theater
November 14 – Ogden, UT at Peery’s Egyptian Theater
November 15 – Seattle, WA at Meany Hall
November 18 – New York, NY at Symphony Space
November 19 – Frederick, MD at Weinberg Center for the Arts
November 20 – Fairfield, CT at Quick Center for the Arts
November 21 – Toronto, ONT at Koerner Hall
November 22 – Albany, NY at Swyer Theatre at The Egg
November 23 – Bethlehem, PA at Zoellner Arts Center
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
