In the Heart of the Moon (CD - 2005)

Personnel: Ali Farka Touré (vocals, guitar); Ali Farka Touré; Sekou Kanté (bass guitar); Lekan Babalola (percussion); Ry Cooder (guitar, piano); Toumani Diabaté (kora); James Thompson (shaker); Joachim Cooder (percussion).

Audio Mixer: Jerry Boys.

Liner Note Authors: Ali Farka Touré; Nick Gold ; Toumani Diabaté; Lucy Duran.

Recording information: EGREM Studios, Havana, Cuba (07/2004); Hotel Mande, Bamako, Mali (07/2004); Livingston Studios, London, England (07/2004); Sound Sity Studios, Los Angeles, CA (07/2004); Studio Bogolan, Bamako, Mali (07/2004).

Photographer: Youri Lenquette.

Arrangers: Ali Farka Touré; Toumani Diabaté.

In the Heart of the Moon is a duet recording by Malian guitar slinger Ali Farka Toure and Mandé lineage griot Toumani Diabate on kora. There are a few other players who contribute percussion here and there, and Ry Cooder plays a Kawai piano on a couple of tracks and a Ripley guitar on one, but other than these cats, this is a live duo set without edits or enhancements of any kind. There were three sessions in the conference room of the Mande Hotel in Mali, the first of which was on the eve of Farka Toure being elected mayor of his town, Niafunké. Most of the music here dates back to the Jurana Kura (translated as new era) cultural movement, which was part of the independence struggle in the 1950s and early '60s. The music created by the Jurana Kura for the guitar created a entirely new style of rhythmic fingerpicking. For those familiar with Farka Toure's blazing lead style, this disc may come as a shock. While he does solo many times here, he is also playing in balance with Diabate, whose kora has the larger lyric and harmonic palette, so he is in a supporting role. It doesn't matter. Whether the song is "Kaira" (written and performed by Diabate's father in the '50s and the earliest recorded track on the album, from before the Mande sessions), "Ai Ga Bani (I Love You)" and "Soumbou Ya Ya" (both written for young people during the Jurana Kura), or one of Farka Toure's originals near the end of the set, such as "Gomni," the style is the same. Everything echoes this earlier era because it has informed all Malian and Guinean music since. The purpose was to make people aware not only of its existence but to inspire and exhort. The music is insistent but not strident. It contains a gentleness and tenderness that seem to drip from the region, one of the poorest in the world. The players' focus and intensity are captured, but they make it all come off so easily that the listener gets lost in the pleasure of these gorgeous melodies and the call-and-response style of interaction between the players. Simply put, In the Heart of the Moon is nothing short of remarkable, and one of the best offerings World Circuit/Nonesuch have ever released. ~ Thom Jurek

With albums like 1991's THE SOURCE, Malian guitarist, singer, and songwriter Ali Farka Toure proved he could come close to artistic perfection, a feat he accomplishes again with 2005's IN THE HEART OF THE MOON. A duet with kora player Toumani Diabate, IN THE HEART focuses on Malian and Guinean music from the 1950s and '60s with a few originals by Farka Toure. The subtle and complexly lyrical dialogues between the guitar and the kora (which has a resonant, plunking sound that is surprisingly versatile and expressive) are highly melodic, gently rhythmic, and quite haunting.

A few session musicians make low-key appearances here (including the ubiquitous Ry Cooder), but this is primarily a duo date, and the clean, straightforward production lets the immediate beauty of the music shine through. For its grace, balance, and loveliness, IN THE HEART OF THE MOON is one of the finest releases in Farka Toure's already outstanding catalogue. minimize