Ali Farka Touré and Ry Cooder

Malian guitarist Ali Farka Touré and American guitarist/producer Ry Cooder in 1995 joined forces to record the Grammy award-winning album Talking Timbuktu. Talking Timbuktu is a groundbreaking record that vividly illustrates the Africa-Blues connection in real time. Ali Farka Toure, who was one of Mali's leading singer-guitarists, has a trance-like, bluesy style that, although deeply rooted in Malian tradition, bears astonishing similarity to that of John Lee Hooker or even Canned Heat.