Ali Farka Toure – Savane (World Circuit/MRA)

The master of the Desert Blues Mali musician Ali Farka Toure died earlier this year and Savane is his final album. It is the crowing achievement of a remarkable career, from a man who with a single strum of his guitar could provide some of the most lyrical emotive and joyous music around. His links to the likes of John Lee Hooker and some of the American delta bluesmen are closer than ever with Savane, featuring several very stripped back almost acoustic tracks. Yet Savane is not an exercise in nostalgia, rather it is an incredibly powerful work with rich evocative instrumentation and back up singing beneath Toure’ own vocal growls. If you’ve never listened to African music, the remarkable Savane will open the door.