Vieux Farka Toure Is His Own Man On Fondo

On his aptly-titled sophomore release, Vieux Farka Touré, son of the late Malian guitar legend Ali Farka Touré, has emerged from his father's shadow to become a worthy successor and forward-looking artist in his own right. Fondo, which means ''the road'' in Sonhrai, Touré's native language, is indeed a reflection of the young guitarist's notable evolution. He's come a long way since 2006's self-titled debut, a noteworthy, if somewhat tenuous first step that leaned heavily on his father as well as master kora player Toumani Diabate. The senior Touré, who died during the making of the album, contributed some profound playing to a few tracks. Three years later Touré has come into his own as a globally renowned artist. More than reflecting Ali's work, which predated the blues of the Mississippi Delta to West Africa, Fondo establishes other connections between those western Saharan roots and everything from jam band music to Jamaican dub. The opener "Fafa" is a slow, melancholic groove that carries itself with a hypnotic sort of enigma over a circular chord progression and Touré's double-tracked vocals. The syncopated "Ai Haira" boasts galloping percussion, including a talking drum solo and jam band guitar noodling. "Souba Souba" acts as a sedative before the five-minute long "Sarama" soars with a funky bass-driven rhythm section, in-your-face rock guitar riffs, and eruptive, hyperkinetic drumming. There's an easy glow in the sureness of Touré's execution in the instrumental "Slow Jam" and "Paradise," where the marriage between the western guitar and Diabate's ancient kora is again consummated. It's a vision that recalls Ali Farka Touré's own -bridging the African diaspora from both sides of the Atlantic - and one Vieux continues to expanded on.