Dear all,
Just to let you know, if you didn't already, that the mesmerising Toumani Diabate, the world's greatest exponent of the kora, is in the UK to play a few dates, and the concerts will also feature his son, who follows in his father's footsteps.
The Theatre Royal, Norwich, this Thursday, 22nd May at 8pm.
In the event you wanted to make use of this opportunity, there was still a selection of tickets available when I booked yesterday.
Best wishes,
James
Posted on: 01 June 2014 by Shropshire Hills
We saw Toumani & Sidiki Diabate at Warwick Arts Centre last night and the concert was well worth the 120 mile round venue. Lovely intimate smallish theatre with good sound and lighting and the tiered seating meant good views.
I thought the music was superb - the chora has a wide range of notes and their playing covered a range of traditional music plus some composed by Toumani including the rather sad encore Lampedusa, dedicated to the 300 boat people who died trying to reach there.
Sidiki is only 22 and is a big pop star in West Africa but here he showed his traditional skills as the 71st generation of chora players in his family.
I have several CDs featuring Toumani but the sound and the music was even better live.
Posted on: 02 June 2014 by Pev
Agree - they were excellent in Bristol last week. The live sound of the kora is very special and hard to capture on record but having Toumani and Sidiki separated on opposite speakers on the cd makes it easier to appreciate their interplay than if you are listening live where the mix seemed close to mono.
Now looking forward to seeing them on the Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival later this month