I've heard some amazing musicians lately

When I told people I was going to Mali, if anyone knew anything about it, it was that the music here is supposed to be great.  But my early musical adventures were a bit of a bust, so I was beginning to think that Mali's music scene was more myth than reality.  But things recently took a turn for the better!

Last Friday night Rebecca's school hosted Bassekou Kouyate & N'Goni Ba for a fundraiser. As you can see from my (low-res cell phone) picture, it was outdoors.  It was a perfect venue and a beautiful night.  Bassekou Kouyate plays only traditional instruments, and they really jammed.

Then Saturday, after the football match.  Rebecca and I jumped in a cab and raced to the French Cultural Center to see Vieux Farka Touré performed in front of a capacity crowd of about 300.  Vieux is a great guitar player and his jams reminded me of classic American guitarists.  Here's a short video of one of their closing songs.



The venue was amazing too -- the photo below was taken from what might be considered the "worst" seat in the house.

Then Monday night we went to a small cocktail party at Rebecca's school and saw some former bandmates of Ali Farka Touré play.  I really enjoyed this intimate show as well.

Malian music is as good as people say and 'm looking forward to hearing more.

...also I'm learning to play drums ("tom tom").  I take a class once a week.  At this rate I should be able to keep a beat within a year or so.