The formation and success of The Touré-Raichel Collective, the band led by Israeli keyboardist and songwriter Idan Raichel and Malian guitarist and songwriter Vieux Farka Touré—icons in their own countries and abroad—is a reminder of the unique power of music to bridge geographic, ethnic, political and religious differences.
Vieux Farka Touré, often called “The Hendrix of the Sahara,” furthers the legacy of his father, the great Ali Farka Touré, while creating music that is innovative and world-class in its own right. In his young career he has released seven critically acclaimed albums, toured the world many times over and collaborated with some of the world’s biggest musical stars, including Dave Matthews, Lauryn Hill, Derek Trucks and Ry Cooder.
Since 2003, when his song “Bo’ee” became an instant crossover hit that catapulted Idan Raichel and his group The Idan Raichel Project to the top of Israel’s pop charts, the keyboardist, songwriter and producer has been a household name in his native land.
Raichel and Touré first met by chance, in 2008 at the Berlin airport, where they expressed mutual admiration and a desire to get together and play. Raichel invited Touré to Israel, where they assembled a few musicians and convened an unscripted, improvised jam session. The chemistry between Touré and Raichel was instant and profound. They assumed the name The Touré-Raichel Collective and used the material from that first gathering as the basis for an album, The Tel Aviv Session (2012), which found poignant, musically beautiful common ground between the artists’ cultures. The band’s recently released second album, The Paris Session (2014), possesses the same spontaneous, heartfelt magic.
Due to popular demand, The Touré-Raichel Collective has undertaken multiple international tours and performed on some of the world’s most prestigious stages. The albums and concerts have garnered immense critical acclaim. Reviewing The Tel Aviv Session for NPR’s “All Things Considered,” Banning Eyre wrote, “If Raichel and Touré had planned a collaboration, it’s hard to imagine that they could have topped the casual charm of this impromptu encounter.” Hosting the Collective on WNYC’s “Soundcheck,” John Schaefer called the debut recording “one of the year’s most surprising and infectious world music releases.”