by David JeffriesLike his friend and sometimes-associate Ali Farka Toure, Lobi Traoré is an excellent guitarist, a warm singer, and a revered player of Mali-flavored blues. Born in 1961 in Bakaridianna, in western Niger, Traoré is the son of two singers. At 16 he crossed the river, over to the city of Ségou in neighboring Mali. It was there at the age of 19 that he discovered Zani Diabate & the Super Djata Band playing Bambara repertoire. It influenced Traoré to start playing his own music in the Bambara language. He started at weddings and then bars, most notably the Bozo. By the time Traoré was regularly playing the Bozo, his music had evolved into a mature blues sound. The local audience grew into a regional one and finally an international one with the 1995 release of Bamako, an album named after the Bozo's home city and released by the Buda Musique label with Toure as producer. Segou followed in 1996 with Duga arriving in 1998, both being supported by worldwide touring. The World Village label collected tracks from each album on the 2005 release Mali Blue. That same year, Lobi Traoré Group appeared on Honest Jons, the label owned in part by Blur's Damon Albarn.