Saturday, August 4, Joe’s Pub, 425 Lafayette St., $18, 9:30
Monday, August 6, SummerStage, Marcus Garvey Park, free, 7:00
www.myspace.com/siditoure
Amadou & Mariam might be the most well known Malian musicians around the world, but there’s another guitarist from that country who is also making a much-deserved name for himself, and both will be playing in New York City on August 4. The Blind Couple from Mali, who hail from Bamako, are headlining a free SummerStage show in the afternoon in Central Park, while Sidi Touré, an extraordinary guitarist from Gao, will be at Joe’s Pub at 9:30, followed by a free show Monday night in Marcus Garvey Park with Afro-Cuban specialists the Pedrito Martinez Group and South Africa’s Wouter Kellerman. On his full-length debut, 2011’s Sahel Folk, Touré recorded duets in his sister’s Gao home, but on his follow-up, Koïma (Thrill Jockey, April 2012), which means “Go hear,” Touré has opted for a fuller sound, heading into a Bamako studio with a quintet and coming out with ten pristine tunes built around traditional Songhaï music blended with Western folk and blues, featuring Touré and Oumar Konaté on guitar, Alex Baba on calabash, Charles-Eric Charrier on bass, and Zumana Téreta on sokou. Touré, who was born into a noble Malian lineage, is joined by female vocalist Leïla Gobi for sweet harmonies and beautiful conversational back-and-forths on such standout tracks as “Maïmouna,” “Woy tiladio (Beautiful Woman, Goddess of Water),” and “Ishi tanmaha (They No Longer Hope).” Although not related to his late fellow countryman Ali Farka Touré, Sidi Touré is well on his way to establishing himself as another Malian musician making his mark on the world music scene.