Amadou Toure

With the fatal heart attack of Amadou Toure, in 1983, Senegal lost one of its most influential musicians. As the leader of Toure Kunde, a ten-piece band that included his brothers Ismael and Sixu, Toure had helped to bring the traditional music of Senegal up to contemporary standards. Although they initially played traditional African instruments, including the kora, balafon, and sabar, Toure Kunde increasingly modernized their sound with guitars and synthesizers. Following his brothers Ismael and Sixu to Paris in 1979, Toure directed the group as they developed an exciting mbalax and reggae-influenced style of Afro-rock that they called "djambaadong." Following Tunde's death, Toure Kunde performed a memorial concert and tribute album, Amadou Tito. Agreeing to continue performing together, the group reorganized with the addition of younger brother, Ousmane.