Amadou Bagayoko, RIP

[ejp626]

The guitarist and singer Amadou Bagayoko of the Malian music duo Amadou & Mariam has died aged 70 after an illness, his family said, paying tribute to the Grammy-nominated blind musician.

More from the Guardian here: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/apr/05/amadou-bagayoko-of-music-duo-amadou-and-mariam-dies-aged-70

Just by coincidence, I have been listening to a fair bit of Amadou & Mariam lately, as Apple Music/iTunes has 5 volumes of their recordings on the Maikano label.  I also have been planning on picking this up from Bandcamp but was waiting for the next Bandcamp Friday (which is apparently in May): https://afrosunnyrecords.bandcamp.com/album/le-couple-aveugle-du-mali-amadou-bagayoko-et-mariam-doumbia-le-couple-aveugle-du-mali-amadou-bagayoko-et-mariam-doumbia-vol-5

(I am not sure how much is not covered in the 5 volumes on iTunes, but I will likely buy the digital version anyway, as it is easier for me to listen to Bandcamp rather than iTunes at work.)

Sadly, I never was able to see them live.  I am not sure how often they toured North America.

[mjazzg]

Great shame