A pivotal figure in the history of Malian music, Sorry Bamba was a popular and influential musician whose work bridged the gap between Mali's cultural traditions and the new freedoms of the post-Colonial era. Bamba was born in 1938 in Mopti, a city crossed by the Niger and Bani rivers known for its cultural diversity. As Mali's national support of music fell to the wayside, Bamba relocated to Paris in the '90s, where he continued to write and record music, releasing Sigui in 1994. Dogon Blues was released in 2010, and in 2011, American independent label Thrill Jockey released 1970-1979: Vol. 1, a collection of classic recordings from Bamba's back catalog compiled with the participation of the artist himself. ~ Mark Deming