''Savane'' is the penultimate album by guitarist Ali Farka Touré. It is the third and final part of the Hotel Mandé Sessions, featuring Touré and Toumani Diabaté, recorded by Nick Gold. Mr Touré, who was suffering from cancer and anticipating the inevitable end to his life, wanted to remain in Mali. So a temporary studio was set up on the top floor of the thatched roof Hotel Mandé in Bamako, where the wide windows offered panoramas of life along the Niger River. The unusual studio setup has produced a resonating spaciness and intimacy in the sound quality of Mr. Toure's final album.

"All you can see is river and grasslands and villages and people in pirogues and canoes and boats," Nick Gold said in a recent interview. "It's just beautiful."

It was released posthumously on July 25, 2006, more than four months after Touré's death. It features a number of non-African blues musicians, such as Little George Sueref, Pee Wee Ellis, and also Ali Farka's protégé since the age of 13, Afel Bocoum.

It was released to high critical acclaim, earning a 94 on Metacritic. It is currently ranked as the 5th best reviewed album in their database. - Wikipedia