Vieux Farka Toure shares 'The Secret'

If you’re looking to shake yourself out of a musical malaise, the cure is at hand.

On Wednesday evening at the Jefferson Theater in Charlottesville, Vieux Farka Toure will be performing with his “power trio.” Toure will be producing the vocals and searing guitar licks, while Mamadou Sidibe takes care of the bass and Tim Keiper handles the percussion work.

Toure is currently on a national tour in support of his third studio album, “The Secret.” It features Dave Matthews, Derek Trucks, John Scofield, Ivan Neville — and Toure’s late father, guitar great Ali Farka Toure.

In recent years Toure has ventured out from his home in Mali to share his unique sound with the world. As the son of a Grammy-winning musician, Toure sensed his musical destiny early on.

“I grew up around a lot of music, of course,” Toure said via e-mail. “It is everywhere in Mali, and of course in my family with my father and my cousin Afel Bocoum.

“I started to play music from a young age, but I was playing percussion. I did not start playing guitar until much later, when I was 20 years old. But I felt in my soul this was always my destiny to play music.

“My music is a mix of traditional music from the north of Mali and modern rock, blues, soul and reggae. Of course I have my own style of mixing these, and playing the guitar.”

Toure was born in Niafunke, Mali, in 1981. His sound was introduced to the world in 2007 with his first album, “Vieux Farka Toure.” His second studio album, “Fondo,” was released in the spring of 2009.

The lineup of big-name musicians on his new album suggests the powerful impact Toure has had in a relatively short span of time. Within a few weeks, the album earned the No. 1 slot on CMJ’s New World music chart.

“ ‘The Secret’ is a project I have been building for years,” Toure said. “Since I recorded my first album, I have been collecting songs and ideas for it.

“It is my attempt to directly connect the deep cultural music of Mali with American blues, rock, funk and jazz; to dig deep into the earth of my culture to reveal that it is the basis for these musical styles, and in that process push Malian music forward in the future.

“I was fortunate to get the wonderful guests that I did on the album thanks mostly to the album producer, Eric Krasno from Soullife, who is friends with those guys. I told him that I wanted guest guitarists and he and my manager gave me a list of guitarists that we could invite.

“From that list we got the guests that we wanted, and we made some beautiful music together.”

Krasno is an accomplished guitarist and founder of Soullife, which is a funk/jazz trio. In a press release he said, “Initially we wanted to have a lot of guests, but in the end we narrowed it down to just a few, and that lent itself to the strength of the album.”

Matthews’ musical input is heard on the CD’s third track, “All the Same.” As would be expected, the local musician did a masterful job.

“I feel so grateful to have Dave Matthews on this album,” Toure said. “His voice is diabolical.

“After my first listen to his part, I knew that this guy was African. He understands the music so well, and he knew exactly what to do. Dave Matthews knows the secret.”

Vieux Farka Toure will be performing Wednesday evening at the Jefferson Theater. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance and $17 at the door.