Look up ai in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

AI, A.I., Ai, or ai may refer to:

Computers[link]

• Artificial intelligence, a branch of computer science
• Ad impression, in online advertising
• .ai, the ISO Internet 2-letter country code (ccTLD) for Anguilla
• Adobe Illustrator, a vector-based drawing program by Adobe Systems
  • Adobe Illustrator Artwork .ai file format, the native file format used by Adobe Illustrator

Science and technology[link]

• Analog Input, a hardware input device that accepts an analog signal
• Ai(x), the Airy function, a special function in mathematics
• Air interdiction, a military capability
• Airborne interception, aircraft-carried interception radar

Organizations[link]

• AI, IATA airline designator for Air India
• Amnesty International, an international non-governmental human rights organization
• The Art Institutes, a system of educational institutions
• Alexis I. duPont High School, referred to as AI
• Accuracy International, a sniper rifle manufacturer
• Appraisal Institute, a real estate appraisal professional organization
• Airship Industries, a now-defunct British airship manufacturer
• A&I (abstracting and indexing) services, also known as subject indexing
• Adriatic Institute for Public Policy, a free-market think tank in Croatia
• Atheist Ireland, an association of Irish atheists

Publications[link]

• The American Interest, a quarterly publication on international affairs
• Azerbaijan International, a quarterly magazine that features articles about Azerbaijan
• Artificial Intelligence (journal), a scientific journal of the field

Television, film, and music[link]

• A.i. (band), a Los Angeles-based rock band
• American Idiot, a 2004 album by rock band Green Day
• American Idol, a reality competition to find new solo musical talent
• A.I. Artificial Intelligence, a science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg

♦Artificial Intelligence, a 2007 London group Drum & Bass / Electronica / Jungle

Medicine and biology[link]

• Accommodative insufficiency, an inability to focus on an object
• Active ingredient, the substance in a drug that is pharmaceutically active
• Amelogenesis imperfecta, a genetic disorder affecting tooth development
• Aortic insufficiency, a symptom of a heart disorder
• Aromatase inhibitor, one of a class of drugs used to treat cancer, in particular breast cancer
• Articulation index, a method of measuring hearing loss
• Artificial insemination, the insertion of sperm into the female reproductive tract using artificial means
• Avian influenza, a class of bird viruses
• Anti-Inflammatory

Business[link]

• Action item, an item discussed in a meeting that requires further action or work
• Appreciative Inquiry, an organizational development process developed by David Cooperrider
• Appreciation Index, a measurement of approval for television programmes or services in the United Kingdom
• Architect's Instruction, equivalent to a Clarification or a Variation Order, an official document that seeks to clarify or amend a set of Construction Documents
• All inclusive or all-inclusive, a resort that includes all meals, soft drinks, and most alcoholic drinks in the price

Places[link]

• Ai (Bible), a place mentioned in the Bible
• AI, the abbreviation for Appenzell Innerrhoden, a Swiss canton
• Ai, Ohio, a town in the U.S. state of Ohio
• Ai River, a river in Taiwan

Animals[link]

• Ai (animal), a species of three-toed sloth
• Ai (chimpanzee), a female chimp famous for showing surprising numerical capability

People, non-fictional[link]

• Ai (poet) (1947–2010), American poet
• Ai Otsuka (born 1982), Japanese pop singer
• Ai (singer) (born 1981), Japanese urban/R&B singer
• Ay (reigned c. 1323–1319 or 1327–1323 BCE), a pharaoh of ancient Egypt
• As a nickname
  • Allen Iverson (born 1975), NBA basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers
  • Andre Iguodala (born 1984), NBA basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers
  • Andrés Iniesta (born 1984), football player for FC Barcelona
  • Andy Irons (1978–2010), Hawaiian Surfer
  • Allison Iraheta (born 1992), American Idol Season 8 contestant
• Chinese
  • Ai Weiwei (born 1957), Chinese artist, curator, architectural designer, cultural and social commentator, dissident, disappeared April 2011
  • Ai Siqi (1910–1966), philosopher and author
  • Ai Qing (1910–1996), poet and political prisoner
  • Emperor Ai of Jin, a Jin Dynasty (265-420) emperor
  • Emperor Ai of Han (27 BC–1 BC)
  • Emperor Ai of Tang (892–908)
  • King Ai of Zhou (reigned 441 BC)
  • Sima Ai, Jin Dynasty (265-420) imperial prince
  • Xie Ai (died 354), general
• See also list of names in Ai (Japanese name)

People, mythical and fictional[link]

• Ai Amano, protagonist of Video Girl Ai
• Ai Enma, protagonist of "Hell Girl"
• Shiho Miyano (Ai Haibara), a character in the anime Detective Conan
• Ai Mori, a character in The Law of Ueki
• Ai Toyon, the Yakut god of light, usually depicted as an eagle perched atop the "world tree"
• Aoi Mac Ollamain, the Celtic god of poetry as an alternative first name and name abbreviation
• Aikanaka (Hawaiian mythology) or Ai Kanaka, a character in Hawaiian mythology
• Ái or Ríg, the husband of Edda and putative ancestor of the thralls or serfs in the Norse eddic poem Rígthula
• See also list of names in Ai (Japanese name)

Other uses[link]

• Ai, a Beanie Baby bear made by Ty, Inc., representing Japan
• American Iron Racing, automotive road racing class of the National Auto Sport Association (NASA)
• Associate Instructor, used by some universities instead of teaching assistant
• Love (aì, 愛 (Chinese)) or "universal love" (jiān ài) in the philosophy of Chinese teacher Mozi
• Accessinterviews.com, a website with an index of journalistic interviews

See also[link]

• Artificial intelligence (disambiguation)
• All pages beginning with "Ai"
• All pages with titles containing "Ai"
• A (disambiguation)
• I (disambiguation)
• Prefix disambiguation: AIA, AIB, AIC, AID, AIE, AIF, AIG, AIH, AII, AIJ, AIK, AIL, AIM, AIN, AIO, AIP, AIQ, AIR, AIS, AIT, AIU, AIV, AIW, AIX, AIY, AIZ

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Andrew Ng
Residence	United States
Fields	Artificial intelligence
Institutions	Stanford University

Andrew Ng is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Stanford University. He's also one of the founders of Coursera, an online education platform.

His work is primarily in machine learning and robotics. He received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, where he worked under the supervision of Michael I. Jordan. His research projects include the Stanford AI Robot (STAIR).

Ng is the author or co-author of over 100 published papers in machine learning, robotics and related fields, and some of his work in computer vision has been featured in a series of press releases and reviews.^[1] In 2008, he was named to the MIT Technology Review TR35 as one of the top 35 innovators in the world under the age of 35.^[2][3] In 2007, Ng was awarded a Sloan Fellowship.

Stanford Engineering Everywhere class[link]

Ng is the instructor of the free online Stanford Engineering Everywhere Machine Learning class that is hosted on ml-class.org. This course consists of video lectures by Ng and a series of review questions and programming assignments. The course was started in October 2011, and over 100,000 students registered for the first iteration.^{[citation needed]}

Personal Life[link]

Ng was born in the United Kingdom and spent time in Hong Kong and Singapore^[4]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Homepage
• STAIR Homepage
• Publications
• Machine Learning (CS 229) Video Lecture

Daniel Dwayne Simmons III (born March 21, 1995), better known by his stage name Diggy Simmons or simply as Diggy, is an American rapper and the fourth child of Joseph "Rev. Run" Simmons. He, along with his parents and five siblings, were the primary subjects of the MTV reality television show Run's House. Diggy is also the youngest member of the hip-hop collective All City Chess Club.

Music career[link]

Diggy Simmons released his debut mixtape, The First Flight, in 2009.^[1][2] More than 100,000 people downloaded the album from Simmons' blog.^[3] Following the album's release, according to Simmons, five record labels showed interest in signing him; he chose Atlantic Records.^[4] Early in 2010, Simmons uploaded a video of himself freestyling over the Nas song, "Made You Look". The video became a viral hit^[1] and garnered praise from Kanye West, who responded on Twitter: "I knew this kid was [going] to be fresh. I knew it!"^[5]

Airborne, Simmons' second mixtape, was released in 2010.^[1][6] It was preceded by the leak of the song "Oh Yeah!", which featured Pharrell Williams and Lupe Fiasco.^[7] Album track "Great Expectations" was featured that year in a national AT&T television commercial.^[1][8] Simmons released his third mixtape, "Past Presents Future", in December. The album, hosted by DJ Premier, features samples of songs from the 1980s and 1990s by such artists as Nas, A Tribe Called Quest and Rakim. A video was released for the track "Shook Ones", which samples the Mobb Deep song of the same name.^[9]

Early the next year, Simmons was named one of Billboard's "Artists to Watch 2011" and was selected to XXL's annual Freshmen list.^[10][11] "Click Clack Away", a song featuring Bruno Mars, leaked onto the internet in May. Simmons noted that the track would not be included on his debut studio album, set to be released by the end of the year.^[12][13] He released his first major-label single, "Copy, Paste", soon thereafter.^[1][14] The song's video was directed by Phil the God, who previously directed Simmons' "Made You Look", "What They Been Waiting For" and "Shook Ones".^[15][16] Simmons performed the song during the pre-show for the 2011 BET Awards.^[17] "Copy, Paste" peaked at number 29 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in September.^[18] That month, Simmons released the song "Just Begun" however Simmons tweeted on twitter it was not going to be on the album.^[19] Simmons is featured on the singles "Like 'Em All" by Jacob Latimore, "Mrs. Right" by Mindless Behavior and "Yeah Right" by Dionne Bromfield.^[9][20][21] "Yeah Right" reached number 36 on the UK Singles Chart in April 2011.^[22] On October 24th 2011 Diggy released "Do It Like You" as the second official single from his debut album, Unexpected Arrival a music video has been released with the song's featured artist Jeremih appearing in the clip. Also on February 24 the song "88" was released as the third official single. The song features Jadakiss and a viral music video was released for the track. ^[23]

Simmons has cited many rappers as his influences including Jay-Z, Nas, Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, A Tribe Called Quest and Wu-Tang Clan.^[8] He has also expressed an interest in alternative music, including such bands as Maroon 5, Passion Pit and Arctic Monkeys. Simmons said, "It’s a genre I would want to try in the future."^[2]

Clothing line[link]

In 2010, Simmons launched a line of urban sneakers called Chivalrous Culture. He says he gets inspiration from other artists such as Kanye and Jay-Z ^[1] The first shoe model is called the "Hamachi".^[24]

Discography[link]

Mixtapes

• The First Flight (2009)
• Airborne (2010)
• Past Presents Future (2010)

Singles[link]

As featured artist[link]

See also[link]

• Run's House

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Diggy Simmons

• Official website
• Diggy Simmons on Twitter
• Diggy Simmons's channel on YouTube
• Diggy Simmons on Myspace

Ali Farka Touré
Background information
Birth name	Ali Ibrahim Touré
Born	(1939-10-31)October 31, 1939 Timbuktu, Mali
Origin	Niafunké, Mali
Died	March 7, 2006(2006-03-07) (aged 66) Bamako, Mali
Genres	Blues Malian Folk Folk
Instruments	Vocals, Guitar, Cabasa, Njarka
Labels	World Circuit

Ali Ibrahim “Farka” Touré (October 31, 1939 – March 7, 2006) was a Malian singer and guitarist, and one of the African continent’s most internationally renowned musicians.^[1] His music is widely regarded as representing a point of intersection of traditional Malian music and its North American cousin, the blues. The belief that the latter is historically derived from the former is reflected in Martin Scorsese’s often quoted characterization of Touré’s tradition as constituting "the DNA of the blues".^[2] Touré was ranked number 76 on Rolling Stone’s list of “The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”.^[3]

Biography[link]

He was born in 1939 in the village of Kanau, on the banks of the Niger River in the cercle of Gourma Rharous in the northwestern Malian region of Tombouctou. His family moved to the nearby village of Niafunké when he was still an infant.^[4] He was the tenth son of his mother but the only one to survive past infancy. “The name I was given was Ali Ibrahim, but it’s a custom in Africa to give a child a strange nickname if you have had other children who have died”,^[4] Touré was quoted as saying in a biography on his Record Label, World Circuit Records. His nickname, “Farka”, chosen by his parents, means “donkey”, an animal admired for its tenacity and stubbornness: “Let me make one thing clear. I’m the donkey that nobody climbs on!”^[4] Ethnically, he was part Songrai part Fula.^[4]

As the first African bluesman to achieve widespread popularity on his home continent, Touré was often known as “the African John Lee Hooker”.^[5] Musically, the many superpositions of guitars and rhythms in his music were similar to John Lee Hooker’s hypnotic blues style. He usually sang in one of several African languages, mostly Songhay, Fulfulde, Tamasheq or Bambara^[4] as on his breakthrough album, Ali Farka Touré, which established his reputation in the world music community.

His first North American concert was in Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia^{[citation needed]}. 1994’s Talking Timbuktu, a collaboration with Ry Cooder, sold promisingly well in Western markets, but was followed by a hiatus from releases in America and Europe. He reappeared in 1999 with the release of Niafunké, a more traditional album focusing on African rhythms and beats. Touré was the mentor and uncle of popular Malian musician Afel Bocoum^{[citation needed]}.

Some of Ali Farka Touré’s songs and tunes have been used in different programmes, films and documentaries.^[6] For instance, his guitar riff on the song “Diaraby”, from the album Talking Timbuktu, was selected for the Geo-quiz segment of The World PRI-BBC program, and was retained by popular demand when put to a vote of the listeners.^[7] This song is likewise used in 1998 as a soundtrack for the film L’Assedio (Besieged) by the Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci^{[citation needed]}. His songs Cinquante six, Goye Kur and Hawa Dolo from the album The Source are also used as a soundtrack in the French film Fin août, début septembre (Late August, Early September) directed in 1998 by Olivier Assayas.^[6] The song "Lasidan" was featured in the award winning documentary "Sharkwater" by Rob Stewart.

In 2002 he appeared with Black American blues and reggae performer Corey Harris, on an album called Mississippi to Mali (Rounder Records). Toure and Harris also appeared together in Martin Scorsese's 2003 documentary film Feel Like Going Home,^[6] which traced the roots of blues back to its genesis in West Africa. The film was narrated by Harris and features Ali’s performances on guitar and njarka.

In 2004 Touré became mayor of Niafunké and spent his own money grading the roads, putting in sewer canals and fuelling a generator that provided the impoverished town with electricity.^[4]

In September 2005, he released the album In the Heart of the Moon, a collaboration with Toumani Diabaté, for which he received a second Grammy award.^[4] His last album, Savane, was posthumously released in July 2006. It was received with wide acclaim by professionals and fans alike and has been nominated for a Grammy Award in the category “Best Contemporary World Music Album”^{[citation needed]}. The panel of experts from the World Music Chart Europe (WMCE), a chart voted by the leading World Music specialists around Europe, chose Savane as their Album of the Year 2006, with the album topping the chart for three consecutive months (September to November 2006).^[8] The album has also been listed as No. 1 in the influential Metacritic’s “Best Albums of 2006” poll,^[9] and No. 5 in its all-time best reviewed albums.^[10] Ali Farka Touré has also recently been nominated for the BBC Radio 3 awards 2007.^[11]

On March 7, 2006, the Ministry of Culture of Mali announced his death at age 66 in Bamako from bone cancer, against which he had been battling for some time. His record label, World Circuit, said that he recorded several tracks with his son, Vieux Farka Touré, for Vieux’s debut album which was released in late 2006^{[citation needed]}.

Cultural references[link]

• In the French film The Spanish Apartment (2002) two characters are seen playing air guitar to “Ai Du”.^[6]
• In the movie Unfaithful (2002), Diane Lane and Olivier Martinez slow dance to “Ai Du”.^[6]
• In the French film Irma Vep (1996), Maggie Cheung and Nathalie Richard ride an old motorcycle down the quay to Touré’s song “Soukoura”.^[6]
• In the 2005 travel film Michael Palin: SAHARA, his music is heard in a scene about Nigerian nomads.^{[citation needed]}
• "The World", a radio show distributed by Public Radio International, uses the song "Diaraby" as the theme to their Geoquiz. The song is a collaboration between Touré and Ry Cooder; the song is featured on their Talking Timbuktu album.^[7]
• In 2008, Zack de la Rocha's lyrics from "If You Fear Dying" on One Day as a Lion's debut album references Ali: "I'm in with the spirit of Ali Touré, as I target more heads than a priest on Ash Wednesday."^{[citation needed]}

Discography[link]

• 1976 - Ali Touré Farka (Sonafric 50016-LP)
• 1976 - Spécial « Biennale du Mali » (Sonafric 50020-LP)
• 1978 - Biennale (Sonafric 50032-LP)
• 1979 - Ali Touré Farka (Sonafric 50060-LP)
• 1980 - Ali Touré dit Farka (Sonafric 50085-LP)
• 1984 - Ali Farka Touré (Red) (Sonodisc/Esperance 5558)
• 1988 - Ali Farka Touré (Green) (Sonodisc/Esperance 8448)
• 1988 - Ali Farka Touré (World Circuit WCD007 / Mango 9826)
• 1990 - African Blues (Shanachie 65002) (originally released as Ali Farka Touré (Green))
• 1990 - The River (World Circuit WCD017 / Mango 9897)
• 1993 - The Source (World Circuit WCD030 / Hannibal 1375) with Taj Mahal
• 1994 - Talking Timbuktu (World Circuit WCD040 / Hannibal 1381) (with Ry Cooder)
• 1996 - Radio Mali (World Circuit WCD044 / Nonesuch 79569) (remastered selections of original albums from 1975 through 1980)
• 1999 - Niafunké (World Circuit WCD054 / Hannibal 1443)
• 2002 - Mississippi to Mali (Rounder B0000DJZA1)(with Corey Harris)
• 2004 - Red&Green (World Circuit WCD070 / Nonesuch 79882) (remastered original albums from 1984 and 1988)
• 2005 - In the Heart of the Moon (World Circuit WCD072 / Nonesuch 79920) (with Toumani Diabaté and Ry Cooder)
• 2006 - Savane (World Circuit WCD075 / Nonesuch 79965)
• 2010 - Ali and Toumani - (World Circuit/Nonesuch Records) with Toumani Diabaté^[12]

See also[link]

• African fingerstyle guitar
• African music

Filmography[link]

• 2002 - Ali Farka Touré - Le miel n'est jamais bon dans une seule bouche - a documentary film by Marc Huraux^[13]
• "A Visit to Ali Farka Toure" was released on DVD in the UK by Digital Classics DVD.
• I'll Sing for You 2001

References[link]

• Kubik, Gerhard (1999). Africa and the Blues. Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 1-57806-145-8 (hardcover); ISBN 1-57806-146-6 (paperback).
• Guralnick, Peter, ed. (2003). Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: A Musical Journey. A companion book to the PBS documentary series Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: A Musical Journey. Foreword by Alex Gibney; afterword by Chuck D. New York: Amistad.

External links[link]

• Official website
• Official page on MySpace
• Multimedia website
• Fondation Ali Farka Touré (French)
• Ali Farka Touré at NPR Music
• A Thorough Discography (click on the images for more info. and sample music)
• "ALI FARKA TOURE, springing from the roots " 1999 Documentary 52'

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2009)

Ry Cooder
Ry Cooder playing slide guitar in 2009 Photograph: Dani Canto
Background information
Birth name	Ryland Peter Cooder
Born	(1947-03-15) March 15, 1947 (age 65) Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres	Americana, roots rock, folk, blues, Tex-Mex, country, gospel, world music
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, film scorer, record producer, instructor
Instruments	Guitar, mandolin, vocals, array mbira
Years active	1967–present
Labels	Warner Bros., Nonesuch, Elektra
Associated acts	Taj Mahal, Captain Beefheart, Buena Vista Social Club, Ali Farka Toure
Website	Ry Cooder

Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder (born March 15, 1947)^[1] is an American guitarist, singer and composer. He is known for his slide guitar work, his interest in roots music from the United States, and, more recently, his collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries.

His solo work has been eclectic, encompassing folk, blues, Tex-Mex, soul, gospel, rock, and much else. He has collaborated with many musicians, including Larry Blackmon, The Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Randy Newman, Earl Hines, Little Feat, Captain Beefheart, The Chieftains, John Lee Hooker, Pops and Mavis Staples, Flaco Jiménez, Ibrahim Ferrer, Freddy Fender, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Ali Farka Touré. He formed the band Little Village with Nick Lowe, John Hiatt, and Jim Keltner.

Ry Cooder produced the Buena Vista Social Club album (1997), which became a worldwide hit. Wim Wenders directed the documentary film of the same name (1999), which was nominated for an Academy Award in 2000.

He was ranked eighth on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".^[2] A 2010 ranking by Gibson placed him at number 32.^[3]

Career[link]

1960s[link]

During the 1960s, Cooder briefly attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon.^[4] Cooder first attracted attention in the 1960s, playing with Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, after previously having worked with Taj Mahal and Ed Cassidy in the Rising Sons. He also played with Randy Newman at this time, including on 12 Songs.^[5] Van Dyke Parks worked with Newman and Cooder during the 1960s. Parks arranged Cooder's "One Meatball" according to Parks' 1984 interview by Bob Claster.

Cooder was a session musician on various recording sessions with the The Rolling Stones in 1968 and 1969, and his contributions appear on the albums Let It Bleed (mandolin on "Love in Vain"), and Sticky Fingers, on which he contributed the slide guitar on "Sister Morphine". During this period, Cooder joined with Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman, and longtime Rolling Stones sideman Nicky Hopkins to record Jamming with Edward! Cooder also played slide guitar for the 1970 film soundtrack Performance, which contained Jagger's first solo single, "Memo from Turner". The 1975 compilation album Metamorphosis features an uncredited Cooder contribution on Bill Wyman's "Downtown Suzie."

Ry Cooder also collaborated with Lowell George of Little Feat, playing slide guitar on the original version of "Willin'".^[6]

1970s[link]

Throughout the 1970s, Cooder released a series of Warner Bros. Records albums that showcased his guitar work. Cooder explored bygone musical genres and found old-time recordings which he then personalized and updated. Thus, on his breakthrough album, Into the Purple Valley, he chose unusual instrumentations and arrangements of blues, gospel, calypso, and country songs (giving a tempo change to the cowboy ballad "Billy the Kid"). The album opened with the song "How Can You Keep on Moving (Unless You Migrate Too)" by Agnes "Sis" Cunningham about the Okies who were not welcomed when they migrated west to escape the Dust Bowl in the 1930s – to which Cooder gave a rousing-yet-satirical march accompaniment. His later 1970s albums (with the exception of Jazz, which explored ragtime/vaudeville) do not fall under a single genre description, but his self-titled first album could be described as blues; Into the Purple Valley, Boomer's Story, and Paradise and Lunch as folk and blues; Chicken Skin Music and Showtime as a mix of Tex-Mex and Hawaiian; Bop Till You Drop as 1950s' R&B; and Borderline and Get Rhythm as rock-based. His 1979 album Bop Till You Drop was the first popular music album to be recorded digitally. It yielded his biggest hit, an R&B cover version of Elvis Presley's 1960s recording "Little Sister". Cooder is credited on Van Morrison's 1979 album, Into the Music, for slide guitar on the song "Full Force Gale". He also played guitar on Judy Collins' 1970 concert tour, and is featured on Living, the 1971 live album recorded during that tour.

1980s[link]

Cooder has worked as a studio musician and has also scored many film soundtracks including Wim Wenders film Paris, Texas (1984). Cooder based this soundtrack and title song "Paris, Texas" on Blind Willie Johnson's "Dark Was the Night (Cold Was the Ground)", which he described as "The most soulful, transcendent piece in all American music."^[7] Musician Dave Grohl has declared Cooder's score for Paris, Texas is one of his favorite albums.^[8]

"Dark Was the Night (Cold Was the Ground)" was also the basis for Cooder's song "Powis Square" for the movie Performance. His other film work includes Walter Hill's The Long Riders (1980), Southern Comfort (1981), Brewster's Millions (1985), Johnny Handsome^[9], Last Man Standing (1996), Hill's Trespass (1992) and Mike Nichols' Primary Colors (1998). Cooder dubbed all slide guitar parts in the 1986 film Crossroads, a take on blues legend Robert Johnson. In 1988, Cooder produced the album by his longtime backing vocalists Bobby King and Terry Evans on Rounder Records titled Live and Let Live. He contributed his slide guitar work to every track. He also plays extensively on their 1990 self-produced Rounder release Rhythm, Blues, Soul & Grooves. Cooder's music also appeared on two episodes of the television program "Tales From the Crypt" – "The Man Who Was Death" and "The Thing From the Grave" (http://www.allmusic.com/album/original-music-from-tales-from-the-crypt-w93724).

Also in 1988 he produced and featured in the Les Blank directed concert documentary film Ry Cooder & The Moula Banda Rhythm Aces: Let's Have a Ball where he plays in collaboration with a selection of musicians famous in their various musical fields.^[10] The following year, he played a janitor in the Jim Henson series The Ghost of Faffner Hall, in the episode "Music Is More Than Technique".^[11][12]

1990s[link]

In the early 1990s Cooder collaborated on two world music "crossover" albums, which blended the traditional American musical genres that Cooder has championed throughout his career with the contemporary improvised music of India and Africa. For A Meeting by the River (1993), which also featured his son Joachim on percussion, he teamed with Hindustani classical musician V.M. Bhatt, a virtuoso of the Mohan Veena, a modified 20-string archtop guitar of Bhatt's own invention. In 1995 he teamed with African multi-instrumentalist Ali Farka Toure on the album Talking Timbuktu, which he also produced; the album also featured longtime Cooder collaborator Jim Keltner on drums, veteran blues guitarist Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, jazz bassist John Patitucci and African percussionists and musicians including Hamma Sankare and Oumar Toure. Both albums won the Grammy Award for 'Best World Music Album' in 1994 and 1995 respectively. Cooder also worked with Tuvan throat singers for the score to the 1993 film Geronimo: An American Legend.

In 1995 he performed in The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True, a musical performance of the popular story at the Lincoln Center in New York to benefit the Children's Defense Fund. The performance was originally broadcast on Turner Network Television (TNT), and was issued on CD and video in 1996.

In the late 1990s Cooder played a significant role in the increased appreciation of traditional Cuban music, due to his collaboration as producer of the Buena Vista Social Club (1997) recording, which became a worldwide hit and revived the careers of some of the greatest surviving exponents of 20th century Cuban music. Wim Wenders, who had previously directed 1984's Paris Texas, directed a documentary film of the musicians involved, Buena Vista Social Club (1999), which was nominated for an Academy Award in 2000.^[13]

2000s[link]

Cooder's 2005 album Chávez Ravine was touted by his record label as being "a post-World War II-era American narrative of 'cool cats', radios, UFO sightings, J. Edgar Hoover, red scares, and baseball"^[14]— the record is a tribute to the long-gone Los Angeles Latino enclave known as Chávez Ravine. Using real and imagined historical characters, Cooder and friends created an album that recollects various aspects of the poor but vibrant hillside Chicano community which no longer exists. Cooder says, "Here is some music for a place you don’t know, up a road you don’t go. Chávez Ravine, where the sidewalk ends."^[14]Drawing from the various musical strains of Los Angeles, including conjunto, R&B, Latin pop, and jazz, Cooder and friends conjure the ghosts of Chávez Ravine and Los Angeles at mid-century. On this fifteen-track album, sung in Spanish and English, Cooder is joined by East L.A. legends like Chicano music patriarch Lalo Guerrero, Pachuco boogie king Don Tosti, Thee Midniters front man Little Willie G, and Ersi Arvizu, of The Sisters and El Chicano.

Cooder's next record was released in 2007. Entitled My Name Is Buddy, it tells the story of Buddy Red Cat, who travels and sees the world in the company of his like-minded friends, Lefty Mouse and Rev. Tom Toad. The entire recording is a parable of the working class progressivism^[15] of the first half of the American twentieth century, and even has a song featuring executed unionist Joe Hill. My Name Is Buddy was accompanied by a booklet featuring a story and illustration (by Vincent Valdez) for each track, providing additional context to Buddy's adventures.

Cooder produced and performed on an album for Mavis Staples entitled We'll Never Turn Back, which was released on April 24, 2007. The concept album focused on Gospel songs of the civil rights movement and also included two new original songs by Cooder.^[16]

Ry Cooder's album I, Flathead was released on June 24, 2008. It is the completion of his California trilogy. Based on the drag racing culture of the early 1960s, the album is set on the desert salt flats in southern California. The disc was also released as a deluxe edition with stories written by Cooder to accompany the music.

In late 2009, Cooder toured Japan, New Zealand and Australia with Nick Lowe, performing some of Lowe's songs and a selection of Cooder's own material, mainly from the 1970s. Joaquim Cooder (Ry's son) provided percussion, and Juliette Commagere and Alex Lilly contributed backing vocals.

The song "Diaraby", which Cooder recorded with Ali Farka Touré, is used as the theme to The World's Geo Quiz. The World is a radio show distributed by Public Radio International.

In 2009, Cooder performed in The People Speak, a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. Cooder performed with Bob Dylan and Van Dyke Parks on the documentary broadcast on December 13, 2009 on the History Channel. They played "Do Re Mi" and reportedly a couple of other Guthrie songs that were excluded from the final edit. He also traveled with the band Los Tigres del Norte and recorded the 2010 album San Patricio with the Chieftains, Lila Downs, Liam Neeson, Linda Ronstadt, Van Dyke Parks, Los Cenzontles, and Los Tigres.^[17][18]

2010s[link]

In June 2010, responding to the passage of Arizona SB 1070, he released the single "Quicksand", which tells the story of Mexicans attempting to emigrate to Arizona through the desert.^[19][20] Cooder's critically acclaimed^[21][22] new album Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down, released on August 30, 2011, contains politically charged songs such as "No Banker Left Behind"^[23] which was inspired by a Robert Scheer column.^[24]

In 2011, he published a collection of short stories called Los Angeles Stories, written about people living in Los Angeles in the 40s and 50s. With story titles such as "La vida es un sueño" and "Kill me, por favor", the book has a Hispanic theme and deals partially with Latinos living in Los Angeles during this time.

Awards[link]

• 1988 Grammy Award – Pecos Bill (Rabbit Ears Productions)
• 1993 Grammy Award – A Meeting by the River
• 1995 Grammy Award – Talking Timbuktu with Ali Farka Toure
• 1998 Grammy Award – Buena Vista Social Club
• 2000 – Ry Cooder received an honorary doctorate from Queen's University, Canada
• 2001 – Ry Cooder received an honorary doctorate from the California Institute of the Arts

Discography[link]

Singles

• "Little Sister" (1979; Warner Records)
• "Crazy 'Bout An Automobile (Every Woman I Know)" Recorded live, October 25, 1980 at Victoria Apollo, London / "If Walls Could Talk" Recorded live, February 26, 1981 at Old Waldorf, San Francisco, California / "The Very Thing That Makes You Rich (Makes Me Poor)" Recorded live, February 26, 1981 at Old Waldorf, San Francisco, California/ "Look At Granny Run Run" Recorded live, February 26, 1981 at Old Waldorf, San Francisco, California (1981; Warner Records)
• "Gypsy Woman"/ "Alimony" (1982; Nonesuch Records)
• "Get Rhythm"/ "Get Your Lies Straight/ "Down In Hollywood" (1988)
• "Come Down" / "Get Rhythm" / "Little Sister" (1994)
• "Quicksand" (June 2010)

Solo albums

• Ry Cooder (December 1970)
• Into the Purple Valley (February 1972)
• Boomer's Story (November 1972)
• Paradise and Lunch (May 1974)
• Chicken Skin Music (October 1976)
• Showtime (August 1977)
• Jazz (June 1978)
• Bop Till You Drop (August 1979)
• Borderline (October 1980)
• The Slide Area (April 1982)
• Get Rhythm (November 1987)
• Chávez Ravine (May 2005)
• My Name Is Buddy (March 2007)
• I, Flathead (June 2008)
• Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down (August 2011)

Compilations

• Why Don't You Try Me Tonight (1986)
• River Rescue – The Very Best Of Ry Cooder (1994)
• Music by Ry Cooder (1995) (two-disc set of film music)
• The Ry Cooder Anthology: The UFO Has Landed (October 2008)

Collaborations

• Tanyet (1967) (with The Ceyleib People)
• Ry Cooder and the Moula Banda Rhythm Aces: Let's have a ball (1988)
• Rising Sons featuring Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder with Rising Sons (recorded 1965/66, released 1992)
• Little Village (1992)
• A Meeting by the River (1993) (with Vishwa Mohan Bhatt)
• Talking Timbuktu (1994) (with Ali Farka Touré)
• Buena Vista Social Club (September 1997)
• Hollow Bamboo with Jon Hassell and Ronu Majumdar (bansuri) (2000)
• Mambo Sinuendo (January 2003) (with Manuel Galbán)
• San Patricio (March 2010) (with The Chieftains)

Soundtracks

• Performance (1970)
• The Long Riders (June 1980)
• Southern Comfort (1981)
• The Border (1982)
• Streets of Fire (1984)
• Paris, Texas (February 1985)
• Music from Alamo Bay (August 1985)
• Blue City (July 1986)
• Crossroads (July 1986)
• Cocktail (1988)
• Johnny Handsome (October 1989)
• Trespass (January 1993)
• Geronimo: An American Legend (1993)
• Last Man Standing (1996)
• The End of Violence (1997)
• Primary Colors (1998)

Performs on:

• Safe as Milk (1967) with Captain Beefheart
• Taj Mahal (album) (1968) with Taj Mahal
• Neil Young (album) (1968) with Neil Young
• Head (1968) with The Monkees
• 12 Songs (1970) with Randy Newman
• The Candlestickmaker (1970) with Ron Elliott
• Washington County (1970) with Arlo Guthrie
• Stained Glass Morning (1970) with Scott McKenzie
• Living (1971) with Judy Collins
• Money and Cigarettes (February 1983) with Eric Clapton
• Midnight Mission (1984) Carla Olson & The Textones (featured on two songs)
• Bring the Family (1987) with John Hiatt
• Live and Let Live (1988) with Bobby King & Terry Evans
• King Cake Party (1994) with The Zydeco Party Band
• Good Dog, Happy Man (1999) with Bill Frisell
• The Wind (2003) with Warren Zevon (slide guitar on two tracks: "Dirty Life and Times" and "Prison Grove")

Written works[link]

• Los Angeles Stories, City Lights Publishers (2011) [1]

References[link]