Taj Mahal
NewMusicForOldFolks says …
It only takes a couple of syllables to identify Taj Mahal's singing. There's a reason the Blues Brothers movie opens to the sounds of Taj's "She Caught The Caty." It just exudes the Blues. He's been going strong since the late ’60s and doesn't appear to be slowing down in his early 70s. There are literally a dozen "best of" packages out there if you're looking for a place to start with Taj Mahal. Instead, I'd recommend the live album Shoutin' in Key. It'll give you a good cross section of Taj's music. The most recent effort, Taj Mahal & the Hula Blues Band: Live in Kauai is also a lot of fun.
Artist's Info
Website: tajblues.com
See him live: Tour dates
Record company: Kuleana Music
Genre: Blues, Roots
If you like this, look into: John Hiatt, Keb' Mo', Eric Bibb
Bio (From the artist's website)
In September 2014, some 50 years after moving to Los Angeles to form the band Rising Sons with fellow blues musician Ry Cooder and Jessie Lee Kincaid, Taj Mahal hightailed it to Nashville to receive an honor he called “one of the most powerful and wonderful things that could ever happen in my life.” Celebrating decades of recording and touring that have nearly singlehandedly reshaped the definition and scope of the blues via the infusion of exotic sounds from the Caribbean, Africa and South Pacific, the two-time Grammy winning singer, songwriter, film composer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist was feted with the Lifetime Achievement for Performance Award at the 13th Annual Americana Honors and Awards. (more)
Spotify sampler
Recordings
Most Recent
LIVE FROM KAUIA (2015): February 6, 2015, Kauai, Hawaii: Under a 6000 sq. ft. pavilion, Taj Mahal assembled a score of musicians next to lapping waves of the Pacific. Some were friends from the Hula Blues Band, others, jazz legends who, like himself, are at the top of their game. Two sold-out concerts packed with ecstatic audiences who swayed, danced and rocked out with that sweet, powerful aloha spirit brought yet another wonder. The acoustics of the open tent pitched there next to the ocean, created an extraordinary sound quality. The recordings were terrific! Two CDs are necessary to share the harmony of those events. So what will you hear? Taj's powerful voice, old-school country Blues w/ R&B, Reggae, Calypso, Jazz riffs on vibes, steel and flute, rockin' 12 strings and ukulele, four-part voice harmony, all Hawaiian laced. Taj Mahal is a two-time Grammy winner (nine nominations) who has been active during the last six decades.
Others
Taj Mahal (1968)
The Natch'l Blues (1968)
Giant Step/De Ole Folks at Home (1969)
Happy Just to Be Like I Am (1971)
The Real Thing (1971)
Recycling The Blues & Other Related Stuff (1972)
Big Sur Festival - One Hand Clapping (1972)
Sounder (1972)
Oooh So Good 'n Blues (1973)
Mo' Roots (1974)
Music Keeps Me Together (1975)
Satisfied 'N Tickled Too (1976)
Music Fuh Ya' (1976)
Brothers (1977)
Evolution (1977)
Live & Direct (1979)
Taj (1987)
Shake Sugaree (1988)
Live at Ronnie Scott's (1990)
Mule Bone (1991)
Like Never Before (1991)
Dancing the Blues (1993)
Mumtaz Mahal (with V.M. Bhatt and N. Ravikiran) (1995)
Phantom Blues (1996)
An Evening of Acoustic Music (1996)
Señor Blues (1997)
Sacred Island aka Hula Blues (with The Hula Blues Band) (1998)
Kulanjan (with Toumani Diabaté) (1999)
Shoutin' in Key (2000)
Hanapepe Dream (with The Hula Blues Band) (2001)
Live Catch (2004)
Mkutano Meets the Culture Musical Club of Zanzibar (2005)
Maestro (2008)
