Taj Mahal is a master of
finger-picking country blues,
bluegrass banjo,
slide guitar,
southern blues,
soul,
R&B,
reggae, music of
Hawaii, the
Caribbean, and more.
Emerging from the folk music scene of the early
1960's, Taj established himself as an artist who knew no boundaries. Along the way, he played a pivotal role in the mid-'60s blues revival and went on to make his mark in the worlds of
rock, soul,
world music, and
blues.
Taj Mahal has recorded 40 records during his career-six of which were
Grammy-nominated (2 won). His passion for music goes back to his earliest days. The oldest of nine children, Taj Mahal (born
Henry Saint Claire Fredericks) grew up in
Springfield, Massachusetts, in a home filled with music. His mother was a gospel-singing
school teacher, and his father a
Jamaican composer/arranger and avid
jazz fan.
"My father had this old
Firestone radio with a
short-wave band. I could listen to
London,
Rio,
Havana,
Kingston,
Moscow, all around the world, and I could hear people's souls through their music."
As an adolescent, Taj explored the roots of American blues and other forms of music filtered through
the black experience in America. He idolized such pioneers as
Jimmy Reed,
Howlin' Wolf,
Chuck Berry,
Bo Diddley,
Big Mama Thornton,
Sleepy John Estes,
Son House,
Mississippi John Hurt,
Sonny Terry, and others. During 1961-63, he had an R&B band called Taj Mahal and the
Elektras and was performing in Boston
coffeehouses and
college mixers. After earning his
degree in
agriculture and
animal husbandry from the
University of Massachusetts in
1964, he emerged professionally the following year as co-founder with guitarist
Ry Cooder of The Rising Sons. This led to a recording contract for Taj, who quickly rose to prominence with his first solo albums,
Taj Mahal (1968),
The Natch'l Blues (1968), and
Giant Step (1969).
Over subsequent years, Taj toured, recorded and/or performed with other great artists, including
Eric Clapton,
Bonnie Raitt,
B.B.King,
John Lee Hooker,
Miles Davis,
Jimi Hendrix,
Bob Dylan,
Sheryl Crow,
Bob Marley,
the Pointer Sisters,
the Neville Brothers and the
Rolling Stones. In 1968, Taj was a featured guest in the Rolling Stones'
Rock And Roll Circus - a remarkable event, which was released on video and record for the first time after an almost 30-year wait, that showcased the cream of the music community including
John Lennon,
George Harrison,
Jethro Tull,
The Who, and
Marianne Faithfull.
A self-taught musician, Taj plays over 20 instruments, including the
National Steel and
Dobro guitars, and his remarkable voice ranges from gruff and gravelly to smooth and sultry. His music remains a well-seasoned gumbo, spiced with influences that originate in the Caribbean,
West Africa, the southern states, and the
inner-cities of America.
In addition to his regular work, Taj has acted in films and composed motion picture scores. Among the esteemed titles he has been associated with are
Phenomenon,
The Mighty Quinn,
Once Upon A Time When We Were Colored,
Sounder I and II,
The Man Who Broke A Thousand Chains,
Scott Joplin - King of Ragtime and the
Wynton Marsalis-scored
Pulitzer Prize winning epic,
Rosewood. He also wrote the Grammy-nominated score for the Broadway production
Mule Bone, based on a play by
Langston Hughes and
Zora Neale Hurston. Taj has also recorded several Grammy-nominated
children's albums and provided voices for popular cartoon characters, such as "
Sage," from the ,
The Blues Brothers animated series.
Discography:
BEST OF TAJ MAHAL 2nd Edition 2000
SHOUTIN' IN KEY 2000
KULANJAN 1999
SACRED ISLAND 1997
SEÑOR BLUES 1997
PHANTOM BLUES 1996
AN EVENING OF ACOUSTIC MUSIC 1996
MUMTAZ MAHAL 1995
DANCING THE BLUES 1993
WORLD MUSIC 1993
SMILIN' ISLAND OF SONG 1992
RISING SONS 1992
TAJ'S BLUES 1992
RISING SUN COLLECTION 1992
LIKE NEVER BEFORE 1991
MULEBONE 1991
BRER' RABBIT 1990
HOTSPOT SOUNDTRACK
1990
BIG BLUES 1988
LIVE AND DIRECT 1987
SHAKE SUGAREE 1987
TAJ 1986
BEST OF #1 1981
EVOLUTION 1977
MUSIC FUH YUH 1977
MUSIC KEEPS ME TOGETHER 1975
MO' ROOTS 1974
OOOH SO GOOD 'N BLUES 1973
RECYCLING THE BLUES 1972
HAPPY JUST LIKE I AM1971
THE REAL THING 1971
BROTHERS 1971
GIANT STEP 1969
THE NATCH'L BLUES 1968
TAJ MAHAL 1968
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info for this node was taken and edited from www.taj-mo-roots.com