'Taj Mahal trio' in concert.

[kevin m.]

I was lucky(or wise) enough to go to 'The Sage',Gateshead,on Friday night to see the legendary 'Taj Mahal' play.
He played a semi-acoustic Epiphone' guitar,and electric piano on one number,accompanied by an electric bassplayer and drummer.
The man is a walking encyclopaedia of 20th century music styles-all manner of Blues-'country style','Chicago','40's Jive'- Jazz,and even Reggae (well his mum does come from St. Kitts)!.
I must admit that previously there was a bit of a Taj Mahal shaped hole in my knowledge of Blues/Blues related music-that was amply filled on Friday
Not only was the band made up of great players,but they were HIGHLY entertaining to boot-he's a bit of a showman and 'character' is Taj.
I'd recommend this band to anyone interested in 'real',LIVING Blues based music.
I must also mention the superb band that acted as 'support'-Idrissa Soumaoro and his band.
Idrissa is a Malian singer/songwriter/Guitarist/educator- in fact,he is in charge of musical education for the whole of Mali.
His band consisted of a Guitarist,Flautist ('Boehm' Flute)and a percussionist who mostly played a 'Calabash' gourd-the range of sounds he achieved from this simple 'instrument' was absolutely astounding!
In addition to Guitar,Idrissa also finished off the set with a couple of numbers on a Harp-Lute like 'Hunters Guitar' which produced a hypnotic sound,going right back to the African origins of the Blues.
A great nights entertainment,and also a bit of a learning experience for me.

[dubhlinn]

Lucky you....

I adore Taj Mahal and have about a dozen CDs..a truly brilliant artist.

Must dash off on the big bike ride but there are quite a few Taj tracks in the MP3 player

Slan,
D.

[s1m0n]

I own Kulanjan, his cross-cultural album made in Mali, and it's excellent--blues guitar and Kora.

So the other day I bought a record on a german label of Taj playing with the culture music club of Zanzibar.

It's called mkutano.

http://www.tradition-moderne.com/eng.ph ... b285de0fa9

It's pretty good, although not as good as Kulanjan. Often in these kinda projects the rhetoric accentuates the impromptu nature of the project--how the two groups just started playing and here's what resulted. I dunno if this rhetoric is BS or not or if it's just to excuse the half-baked nature of the product. I'd be very interested in hearing what Taj and the Orchestra could sound like after playing together for a month--I bet it would be much tighter.

That said, it's still good. I love the taarab orchestra sound, and I think it should be much bigger than it is.

I love the way this kind of ensemble reverses the general arrangement of western bands--in the west, the guitars accompany while the violin plays lead (a gross generarization, I know) but in the big bands from arab-influenced north east africa, the string section plays these fat arpeggios and hooks while the oud takes the lead. Add in the deep deep groove that the players lock in, and this is excellent music.

It's my guess that combining this with the blues would be a way to invent the strangest r&b you've ever heard. However, that would take a little longer than the week or so that I'd imagine this project had available.

It sounds like I've committed the first sin of reviewing--reviewing the work based on what I wanted it to be, not what it is.

It's a good record, and it may be that as I play it more I'll come to appreciate it for what it *is*.

[dubhlinn]

Kevin,
I was in a bit of a rush earlier but the best possible foundation on which to build a solid Taj Mahal collection is this album..

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... 2?v=glance

Check out the clips...on Frankie and Albert that is the original Pointer Sisters doing the backing vocal.

The CD comes with a very detailed sleeve booklet which will set you up nicely.It seems to be the standard Taj CD in all the big English retail chains.

Slan,
D.

[kevin m.]

Cheers Dubh,
Taj played some of this stuff on Friday-I recognise 'Fishin' blues' and 'Going up country'.
Good stuff.

[dubhlinn]

There is an incredible "Fishin'Blues" that Taj does with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band...easy enough to find on the net

Slan,
D.

[kevin m.]

'Catfish Blues' with Guitar and Kora 'found it's way to me' a while back.
Mmm Niiice!

[s1m0n]

Catfish blues is one he does with the culture music club, as well.

[OutOfBreath]

Taj Mahal puts on a great show - what's really hilarious is that on stage he shucks and jives with the best of them - especially in small intimate venues - but he's actually a very well-educated and well-spoken individual that could "pass" in any professional circle you might name. (As I recall he's a veteranarian.) His speech is more proper and less accented than most of the folks I work with - self included!