Taj Mahal just keeps doing great music. This master, at 83, continues to show that he, like his namesake building, is a wonder of the world.
To say that Taj Mahal has been around for a long time is an understatement. He was raised in Massachusetts in a musical household and gained an appreciation not only for the blues but for other world music. After moving to Southern California to pursue music, Taj partnered with Ry Cooder and other LA-based musicians to form the short-lived Rising Sons band (he would again partner with Cooder in 2022 for the Grammy award-winning Get On Board, featuring the music of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee). In 1968 he released his eponymous first album, and from then on he has been among a vanguard of blues musicians (including Cooder, Eric Bibb, Corey Harris, Luther Dickinson, Markus James and others) who have explored not only traditional blues but also other musical veins of music spawned by musicians of African (and other) ancestry.
Taj Mahal first came to my attention when I was a child, when he appeared in the movie Sounder in 1972 (which my woke Minnesota elementary school took us kids to see). I’ve followed his career ever since, and he has taken me on forays into the Mississippi Delta (The Natch’l Blues, 1968; Recycling the Blues & Other Related Stuff, 1972; Mo’ Roots, 1974), on vacation in the Caribbean (Evolution, 1977), on an excursion to India (Mumtaz Mahal (with V.M. Bhatt and N. Ravikiran), 1995); on a cruisse to Hawaii (Sacred Island, 1997), on an adventure to Africa (Kulanjan (with Toumani Diabate), 1999) and to harlem dance halls of the 1940s (Savoy, 2023). He has also partnered with like-minded Keb’ Mo’ a couple of times, including the Grammy-winning TajMo in 2018. In all, Taj has won five Grammy Awards and was named the Official Blues Artist of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
With Time, which releases May 1, Taj again demonstrates his curiosity and passion for exploring different forms of music, including Reggae, R&B, and the traditional blues he is so known for. Among my favorites are the cover tune, the infectious “Wild About My Lovin’,” the old timey piano-based “Rowdy Blues,” the reggae “Talkin’ Blues,” and the rock ‘n’ roll “It’s Your Voodoo Workin’.” He truly is a world wonder.
About the author: Bill Wilcox is a roots music enthusiast recently relocated from the Washington, DC area to Philadelphia, PA and back again.