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Saturday, April 16, 2022

Reflections On Taj Mahal . . . .

Taj Mahal performs on stage at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Louisiana on May 08, 1983. 
(Photo by the legendary David Redfern/Redferns)


Henry Saint Clair Fredericks (born May 17, 1942)

Taj Mahal: I really literally don’t recall a day in my life up to now that I have never listened to music or heard music or thought about music or had music in some kind of way. Danced to it, watched dancing, got involved in it, played music.

As an elder musician I’m not against what the young kids play. A lot of people think that they have to have an opinion about it, and we know what we have to say about opinions. You know, I mean the thing is to me it’s like bebop, you know? Everybody didn’t like bebop either. I also think it’s kinda funny now, talking to or listening to rappers that are now 42 and 46 and 50 talking about the youngsters that are coming along now. Saying, “Gee whiz, that sounds pretty much like what everybody was saying about you guys when you started.” The only ones that I know have said something really smart, right, at this point, has been David Banner. David Banner was really sharp about it. Said, “Hey. We birthed them, but we didn’t show them the way. We didn’t give them nothing to work with, so they’re doing what they can with what they got.” So we were chasing the money, and while we were chasing the money, we didn’t take care of handing the torch off to them.

- Berklee Online


Sounds about right,  . . . . . Taj Mahal holds a special place in my heart and a special place in the history of music, blues music of course but he was/is much broader than that. Show me a blues player who can feature a conch shell on his early albums of blues music? I defy you!


I first discovered Taj Mahal via the 'Rock Machine Turns You On' compilation album in 1968 like so many Brits of a certain age and loved that Statesboro Blues sound but it took my brother to rekindle my interest later on. My Steve was not easy to compartmentalise himself, steeped in Northern English Folk Music, the first song I heard him sing ever was at a folk club fingerpicking The Fields of Peterloo about the Manchester massacre! He had a sort of 'straight' interest in bands like The Shadows too but we discovered Dylan together and his art interested me too, as it was the subject of my degree, I thought I knew it all, but his taste threw me at times finding his interest in Picasso and Marc Chagall to Jean Dubuffet was nothing if not eclectic and Taj Mahal cropped up in his record collection which inevitably piqued my interest.


Now Taj is back with his old friend and stalwart companion from The Rising Sons with Ry Cooder and their tribute to Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee which always fascinated and they featured strongly in my brother's record collection too (although he died before discovering the two had ended up not speaking for years afterward such was their level of hatred for each other!) 


The above statement says and summarises what so many of us hold to be true, not a day passes without a delve into music, were I to go deaf I think I might reach for the shotgun!



STATESBORO BLUES (LIVE)



Taj Mahal - 'Good Morning' Miss Brown' Bloody Sunday Sessions

The first time I heard the man . . . . 


A favourite 'Corrina Corrina' made all his own . . . . . . . 

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