On Thursday, June 30, 2016, legendary musician Taj Mahal and his Trio performed for a sold-out crowd at the South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC) in South Orange, NJ. Currently on a world tour with stops in Canada, France, Spain, Belgium, in addition to the United States, Mahal is universally known for putting on live performances which magically connect with his listeners. As Mahal explains, “Like ancient culture, the people are as much a part of the performance as the music. Live communication through music, oh yeah, it’s right up there with oxygen!”
Mahal’s opening act at SOPAC is American blues singer and guitarist Toby Walker. Highlights of Walker’s set include a pickin’ and grinnin’ version of “Sweet Georgia Brown,” along with “Seven-Day Wonder,” a humorous original tune from his new album Mileage about a man who has “a gal for every day of the week.”
Following up with yet another Mileage cut, “My Baby Owns a Whiskey Store,” Walker demonstrates his prodigious musical talent where he’s able to sing, play a solid bass line, strum rhythmic chords and when necessary, even pick out a stunning lead guitar solo— all simultaneously on a single guitar!
Switching over to his National steel guitar, Walker plays Blind Willie McTell’s Delta blues, “Savannah Mama,” sliding and twanging the strings — at times, even making them sound like a train whistle!
A final highlight of his set involves Walker segueing into a blues piece where he makes his guitar sound like a freight train — the engine clickety-clacking and gaining speed — as he strategically moves his left hand both over and under the fingerboard while the crowd metaphorically jumps on board and shows their excitement through enthusiastic applause. Using melody, harmony, and rhythm to slow the pace down to a frenzied finish line at the station, Walker leaves the audience standing on their feet, impressed by the sheer talent of this contemporary bluesman who, after the show, confesses to a little secret revealing, “I like playing in Jersey; that’s where I met my wife.”
Following Walker’s set, Taj Mahal and his trio take the stage with “Good Morning, Miss Brown,” an up-tempo blues featuring Mahal on vocals and guitar.
“The blues is a feeling!,” Mahal informs the crowd at SOPAC, and he goes on to prove it to the sold-out house by playing music that doesn’t need to be dissected and analyzed, but instead, felt and enjoyed in a way that words can’t often describe.
And the same sense of mystery appears to apply to Mahal’s status as a musician.
Is he a blues artist?
A jazz artist?
A pop artist?
A children’s artist?
A world music artist?
And just what kind of background does it take to make a single individual so musically diverse?
Born Henry St. Claire Fredericks, Jr., Mahal was born in Harlem, NY, on May 17, 1942. Inspired at a young age by the work of Gandhi, along with a fascination with India and the idea of social tolerance, Henry Jr. eventually changed his name to Taj Mahal.
Growing up in Springfield, MA, Mahal’s mother was a gospel choir member and his father was a jazz pianist, composer, and arranger who frequently hosted musicians from the Caribbean and Africa in addition to the United States. Taj’s parents started him out with classical piano lessons, but he soon expanded his musical range to include study of the clarinet, trombone, and harmonica. He also had a real penchant for singing.
After his father was killed in a tragic accident, his mother remarried and Taj began playing his stepfather’s guitar in his early teens, becoming serious when a guitarist from North Carolina moved in next door and taught him various styles of Delta and Chicago blues.
At the age of 16, Mahal began working on a local dairy farm and by 19, became a foreman on the farm; as a result, he thought about pursuing a career in farming. Over the years, this ongoing passion led to him performing regularly at Farm Aid concerts.
In the early 60s, he went on to study agriculture at UMass Amherst, where he formed his popular band, the Elektras. After graduation, he headed west to Los Angeles where he formed the Rising Sons, a six-piece group which included guitarist Ry Cooder. The band opened for numerous high-profile 60s-era artists including Otis Redding, the Temptations, and Martha Reeves & the Vandellas.
Around the same time, Mahal also had the opportunity to work with various blues legends, notably Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Lightnin’ Hopkins, and Sleepy John Estes.
This diversity of musical experience served as the bedrock for Mahal’s first three recordings: 1967’s Taj Mahal, 1968’s The Natch’l Blues, and 1969’s Giant Step. These three seminal albums showed signs of the musical exploration that would become Mahal’s hallmark in years to come.
In the 70s, Mahal carved out a unique musical niche with a string of recordings including the Grammy-nominated soundtrack to the movie Sounder. In the 80s, he grounded himself in the music and culture of his new home in Hawaii in addition to releasing three celebrated children’s albums. In the 90s, he released his Grammy-winning recording, Señor Blues. Altogether, Mahal has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards.
These days, Mahal tours with several groups including his Phantom Blues Band, his Hula Blues Band, and The Taj Mahal Trio.
The Trio stars Mahal on guitars and keyboards, Kester Smith on drums, and Bill Rich on bass, a player who brilliantly holds down the bottom on Mahal’s second number at SOPAC, a somewhat risque little blues number entitled “Good Morning, Little School Girl.”
Moving on to his classic blues, “Shady Grove,” Mahal shouts, “Everybody holler!,” and sets up a call and response, his audience replying, “Whoot, whoot, whoot,” as he bounces in his seat, expertly making his instrument sing.
Moving to more of a “world music” sound, to the delight of the crowd, Mahal performs “Queen Bee” with Kester Smith effortlessly groovin’ to the Jamaican beat.
Explaining to the audience that he met blues legend Mississippi John Hurt back in the 60s when he was just 19 and Hurt was nearing the end of his life, he admits that, at the time, he could easily have gone on to become “one of those 60’s radicals.” Instead, he observed how Hurt handled himself and decided to model his behavior on Hurt’s saying, “If that man could live that peaceful in the middle of all that turmoil, I could also.”
Mahal then goes on to play Hurt’s “Satisfied ‘N Tickled Too,” a performance featuring Taj’s sultry and pleading vocal, his slinky sounding guitar, and a lively reggae-inspired rhythm arrangement.
Looking out over the audience and seeing so many people moving to the music in their seats, Mahal tells his bandmates, “You can see the wigglers from here!” He then goes on to explain to the crowd, “As Americans, we used to dance a lot more. My parents danced until their 90s. Other countries dance.”
“Can we stand up, Taj?,” bursts out one man in the audience.
“I’m just saying move,” Mahal responds with a twinkle in his eye. “You don’t have to stand up — then, people can’t see!”
Switching over to ukulele, Mahal segues into the Gus Cannon tune, “Bring It With You When You Come,” strumming his instrument and wiggling himself in his seat to Rich’s slapping bass and Smith’s percussive chunka-chunkas, gliding along like a slinky train, the audience having as much fun as he is having.
And speaking about his inspiration for having such an enjoyable time at his own performances, Mahal reveals, “What inspires me most…is that I’ve been able to make a living playing the music that I always loved and wanted to play since the early 50s. And the fact that I still am involved in enjoying an exciting career at this point in time is truly priceless.”
Adds Mahal, “My relationship with my audience has been fun, with great respect going both ways! I am extremely lucky to have fans who have listened to the music I choose to play and who have stayed with me for 50 years. These fans have also introduced their children, grandchildren, and in some cases great-grandchildren to this fabulous treasure of music that I am privileged to represent. It’s very exciting, to say the least.”
Telling the audience that he is a septuagenarian now and joking he “don’t need to be breaking no legs!,” Mahal gets up to switch instruments and, at the same time, instructs the audience in some long-standing etiquette. “Your mom should teach you how to do nice things for ladies,” he says. “I still walk on the outside because I’m a protector.”
And with that, he goes into a beautiful version of his catchy and melodic classic, “Lovin’ in my Baby’s Eyes,” accompanied by his talented musical colleagues.
Following a rollicking version of his classic blues number, “Going Up to the Country, Paint My Mailbox Blue,” Mahal informs the audience, “We’re gonna get out of here with this,” at which point he and his bandmates proceed to conclude the evening with a live version of the catchy and inspiring “Everybody is Somebody.” Everyone in the house — including those who didn’t already know the lyrics — joyfully joins Taj on the ubiquitous chorus joyfully singing over and over, “Everybody is somebody. Nobody is nobody,” proving that, in their hearts, they’ve come to understand what Taj Mahal has clearly taught them this evening: The blues truly is a feeling.
For more information on Taj Mahal and his current international tour, please see tajblues.com. For more on upcoming concerts at South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC) — including David Crosby on August 18, 2016; Dee Dee Bridgewater on September 30, 2016; and Average White Band on November 10, 2016 — please see sopacnow.org
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