Taj Mahal Blues musician Date of Birth: 17.05.1942 Country: USA

Taj Mahal: Biography of a Blues Musician

Taj Mahal, the blues musician, was born on May 17, 1942, in New York, to a family that shaped his musical upbringing and interest in different cultures. His father, Henry Fredericks, a renowned jazz musician and arranger, was an extraordinary man. His colleagues called him a genius, and he spoke seven languages. From an early age, he introduced his son to the best examples of jazz and blues, paid for his clarinet and trombone lessons. Taj Mahal's mother, Mildred Shields, was a school teacher who sang gospel in the church choir. When Taj Mahal was very young, the family moved to Springfield, Minnesota. His father's shortwave radio exposed him to a boundless world of music from distant corners of the globe. The young music lover developed a particular affinity for both acoustic and electric blues, as well as rock and roll and his first heroes, Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley.

When Taj Mahal was 11 years old, his father died in an accident. Two years later, his mother remarried a Jamaican man named Hughan Williams, who taught Taj Mahal how to play the guitar and banjo. In order to secure a stable future, Taj Mahal enrolled at the University of Massachusetts, where he studied agriculture and animal husbandry. However, music began to take a more important place in his life. During his college years, he formed his first band, Taj Mahal & the Elektras, with other amateur musicians. He chose the stage name Taj Mahal inspired by a dream. In the early 1960s, the band performed at university parties, city clubs, and eventually toured the entire state of Massachusetts. Taj Mahal's passion for folk music led him to Greenwich Village and Cambridge, the birthplaces of the folk movement, where he met and played with folk pioneers such as Bob Dylan, Dave Van Ronk, and Richie Havens.

In 1964, after earning his degree, Taj Mahal arrived in Los Angeles, not to pursue agriculture but rather a music career. Trying his luck in several folk-blues groups, he eventually formed the Rising Sons with guitarist Ry Cooder. They signed a deal with Columbia Records and recorded their debut single. However, the label was unsure how to market the recording, which would become a common phenomenon in a few years but seemed strange and unlikely to resonate with the public at the time. The album prepared by the band, a fusion of various authentic American styles, remained unreleased for almost 30 years and was only published in 1992.

Taj Mahal decided to leave the band and accepted a solo contract with Columbia. In August 1967, he recorded his debut self-titled album, which was released in early 1968. The intense mix of old and new blues, delivered with such directness and authenticity, made this release stand out in the blues scene of the time. Insightful critics welcomed the album as the first step towards the revival of authentic blues. This revival continued with his second album, "Natch'l Blues," released in late 1968. In 1969, Taj Mahal prepared a unique double album called "Giant Step," half acoustic and half electric. These three albums established Taj Mahal as both an authentic and remarkably modern blues musician. While many veteran blues artists delved into psychedelia under pressure from record labels, Taj Mahal remained true to the blues of the 1930s and 1940s, incorporating the latest recording technologies. The guitar work on his albums was astonishing, with Taj Mahal's slide guitar leading the way, complemented by Jesse Ed Davis on lead guitar and Ry Cooder and Bill Boatman on rhythm guitars.

Taj Mahal's fame grew within the music industry. Over the years, he became a favorite session and touring artist, recording and performing with numerous rock stars and outstanding blues musicians. Highly skilled and meticulous, Taj Mahal excelled at playing the bass guitar, piano, banjo, harmonica, and any solo guitar. In the early 1970s, Taj Mahal took even more risks in his music, fearlessly exploring unexpected innovations. His 1971 album "Happy Just to Be Like I Am" was a captivating exploration of traditional ethnic music heavily infused with Caribbean rhythms, while remaining rooted in acoustic country blues. The double live album "The Real Thing" in 1972 showcased the influence of New Orleans music with the addition of a tuba. In 1973, Taj Mahal ventured into film, composing several songs for the movie "Sounder." Alongside this, he explored the tension between jazz and country blues on the album "Oooh So Good 'N Blues," which reached the Top 20 of the jazz charts. A year later, his music began to reflect the influence of reggae on the album "Mo' Roots."

In the mid-1970s, Taj Mahal signed with Warner Bros. Records and released three albums in 1977: "Evolution (The Most Recent)," "Music Fuh Ya' (Music Para Tu)," and the soundtrack for the film "Brothers." By the late 1970s, the music landscape was changing, and Taj Mahal's popularity began to decline. The situation worsened in the 1980s with the rise of disco and heavy metal. For almost a decade, without a record label, Taj Mahal recorded very little. He moved to Hawaii, where he spent many years and discovered a new musical tradition.

In 1987, Taj Mahal returned to the music scene with a new album of original material, "Taj." The album was released by the Gramavision label, which was interested in publishing such exotic recordings. The following year, he embarked on an interesting and successful venture, recording a series of albums for children. One of the standout releases was "Shake Sugaree," a musical journey through Africa, the Caribbean, and the American South. Some tracks featured a children's choir, including Taj Mahal's own children. For several years, Taj Mahal divided his time between various parallel endeavors. Among them was providing the musical accompaniment for Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston's play "Mule Bone," which was previously considered lost. For this soundtrack, Taj Mahal received his first Grammy nomination in 1991.

In the early 1990s, after a long hiatus, Taj Mahal finally returned to regular studio work and concert tours. His recording home became Private Music, which released a series of successful albums. His first album with the label was "Like Never Before" in 1991. Taj Mahal did not settle for pure blues and instead incorporated elements of rock, pop, and rhythm and blues into his subsequent releases, such as "Dancing the Blues" in 1993 and "Phantom Blues" in 1996. Starting with "Phantom Blues," which reached the top three of the blues chart, all of Taj Mahal's new albums consistently made it into the top 20 best blues records. His popularity slowly but steadily returned.

According to some blues purists who did not share Taj Mahal's eclectic interests, his stylistic cocktail sounded too academic, and they accused him of being too aloof. In the second half of the 1990s, Taj Mahal's music inadvertently "avenged" him when a whole generation of young blues musicians chose a similarly "academic" path. Among them were the revivalists of acoustic blues Keb' Mo' and Guy Davis, as well as eclectic musicians Corey Harris and Alvin Youngblood Hart.

In 1997, Taj Mahal released the album "Senor Blues," one of the strongest in his career. For once, critics unanimously praised his work. Even the Grammy organizers recognized his talent, awarding "Senor Blues" Best Blues Album of the Year. Although the album still did not adhere strictly to the genre, it featured influences from rhythm and blues, soul, jazz, and rock and roll.

Throughout his career, Taj Mahal's imagination has been stirred by various musical traditions. He collaborates with talented ethnic musicians, recording original albums released on independent labels. The 1995 album "Mumtaz Mahal" was recorded with classical Indian musicians. In 1998, he released "Sacred Island" with his new band, the Hula Blues Band, exploring the enchanting Hawaiian music. In 1999, Taj Mahal's work was heavily influenced by reggae on the album "Kulanjan," a collaboration with Malian musician Toumani Diabate, who plays the rare instrument called the kora. Taj Mahal continued to release albums that blended authentic blues with African folk melodies. In 2000, he won another Grammy award for Best Contemporary Blues Album with the live recording "Shoutin' in Key: Taj Mahal & the Phantom Blues Band Live."

In the same year, Taj Mahal oscillated between Bremen and Hawaii, navigating between different traditions and historical eras, merging the authentic styles of the Caribbean, Polynesia, Africa, and America on his latest album "Hanapepe Dream," released in 2003. The album featured a large exotic ensemble, including three ukuleles of different timbres, Hawaiian guitars, brass, various percussion instruments, standard basses, and electric guitars. "Hanapepe Dream" illustrated Taj Mahal's recurring theme throughout his career: the homeland of all forms of soul and blues, reggae, jazz, and rock and roll is the African diaspora.