Mahal Hikes

Taj Mahal - World Blues (2007)
EAC rip | FLAC + CUE + LOG -> 172Mb | MP3 @320 -> 78Mb
Full Artwork @300 dpi -> 22Mb (jpg)
Music Avenue Records (Europe)

It is impossible to describe the legendary musician Taj Mahal in any short phrase. Yes, he's a soulful Blues singer and guitar player, but also a globetrotting multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, ethnomusicologist, musicians' advocate, and the winner of two Grammy Awards. Oh yeah, he is also a warm human being, with a great sense of humor, and he likes to fish, and smoke fine cigars! For over 40 years Taj Mahal has been playing his very own distinctive brand of Blues. On a rock solid Country-Blues foundation the artist has layers a mixture of genres, including Caribbean, Hawaiian, African, Latin, and Cuban sounds and rhythms blended with Folk, Jazz, Zydeco, Gospel, Rock, Pop, Soul, and R&B. It's been said he plays Afro-Caribbean Blues, Folk-World-Blues, Hula Blues, Folk-Funk, and half a dozen other hyphenated descriptions which have attempted to describe his style, whereas in truth trying to pigeonhole the man is a futile exercise. The glue that sticks it all together is Taj's enduring interest in musical discovery, particularly in tracing American musical forms back to their roots in Africa and Europe.

Taj is an album by American blues artist Taj Mahal. From the Universal vibe of “Everybody is Somebody” to the political and environmental message of “Light of the Pacific” and the charm of “Soothin” Taj takes you on a musical adventure as you travel from track to track. Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American blues musician, a singer-songwriter and film composer who plays the guitar, piano, banjo, harmonica, and many other instruments. He often incorporates elements of world music into his works and has done much to reshape the definition and scope of blues music over the course of his more than 50-year career by fusing it with nontraditional forms, including sounds from the Caribbean, Africa, and the South Pacific.

Taj Mahal can rightfully be called a living legend for his contributions to popular music. With a voice as instantly recognizable as Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, or Dr John, Taj Mahal has throughout his career pushed the envelope of American music forward by incorporating sounds from the Caribbean, Africa, traditional blues and jazz.

Due to his insatiable interest in traditional world music and his urge to innovate, the African-American singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Taj Mahal has placed the blues genre in a wider musical context for years. After experimental musical encounters of the blues with music from India, Hawaii and Mali, with the album Mkutano he turns his gaze to Zanzibar, an island on the coast of East Africa. The economically very poor country has a rich musical tradition as the cradle of taarab music: a melting pot of Arab, African, European and Asian music styles. The main taarab orchestra is the Culture Musical Club. Taj Mahal (vocals, guitar, banjo), Bill Rich (electric bass) and Kester Smith (drums) traveled to Zanzibar for a musical encounter with the Culture Musical Club (instruments: zither, lute, flute, violins, accordion, double bass and percussion)…

This 1996 album picks up where Dancing the Blues left off three years earlier, with producer John Porter and most of the same studio cast. There's more of a New Orleans flavor this time, with barrelhouse pianist Jon Cleary contributing a couple of originals to go with such classics as Jesse Hill's "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" and Fats Domino's "Let the Four Winds Blow." Bonnie Raitt and a full vocal chorus help kick "I Need Your Loving" into overdrive. Mahal's one original is the tender, acoustic country-sounding "Lovin' in My Baby's Eyes".

Inside the Taj Mahal is an absolute classic on which most experts agree. It (the new age) truly started here. Paul Horn is, by extension, the father of new age music. Armed with a flute, a tape recorder, a chanter, and a 28-second sustained echo, Horn created one of the most beautiful and significant albums of all time - regardless of genre or style. There have been many discs of solo flute and processed overtones since this one. None have been on the same cutting edge.

Recorded from 2000 to 2001 but finally released a year later as the band's first studio effort (after three live discs), Mondo Garaj captures Garaj Mahal in its relative infancy. Keyboardist Eric Levy had recently joined, and although he's prominent on these songs, his contributions have grown considerably since. In fact, only two songs from this album appeared on any of the subsequent live discs. But with musicians of the caliber and experience of bassist Kai Eckhardt, drummer Alan Hertz, and Fareed Haque on guitars, there is nothing tentative about this recording. Sounding like a combination of Return to Forever and the Mahavishnu Orchestra in their '70s heyday, Garaj's jazz-rock fusion requires chops and innovation to stay interesting and avoid aimless noodling.