"Is it a man or a building?"
Well, it's actually a man named AFTER a building. This building:
Taj Mahal has been on the scene for 40 odd years now, and always on the fringe. While primarily a blues musician, he has a talent for blending the blues with other styles as well, often creating something entirely unique. No one can play the down-n-dirty, nitty gritty delta blues like Taj, either. I imagine he'd set Robert Johnson back a respectful step or two.
This is why it's difficult to pick one song to show you what his music is like. The fact that my Taj Mahal boots span 40 years pokes at the problem spot a bit also. Thus, I've posted two songs this week, and that isn't enough, either.
The first is an example of Taj playing traditional acoustic blues in his own distinctive style. You can tell that he's dead serious about his music, but that's only because he has so much fun with it. The song is one of his signature tunes, "Fishin' Blues", from New York City's Bottom Line in October of 1974. Taj is bursting with energy, and infecting the entire audience with that energy by force. You can tell they're having a lot of fun.
This song clocks in at 4:20, so smoke 'em if you've got 'em. Click here for "Fishin' Blues" at NYC's Bottom Line in Oct. 1974.
If this tune sounds familiar, you might know it from the Lovin' Spoonful's wildly inferior (IMO) pop version in the film "What's Up Tiger Lily".
Fast forward 30 years to the Winnipeg Folk Festival in Manitoba, Canada. I now give you a taste of Taj's current flavor. His music of late has been injected with a Pacific island groove, a highly dancable electric mix of blues and beach. I toyed with the idea of using "Fishin' Blues" again, as it sounds very different from the one you've just heard, and he's STILL having a good time with it. Variety wins out, though, and I think this selection best displays the newer sound. His band is called The Hula Band, and this is the "New Hula Blues".
Click here for "New Hula Blues" at the Winnipeg Folk Festival on July 8, 2004.
Next Week: You've known him as a funny actor for about 30 years, but he started as a funny musician. First to post his name in the commments wins a copy of the show!
Addendum: Kudos to Mark for being the only one to at least TRY to guess this, although I don't personally know of a musician named "Chrysler". That doesn't mean there isn't one! I guess ol' Taj isn't as well known as I thought. He certainly isn't as well known as he should be.
