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Taj Mahal has always marched to a global beat. A two-time Grammy winner, multi-instrumentalist and musicologist, Taj has explored every geographic and cultural nook and crevice to satisfy his voracious appetite for knowledge about the origins of America’s music. “This music is part of what we’re composed of,” he insists. “This is in the DNA; it’s part of our cultural consciousness, even part of the cosmic consciousness.”
Ever the iconoclast, Taj drove a bold shovel deep into new ground in the 1970s with recordings that dared to mix unconventional instruments and styles with traditional musical forms. Pioneering then, they set the standard for what is considered the norm today. Maestro, his fiftieth album, was released in 2008 to mark the fortieth anniversary of his illustrious recording career. While not intended as a career overview, it illustrates the point with a delectable interplay of Delta and Chicago blues, Caribbean, Hawaiian, West African, rock and R&B that sings out Taj’s personal mantra. “Reggae gives you back your body. Jazz gives you back your mind. And blues gives you back your soul.”
Born Henry Saint Claire Fredericks – undoubtedly the most aristocratic name in roots music – on May 17, 1942 in Harlem, New York, Taj was raised in Springfield, Massachusetts. Unlike most African-Americans who saw only an embarrassing stigma in their past, Taj was encouraged to embrace his rich heritage. “I grew up with really a positive attitude toward Africa that was quite unique at the time,” he recalls.
Taj’s father was a classically trained pianist and arranger with roots in St. Kitts in the Caribbean, his mother was a gospel singing school teacher from South Carolina. He was introduced to a universe of music through his father’s record collection and short wave radio as well as the many musicians who visited the Fredericks’ home. Using a broken comb for a pick, he learned the rudiments of Piedmont and Delta guitar from a neighbour.
The musical elements of his youth came together while studying animal husbandry at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. “I was lucky enough to have my ideas coincide with the ‘60s and the resurgence of the blues,” he remembers of his fortuitous timing. Taj became convinced that music was his true calling after attending the Newport Folk Festivals. “I knew I had to put my energy into acknowledging and giving audience to the masters and the elders of the music,” he says. He began to use his stage name, which came to him in a dream about Ghandi and social tolerance, in his university R&B band Taj Mahal and the Elektras.
Upon graduating in 1964, Taj moved to Los Angeles, where he formed the Rising Sons before releasing his self-titled debut on Columbia Records in 1968.
In the ensuing four decades, Taj has acted, composed music for film scores and plays, made children’s albums and undertaken boundary-breaking collaborations with artists like Miles Davis, The Rolling Stones, Mike Bloomfield, Carly Simon and Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Of the numerous universal acclamations of his achievements, the most telling is “The United States Congressional Recognition Award” for a lifetime of contribution to the World’s History of Music (2002).
A real showman and a true professional, Taj sets very high standards demanding that his music be approachable, listenable and most of all, danceable. That’s why he prefers outdoor festival shows where he asks one small favour of his fans. “I want people to roll back the rug and go for it!” he declares. www.tajblues.com
Ken Wright
