Happy 70th birthday,
Taj Mahal
Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, wishes the extraordinary blues innovator Taj Mahal a Happy 70th Birthday.
The label will celebrate the groundbreaking artist with a major catalog reissue project beginning with the release of the newly-curated The Hidden Treasures of Taj Mahal 1969-1973, an extraordinary two-disc collection of previously unreleased studio and live performances, available Tuesday August 21.
A two-disc sonic portrait chronicling the early stirrings of Taj Mahal's solo career, The Hidden Treasures of Taj Mahal 1969-1973 features two CDs comprised entirely of unreleased finished material. The first disc debuts studio recordings from 1967-1973, while the second disc premieres a full-length live concert, recorded April 18, 1970 at the Royal Albert Hall in London (on a bill that included Santana).
The Hidden Treasures of Taj Mahal 1969-1973 is the first release in an ongoing catalog project which includes plans to release definitive editions of the artist's entire Columbia Records catalog.
"Throughout my more than 40 years of recording, I have always been an outside-the-box composer/musician/performer and not always understood by the music industry, so it gives me a phenomenal amount of personal pleasure to have Sony/Legacy reissue my whole catalog of music! This is fabulous news for the legions of fans who have always been unfailingly loyal to me and this music we've shared for the duration of a wonderful and (thank you very much) still on-going career of touring and playing live for fans around the world!," said Taj Mahal. "This excitement is amplified even more for everyone (me included) by the first-time release of an excellent live concert from Royal Albert Hall in London, England and an an album of never before released studio musical gems! I'm thrilled that this music is finally coming to the light of day! So go for it babies! Listen and dance your (bleep) off to the music we love so much and glad there's more where that came from! I made the music of my heart and y'all helped!!"
Born Henry St. Clair Fredericks, Jr. in Harlem, New York, on May 17, 1942, Taj Mahal has created an inimitable and enduring body of work, a bedrock blues flavored with strains of West Indian, Caribbean and African music with elements of jazz, rock and reggae flowing effortlessly through the mix. A two-time Grammy winner, Taj Mahal opened the untapped potential of the Delta Blues, felt the connection to African soul and island rhythms, and became one of world music's first proponents and champions.
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Posted May 16th, 2012 by administrator
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Taj Mahal Concert
Fillmore East (New York, NY) Feb 13, 1971
Taj Mahal- vocals, harmonica, banjo, National steel guitar, fife
John Hall- electric guitar
John Simon - piano
Howard Johnson - tuba, baritone saxophone, horn arrangements
Bob Stewart - tuba, flugelhorn, trumpet
Joeseph Daly - tuba, valve trombone
Early McIntyre - tuba, bass trombone
Bill Rich - bass
Greg Thomas - drums
Kwasi "Rocky" DziDzournu - Congas
Whether he was recording solo acoustic, fronting a rock band or weaving his trademark National steel guitar around a tuba-dominated blues band, between 1967 and 1971, Taj Mahal created some of the most consistently engaging modern blues music, inspiring countless other musicians of the era. His multi-instrumental abilities and multicultural vision of the blues transcended previous limitations of the genre and he should be credited for playing an enormous role in revitalizing and preserving traditional blues.
Initially honoring the Mississippi Delta blues masters, his music often emphasized his forceful steel guitar playing and hard hitting vocals, recorded in a sparse manner, not unlike the originals. Teaming up with Native American guitarist, Jesse Ed Davis during the late 1960s and forming a band, Taj Mahal's scope broadened and the music become more hard hitting and dynamic -- not to mention amplified!
During the early days of 1971, Taj Mahal began assembling a new group, with the help of the extraordinary tuba player and arranger Howard Johnson, and began achieving a bigger more soulful sound with increasing variety. The band was overloaded with talent, including musician, producer, arranger John Simon at the piano, the guitarist from Janis Joplin's Pearl album, John Hall (who would soon take off with his own band Orleans) and Buddy Miles Express bassist Bill Rich. Drummer Greg Thomas and percussionist Kwasi "Rocky" DziDzournu round out the core unit. However it was Howard Johnson and his fellow tuba and horn playing buddies, Bob Stewart, Joseph Daly and Early McIntyre that largely contributed to this band being so memorable.
The testament until now has been Taj Mahal's most popular album, The Real Thing which captured this unit live on stage during a Fillmore East stand in February of 1971. Presented here is Taj Mahal performing with the same configuration on the third and final night of that run. For those enamored with this all too brief era of Taj Mahal's career, this recording is quite the treat as it contains what are essentially alternate takes of some of Taj Mahal's most vital material. This night is also notable because it was simulcast live on New York City's WPLJ FM as A Night at Fillmore East, part of a new series of live radio broadcasts that were becoming increasingly popular. Elton John's November, 17 1970 performance at A&R Studios, later released in part as his first live album, was the debut broadcast in the series.
>via: http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/taj-mahal/concerts/fillmore-east-february-13-19...