Humboldt State University and the surrounding community will have a chance to sample Taj’s eclectic style when he performs with his trio on the HSU campus at the John Van Duzer Theatre, Saturday, Sept. 27 at 8 p.m. What they will hear is an amalgam of blues, gospel and reggae peppered with Caribbean and African influences. The mixture is a style Taj Mahal pioneered throughout his career that spans more than 40 years.
“He’s the real thing,” says Professor Eugene Novotney of the HSU Music Department. “He’s very versatile and respectful of history.”
Taj’s newest album, Maestro, will be released Sept. 30 on the Heads Up label. It features collaborations with Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Ziggy Marley, Los Lobos and others. Maestro represents Taj’s first American release in five years and is a combination of original material and vintage tunes.
Born in Harlem, N.Y., Taj grew up in Springfield, Mass. and was raised in a musical family. His mother was a member of the local gospel choir and his father was a jazz piano player. After enrolling at the University of Massachusetts to study animal husbandry and agronomy, he formed a rhythm and blues band named Taj Mahal & The Elektras. The name Taj Mahal had come to him in a dream about Gandhi and India and he had adopted it as his moniker by the early 1960s.
While he enjoyed animals and farming, Taj couldn’t shake his interest in music. He moved to California in 1964 and began recording with other musicians, including fellow blues guitarist Ry Cooder, and eventually released his first solo album in 1968, the self-titled Taj Mahal. In the following decades he produced numerous solo albums, won two Grammy awards and played with the likes of Eric Clapton, Etta James and Muddy Waters.
“What really makes Taj Mahal distinctive is that he has a broad view of what the blues is,” says Professor Dan Aldag of the HSU Music Department. “He is in no way a purist. He brings in sounds from other styles and cultures to make very interesting music.”
Tickets for the performance are $35 for HSU students, $40 for children and seniors, and $45 for adults. Tickets are available from the HSU Ticket Office at (707) 826-3928 or www.humboldt.edu/~carts.