Taj

I've heard Taj Mahal since the late 1960s, but had never seen him perform until last night at the 300-seat theater at the Musical Instruments Museum where he and his ban (bass, drums, pedal steel) were playing four shows.

Over the years he's played with everyone from the old blues artists to Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Joe Walsh, Cyndi Lauper, and Bonnie Raitt.  Taj (real name Henry St Clair Fredericks Jr, but known as Taj since 1960) is now almost 82 and moving a lot slower than he used to but his voice and playing is as strong as ever.  He played electric acoustic and steel guitar, ukelele, banjo, and keyboards.  At a Taj concert you'll hear an eclectic mix of country blues, roots music, reggae and Hawaiian music. What a fun, relaxing, and upbeat show! 

You can listen to some of his music in the linked post above; this is Take A Giant Step, the first song I ever heard from Taj and what he closed last night's show with, and below are a couple of more recent sessions: