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Taj Mahal

Honey Bee
Album: MUSICBLITZ Exclusive
Genres: Blues
A laid-back waxin' with a Louisiana feel and back-porch groove from the Grammy-winning "fishin' bluesician".

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An accomplished troubadour, composer, and musicologist, Taj Mahal has dedicated his entire career to the preservation of African-American roots music. Inspired at a young age by the music of T-Bone Walker, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters and many others, Taj launched himself on a lifelong journey through the realms of blues, soul, R&B, zydeco, and reggae, stopping occasionally to explore the traditional sounds of Hawaii, the Caribbean, and West Africa. Taj plays over twenty different instruments, and his passionate live performances are as unpredictably diverse as his records.

Born Henry Saint Claire Fredericks, Taj was raised in a musical household in Springfield, Massachusetts, and formed his first band, Taj Mahal & The Elektras, in 1961. For the next three years, Taj split his time between pursuing his education at the University of Massachusetts and cranking out R&B tunes on the Boston college and coffeehouse circuit. Upon graduation, he moved out to Los Angeles, where he formed the Rising Sons with guitarist Ry Cooder. Though the Rising Sons were hotly tipped to be the “next big thing,” their mixture of pop, rock, blues and country influences proved too radical for the mid-60s, and the band splintered after releasing only one single.

By 1968, Taj was back in action, this time leading a crack band that included Native American guitarist Jesse “Ed” Davis. His first three albums, Taj Mahal (1968), The Natch’l Blues (1969) and Giant Step/De Ole Folks At Home (1969), firmly established Taj as the premier cosmic bluesman of the rock generation; Taj and band were even invited to England to appear as part of the Rolling Stones’ Rock and Roll Circus. Over the next three decades, Taj has released thirty-four more albums, including the soundtracks to the films Sounder and Sounder II, and the Grammy-nominated score for the Broadway stage production of Mule Bone, based on a play by Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. He’s also recorded or performed with an endless list of luminaries, including B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Clapton.

“Honey Bee,” a track recorded exclusively for BluesBLITZ, finds Taj in a laid-back mood, waxin’ poetical about some good, good lovin’. There’s a definite back-porch vibe to the proceedings, with Taj’s relaxed vocals hovering warmly over a swampy guitar-and-harmonica groove, and the whole thing is as intimate and funky as a fishing shack in a Louisiana bayou. Some of Taj’s other recent recordings may have encompassed jazz and the music of West, but this track is 100% Grade-A American Blues.

 
 
  Dan Epstein  
  Dan Epstein is a Los Angeles-based journalist and pop-culture historian whose work has appeared in L.A. Weekly, BAM, Raygun, Guitar World and the Los Angeles Times, among other publications. His first book, Twentieth Century Pop Culture, was published in 1999 by Carlton Books.

 

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Its ok
miguel mendoza montes

I saw Taj Mahal play live at the Topanga Coral (in Topanga Canyon, CA) back in the 70's. It was an impromptu performance, great foot-stompin' music and a super delightful surprise. He's a great, unique Blues Artist and I hope I'm fortunate enough to see him perform again in the future. This song (Honey Bee) sounds really great, but I can only download a 30 second sample. What happened to the full version?
Shirley

I have met this guy and he is the most fantastic, Hawaiianblues singer and musician man, ever! Love and Aloha Maj
Maj Andersson

more reviews
 
Waiting For The Cards To Fall by Guy Davis
That's Alright Mama by Scott Dunbar
Tell Me by Indigenous
Senor Blues (Live) by Taj Mahal
I Think (Live) by Taj Mahal
Hello Mary Lee by Lazy Lester
Cruisin' (Live) by Taj Mahal
 

for Taj Mahal
Official Taj Mahal Site
Taj Mahal and The Hula Blues Band Site
AMG Taj Mahal Site

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