Maestro

Taj Mahal was dabbling in some Lite FM Keb Mo adult contemporary type stuff for a minute there. Can't say I begrudge him that, he's Taj Mahal after all. The man can do whatever he likes....

But holy cow, he's BACK in top form with super powerful BLUES singing and man does he blow the roof off!!! When he's on, as he is here, he's by far my favorite blues singer ever. Tons of energy, feeling, expression- old school blues shouting at its best. Don't sleep on it!

Taj Mahal's cd Maestro is the best! Very bluesy. His band is awesome. I actually don't get tired of listening to him in my car. Some songs are very easy listening. Sort of background music.

The new Taj Mahal CD "Maestro" is quite a treat. He covers a variety of styles with his inclusion of some stellar guest artists this time around: Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Ziggy Marley, Angelique Kidjo & Toumani Diabate,and The New Orleans Social Club on a couple of songs, "Hello Josephine" & "I Can Make You Happy". Los Lobos also appear on another two tracks, one of which was co-written by his daughter, Deva Mahal, who sings on the track entitled "Never Let You Go". It doesn't get much sweeter than this! The first 2 in particular should supply some crossover appeal with the young'uns. They are all a nice addition even though I would have loved this CD without them. Taj is in fine form here - he uses that "I'm gonna catch a fish" voice quite a bit - I love it when he does that!

Since a couple of decades, Taj is visiting the blues cousins : Africa, Trinidad... This CD is ... just a Masterpiece of this attitude
Patrice

Taj Mahal has all the qualities of a true American, nay, world master musician: vocal and instrumental technique, characteristic personal style, the curiosity of exploration, the fearlessness of experimentation, wisdom, and group leadship. Listening to this wide-ranging CD, I was struck with how many blues styles he captured, from country to urban, from the Deep South to the Caribbean to West Africa, at home on banjo, harmonica, and acoustic and electric guitars. With the great group Los Lobos and also the Phantom Blues Band and Ziggy Marley's Band as support, we take a grand tour of a great musical soul, the result of decades of learning. Having first heard Taj Mahal 40 years ago and enjoyed his works over the ensuing years, I regard this album as a classic must buy. How apt its title!