credit: Amir Kuckovic/FlickrGwen interviewed the great bluesman Taj Mahal as part of the 44th New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. They focused on five of his songs. Here are Gwen's notes for the interview.
INTRODUCTION: The world has known TWO Henry St. Clair Fredericks: Henry St. Clair Fredericks SENIOR … and Henry St. CLair Fredericks JUNIOR.
Father and son come from CARRIBEAN STOCK. They lived in HARLEM before moving to MASSACHUSETTS. They BOTH LOVED MUSIC … and a school teacher named MILDRED. Father … mother … and son opened their home to musicians everywhere.
But in the late 1950s, Henry St. Clair Fredericks JUNIOR changed his name to TAJ MAHAL. And the REASON we're here today is because the WORLD HAS NEVER KNOWN ANYBODY QUITE LIKE HIM.
Infinitely CURIOUS and BRAVE -- Taj Mahal played AMERICANA music before there was a name for it … And he played BLUES MUSIC even where the record contracts were going to disco and techno pop artists. Mahal played CHILDREN's FOLK SONGS before they became a genre on iTUNES. And he was an early believer in WORLD MUSIC.
So -- over a 50-year career -- Mahal has done what he set out to do:
'To put some shake in your shaker
Some quake in your quaker
And a little rock in your sock.'
Please welcome Taj Mahal.
With Taj. That's a photo of Allison Miner above us. She was one of the founders of Jazz Fest.
photo: Stanley Taylor
1. Tom and Sally Drake Performed live for a 1971 album called, "The Real Thing." -Tom and Sally Drake were friends living in California at the time. Tom Drake was a songwriter and had strong ties to the Kingston Trio. The Real Thing album was a LIVE CONCERT at Bill Graham's Fillmore East venue in New York City. There were FOUR TUBA players: Howard Johnson … Bob Stewart … Joseph Daley … EARL MCINTYRE. Also, John Simon is on piano (tho not on this song). Simon played tuba for The Band's early recordings. Howard Johnson also worked with The Band and later the Levon Helm Band.
2. Cakewalk into Town comes from the 1991 album, Recycling the Blues and Other Related Stuff. This album featured Howard Johnson again on tuba and the Pointer Sisters as back up vocalists.
3. Stealin' is a great old jug band song featured on the 1991 album Happy to Be Just Like I Am. Gus Cannon popularized the song back in the 1920s and variations have been recorded by Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger, Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead and Dave Von Ronk.
Woman why don't you put your arms around me
like the circle of the sun
Oh Lord do me pretty baby
Like that old easy rider of mine done
Yeah well, we rolled and we rocked til the break of day'
we roll and we rock in the hayloft in the hay
that's what i'm stealing, stealing
pretty mama don't you tell on me
I'm stealing to the same old used to be
4. Ain't Gwine Whistle Dixie, Anymo is again from the 1971 The Real Thing album. Great whistling and also a fife.
5. Strong Man Holler Taj Mahal won two Grammy awards. But most recently he nominated for the 2008 album Maestro, which is a terrific album of collaborations with a variety of artists. Some of the songs are classsics, some he wrote, some are collaborativley written … TM wrote Strong Man Holler alone. Sounds a bit like Howlin' Wolf on this one. Great moaning at the end.
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credit: Bill Gracey/Flickr