Taj is a towering musical figure — a legend who transcended the blues not by leaving them behind, but by revealing their magnificent scope to the world. “The blues is bigger than most people think,” he says. “You could hear Mozart play the blues. It might be more like a lament. It might be more melancholy. But I’m going to tell you: the blues is in there.”
Taj’s exploration of music began as an exploration of self. He was born in 1942 in Harlem to musical parents — his father was a jazz pianist with Caribbean roots; mother was a gospel-singing schoolteacher from South Carolina — who cultivated an appreciation for both personal history and the arts in their son. “I was raised really conscious of my African roots,” Taj says. “So I was trying to find out: where does what we do here connect to what we left there?” In the early 1950s, his family moved to Springfield, Massachusetts — a microcosmic melting pot for immigrants from across the globe: the Caribbean, the American South, Europe, the Mediterranean, Syria, Lebanon. “Music was everywhere,” he says. “Things were different in those days. There weren’t a lot of places that African Americans had to go out to entertain themselves. So people did a lot of entertaining in their homes. Friday or Saturday night, you’d move the furniture, mop and wax the floor, and set things up so people could pop over and hear all the music.” Musicians and friends from around the world passed through, ate home-cooked feasts, and led neighborhood jam sessions and dance parties in cozy living rooms.
Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise appearances:
#40 Jan. 28 ~ Feb. 4, 2024 Western Caribbean | Taj Mahal & the Phantom Blues Band
#39 Oct. 28 ~ Nov. 4, 2023 Mexican Riviera | Taj Mahal & the Phantom Blues Band
#38 Jan. 28 ~ Feb. 4, 2023 Eastern Caribbean | Taj Mahal & the Phantom Blues Band
#37 Oct. 29 ~ Nov. 5, 2022 Sea Of Cortez | Taj Mahal & the Phantom Blues Band
#36 Jan. 29-Feb. 5, 2022 Eastern Caribbean | Taj Mahal w/ Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen
#35 Nov. 6-13, 2021 Southern Caribbean | Taj Mahal & the Phantom Blues Band
#34 Jan. 19~26, 2020 Western Caribbean | Taj Mahal Quartet
#33 Oct. 26~Nov. 2, 2019 Mexican Riviera | Taj Mahal
#32 Feb. 3~10, 2019 Eastern Caribbean | Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band
#31 Oct. 28~Nov. 4, 2018 Sea Of Cortez | Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band
#30 Feb. 4~11, 2018 Eastern Caribbean | Taj Mahal Trio w/ guest Roger Glenn
#29 Oct. 21~28, 2017 Southern Caribbean | TajMo: The Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’ Band
#28 Jan. 22~29, 2017 Eastern Caribbean | Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band
#27 Oct. 29~Nov. 5, 2016 Southeastern Caribbean | Taj Mahal & Phantom Blues Band
#26 Jan. 17~24, 2016 Eastern Caribbean | Taj Mahal & Phantom Blues Band
#24 Jan. 18~25, 2015 Western Caribbean | Taj Mahal Trio
#23 Oct. 4~11, 2014 Mexican Riviera | Taj Mahal Trio
#22 Jan. 19~26, 2014 Eastern Caribbean | Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band
#20 Jan. 20~27, 2013 Eastern Caribbean | Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band
#19 Oct. 27~Nov. 3, 2012 Southeastern Caribbean
| Taj Mahal Trio
#18 Jan. 22~29, 2012 Caribbean | Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band
#17 Oct. 23~30, 2011 Sea Of Cortez | Taj Mahal (Surprise Guest)
#16 Jan. 22~29, 2011 Caribbean | Taj Mahal Trio
#14 Jan. 23~30, 2010 Caribbean | Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band
#12 Jan. 24~31, 2009 Caribbean | Taj Mahal & The Tuba Band
#10 Jan. 13~20, 2008 Caribbean | Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band
#9 Oct. 13~20, 2007 Pacific | Taj Mahal & The International Rhythm Band
#8 Jan. 14~21, 2007 Caribbean | Taj Mahal & The Music Makers
#7 Oct. 3~7, 2006 Inaugural Pacific | Taj Mahal Trio with Lazy Lester
#6 Jan. 8~15, 2006 Caribbean | Taj Mahal
#5 Jan. 22~29, 2005 Caribbean | Taj Mahal
#4 Feb. 7~14, 2004 Caribbean | Taj Mahal
#2 & #3: February 4~15, 2003 Caribbean | Taj Mahal & The Hula Blues Band, Taj Mahal & The Music Makers
#1 Jan. 27~February 3, 2002 Caribbean Virgin Voyage | Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band