Swingin' Live at the Church in Tulsa

Last updated

Swingin' Live at the Church in Tulsa
Tal Mahal - Swingin' Live at the Church in Tulsa.jpg
Studio album by
Taj Mahal
ReleasedMarch 8, 2024 (2024-03-08)
Recorded2023
Studio The Church Studio, Tulsa, Oklahoma, US
Genre Blues
Length58:04
LanguageEnglish
Label Lightning Rod Records
Taj Mahal chronology
Savoy
(2023)		Swingin' Live at the Church in Tulsa
(2024)

It was the water I swam in. From this perspective, I could see I was really surrounded. I was deep in the water of the music. When I started, it was really important to play for myself. Then I had some opportunities to join different bands. I knew a lot of music to play. Those guys didn't know the origins of the music. I would bring them songs I would think they knew, and I had to teach them the songs. We ended up having bands that sounded so different. They were oriented toward: "It's on the radio, therefore it is." I was like, "It's in the universe, therefore it is." I realized if it wasn't somebody else's music, I didn't really know the music or the tradition or any of the people who were in it. That's when I started buckling down and paying attention.

Contents

—Taj Mahal on his attraction to American roots music and its influence on this recording. [1]

Swingin' Live at the Church in Tulsa is a 2024 album by American blues musician Taj Mahal, recorded live before an audience in The Church Studio. [2] It has received positive reviews from critics. The album received a Grammy nomination on November 8, 2024 for Best Traditional Blues Album. [3]

Reception

Writing for American Songwriter , Grant Britt stated that this album "mesmerizes" and the vocals are "like hearing the voice of God". [4] In The Arts Fuse , Scott McLennan called this release "a snapshot of a vibrant octogenarian artist who is still moving forward" that will please blues purists with Mahal's musicianship. [5] Swingin' Live at the Church in Tulsa was an editor's pick in Spill Magazine , where Ljubinko Zivkovic rated it 9 out of 10, praising the sextet of musicians and continuing that the music is "the good old blues in its purest (electric) form and that mastery that has not left him so far shines, both in his, the band's playing and Taj Mahal's always incredible vocal delivery". [6]

Track listing

  1. "Betty and Dupree" (Chuck Willis) – 7:42
  2. "Mailbox Blues" (Taj Mahal) – 4:06
  3. "Queen Bee" (Mahal) – 6:03
  4. "Lovin' in My Baby's Eyes" (Mahal) – 3:56
  5. "Waiting for My Papa to Come Home" (Mahal) – 3:50
  6. "Slow Drag" (Mahal) – 5:44
  7. "Sitting On Top of the World" (Chester Burnett) – 5:48
  8. "Twilight in Hawaii" (David Keliʻi) – 5:58
  9. "Corrina" (Jesse Edwin Davis III and Mahal) – 5:11
  10. "Mean Old World" (Aaron Walker and Marl Young) – 9:48

Personnel

The Taj Mahal Sextet

Other Personnel

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taj Mahal (musician)</span> American blues musician (born 1942)

Henry St. Claire Fredericks Jr., better known by his stage name Taj Mahal, is an American blues musician. He plays the guitar, piano, banjo, harmonica, and many other instruments, often incorporating elements of world music into his work. Mahal has done much to reshape the definition and scope of blues music over the course of his more than 50-year career by fusing it with nontraditional forms, including sounds from the Caribbean, Africa, India, Hawaii, and the South Pacific.

<i>The Real Thing</i> (Taj Mahal album) 1971 live album by Taj Mahal

The Real Thing is a double live album by Taj Mahal, released in 1971. It was recorded on February 13, 1971, at the Fillmore East in New York City and features Taj Mahal backed by a band that includes four tuba players.

<i>Taj Mahal</i> (album) 1968 studio album by Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal is the debut album by American guitarist and vocalist Taj Mahal. Recorded in 1967, it contains blues songs by Sleepy John Estes, Robert Johnson, and Sonny Boy Williamson II reworked in contemporary blues- and folk-rock styles. Also included is Taj Mahal's adaptation of Blind Willie McTell's "Statesboro Blues", which inspired the popular Allman Brothers Band recording.

<i>Recycling The Blues & Other Related Stuff</i> 1972 studio album by Taj Mahal

Recycling the Blues & Other Related Stuff is the fifth studio album by Taj Mahal. Tracks 1–7 were recorded live; tracks 8–11 are studio recordings. The album cover shows a photograph of Taj Majal and Mississippi John Hurt taken by David Gahr backstage at the Newport Folk Festival in July 1964.

<i>Music Keeps Me Together</i> 1975 studio album by Taj Mahal

Music Keeps Me Together is the eighth studio album by American blues artist Taj Mahal. The album was remixed at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia by Jay Mark and Carl Paruolo.

<i>Dancing the Blues</i> 1993 studio album by Taj Mahal

Dancing the Blues is an album by American blues artist Taj Mahal, released in 1993.

<i>Shoutin in Key</i> 2000 live album by Taj Mahal

Shoutin' in Key is a live album by American blues artist Taj Mahal.

<i>Maestro</i> (Taj Mahal album) 2008 studio album by Taj Mahal

Maestro is an album by American blues artist Taj Mahal. It was nominated for Best Contemporary Blues Album at the 2009 Grammy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kester Smith</span> American drummer

Kester Winston "Smitty" Smith was an American percussionist. Born in Granada and raised from a young age in Trinidad, he was the drummer for the Taj Mahal Trio and collaborated with jazz, blues and world musicians. He performed with and alongside Taj Mahal for over forty years. He recorded music with Taj Mahal, Geoff Muldaur, Peter Rowan, Cedella Booker, Morgan Freeman, Ellen McIlwaine, Mary Coughlan and Pinetop Perkins.

<i>TajMo</i> 2017 studio album by Taj Mahal and Keb Mo

TajMo is a joint album by the American blues musicians Taj Mahal and Keb' Mo'. It was released May 5, 2017, and won the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album. TajMo is the twenty-sixth studio album by Taj Mahal and the thirteenth by Keb' Mo'.

<i>Vibrating</i> (album) 2022 studio album by Collective Soul

Vibrating is a 2022 studio album by American alternative rock band Collective Soul. The album was originally intended to be the second half of a double album with 2019's Blood, but those plans were interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

<i>The Hypnogogue</i> 2023 studio album by The Church

The Hypnogogue is a 2023 studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band The Church.

<i>The Long Goodbye</i> (Candlebox album) 2023 studio album by Candlebox

The Long Goodbye is the eighth and final studio album from American grunge band Candlebox, released on August 25, 2023. The album was promoted with the single "Punks"—a cautionary song to younger bands about the fickleness of the music industry—and a farewell tour, after which the band will break up, with vocalist Kevin Martin citing a lack of support in the music industry and the high costs of touring. The album was rereleased on streaming on July 12, 2024, entitled A Little Longer Goodbye ahead of their A Little Longer Goodbye tour which will see them opening for Bush's Loaded: Greatest Hits tour. The rerelease of the album included the three bonus tracks previously found on CD and LP editions as well as two new live recordings.

<i>Black Bayou</i> (album) 2023 studio album by Robert Finley

Black Bayou is the fourth full-length studio album from American blues musician Robert Finley, released in 2023. It has received positive reviews from critics and builds upon his earlier style to incorporate soul music.

<i>Sharecroppers Son</i> 2021 studio album by Robert Finley

Sharecropper's Son is a 2021 studio album by American blues musician Robert Finley. The album has received positive reviews from critics.

<i>Sonic Mojo</i> 2023 studio album by Foghat

Sonic Mojo is the seventeenth studio album by British rock band Foghat, released on 10 November 2023. It comprises both cover songs and original compositions, including the last compositions by Kim Simmonds before his 2022 death, and is being promoted by a concert tour. The album marks their first release in seven years since 2016's Under the Influence.

<i>Psychopath</i> (album) 2023 studio album by American country musician Morgan Wade

Psychopath is the third studio album by American country music artist Morgan Wade. It was released on August 25, 2023, through RCA Nashville. The release was recorded immediately after her breakthrough Reckless and received positive reviews from critics.

<i>Savoy</i> (Taj Mahal album) 2023 studio album by Taj Mahal

Savoy is a 2023 studio album by American blues musician Taj Mahal. The recording is his first exploration of jazz and traditional pop and received positive reviews from critics.

<i>Nobody Owns You</i> 2023 studio album by Joan Osborne

Nobody Owns You is a 2023 studio album by American singer-songwriter Joan Osborne. The release balances personal and political themes and has received positive reviews from critics.

<i>Little Moon</i> (album) 2009 studio album by Grant-Lee Phillips

Little Moon is a 2009 studio album by American singer-songwriter Grant-Lee Phillips. It has received positive reviews from critics.

References

  1. ↑ Maoyeri, Lily (March 6, 2024). "The SPIN Interview: Taj Mahal". The Spin Interview. Spin . ISSN   0886-3032 . Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  2. ↑ Edwards, Clayton (January 25, 2023). "Roots Legend Taj Mahal Announces New Album, Releases Live Version of Classic Track "Queen Bee"". Latest News. American Songwriter . ISSN   0896-8993. OCLC   17342741 . Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  3. ↑ World, Jimmie Tramel Tulsa (November 8, 2024). "Taj Mahal album recorded at Tulsa's The Church Studio receives Grammy nomination". Tulsa World. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  4. ↑ Britt, Grant (March 4, 2023). "Taj Mahal Mesmerizes Live at The Church in Tulsa". Reviews > Album Reviews. American Songwriter . ISSN   0896-8993. OCLC   17342741 . Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  5. ↑ McLennan, Scott (March 14, 2023). "Folk Album Review: "Swingin' Live at the Church in Tulsa" — Taj Mahal Ascendent". Arts Reviews > Music. The Arts Fuse . Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  6. ↑ Zivkovic, Ljubinko (March 8, 2024). "Taj Mahal – Swingin' Live at the Church in Tulsa". Album Reviews. Spill Magazine . Retrieved March 9, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.