Description
Taj Mahal doesn’t wait for permission. If a sound intrigues him, he sets out to make it. If origins mystify him, he moves to trace them. If rules get in his way, he unapologetically breaks them. To Taj, convention means nothing, but traditions are holy. He has pushed music and culture forward, all while looking lovingly back.
Quantifying Taj’s significance is impossible, but people try anyway. A 2022 Grammy win for ‘Get On Board’ for his collaboration with Ry Cooder, then a trip with his Sextet to Leon Russell’s Church Studio in Tulsa, OK to record ‘Swingin’ Live at the Church Studio in Tulsa,’ yet another Grammy win, brought his Grammy tally to five wins and 16 nominations, and underscored his undiminished relevance more than 50 years after his solo debut. Blues Hall of Fame membership, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association, 2025 Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree and other honors punctuate his resumé. He appreciates the accolades, but his motivation lies elsewhere. “It’s not a hunger, not a lust or even a thirst,” Taj says of what drives him. “It’s just more knowledge of self — to realize that almost everything is right here. We’re so used to looking outside of ourselves for things, and it’s right here.”