Taj Mahal; Keb' Mo'

The blues are the foundation of almost every American musical style. Both iconic pan-blues man Taj Mahal and next generation omni-stylist Keb’ Mo’ mine not only the depth of the musical form but its staggering breadth as well.

Long before the World Wide Web made cross-cultural exploration as easy as clicking a mouse, Taj Mahal was effortlessly making connections between musical traditions using the acoustic blues as his starting point. Born Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, Mahal was introduced early to a rich cultural and musical heritage by his father, a Jamaican jazz pianist, and mother, a southern American gospel singer.

While at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in the early ’60s, the multi-instrumentalist dubbed himself Taj Mahal, and began what has become a 40+ year journey exploring and incorporating musical riches with the blues, including Calypso, bluegrass, gospel, Caribbean and West African elements.

One of Taj Mahal’s musical offspring is Keb’ Mo’. Born Kevin Moore in South Central Los Angeles, the singer/guitarist started playing gospel and R&B before discovering the blues in his early 30s. From sounds that reach all the way back to Delta blues figurehead Robert Johnson, up to elements of folk, soul, rock and international music, Keb’ Mo’ has presented his warm vocal and guitar artistry over eight solo studio albums, including his latest, 2006’s Suitcase (Red Ink). Movie fans can look forward to seeing Keb’ Mo’ in filmmaker John Sayles’ latest effort, Honeydripper, also starring Danny Glover.

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