Buddy Guy and Taj Mahal Bluesfest sideshows

8 November 2009 by Soulshine News

The immensely talented and inspirational Buddy Guy and Taj Mahal, both in the country for Bluesfest over Easter 2010, will play theatre sideshows in Sydney and Melbourne as part their Australian musical journey.

What can you say about this absolute blues legend? Buddy Guy is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, a chief guitar influence to rock titans like Hendrix, Clapton, Beck, and Vaughan, a pioneer of Chicago's fabled West Side sound, and a living link to that city's halcyon days of electric blues. While firmly ensconced in his blues roots, Guy has always tried to keep his music looking forward – even at the risk of alienating lovers of traditional blues sounds.

His last album, Bring 'Em In, found Guy trading licks with the likes of Carlos Santana and John Mayer on a set of songs featuring covers of classic soul songs. On his latest album, Skin Deep, Guy offers an endorsement to such younger players as pedal steel virtuoso Robert Randolph and husband-and-wife guitar slingers Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks. These musicians serve as a living response to the question Guy raises on the song "Who's Gonna Fill Those Shoes," featuring pre-teen guitar whiz Quinn Sullivan, in which he reflects on the future of the blues beyond his revolutionary generation.

Says Buddy, "I just try to get the best players, and hope I can pop the top off this can and show that the blues are back," he says. "I learn from them–bring them in and see what they can do. And these guys got me feeling like when I was 22 years old and went into the studio with Muddy Waters."

Buddy has received five Grammy Awards, 23 W.C. Handy Blues Awards (the most any artist has received), the Billboard Magazine Century Award for distinguished artistic achievement, and the Presidential National Medal of Arts. Yet despite this long list of achievements, Buddy Guy and his music remain as vital as ever.

BLUES HALL OF FAMER TAJ MAHAL & HIS BAND
Yet another classic artist is visiting Australia for the Bluesfest 21st Anniversary party and select sideshows. Born Henry St. Claire Fredericks in Harlem, New York, in 1942, blues-legend Taj Mahal grew up in Massachusetts. You could call Taj a singer, composer, producer, two-time Grammy-winner, world-class musical collaborator, musicians’ advocate, world traveller, fisherman or cigar aficionado. These titles are all accurate, yet none convey the warmth, humour, and soulfulness of Taj and his music. Taj has been playing his own distinctive brand of music – variously described as Afro-Caribbean blues, folk-world-blues, hula blues, folk-funk, and a host of other hyphenations – for more than 40 years.
 
A 2009 inductee into the Blues Hall of Fame, Taj Mahal’s has received a huge nine Grammy Award nominations over his career, and had won two of these. The first in 1997 with Best Contemporary Blues Album for Señor Blues, and again in 2000 with Best Contemporary Blues Album for Shoutin' in Key. 2008 saw his most recent Grammy nomination again for Best Contemporary Blues Album for his most recent record, Maestro.

A self-taught musician, Taj plays more than 20 instruments using Caribbean, Hawaiian, African, Latin and Cuban sounds and rhythms mixed with folk, jazz, zydeco, gospel, rock, pop, soul, and R&B – all layered on top of a solid country blues foundation.  His latest release “Maestro: Celebrating 40 Years” marks the 40th anniversary of his long and varied musical career, and includes performances by Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Ziggy Marley and Angelique Kidjo to name a few. And all the tracks are danceable. “The one thing I’ve always demanded of the records I’ve made,” he says, “is that they be danceable. This record is danceable, it’s listenable, it has lots of different rhythms, it’s accessible, it’s all right in front of you.”  Let the good times roll.
 
Do yourself a favour and see these living legends live!

Buddy Guy & his band featuring special guest Taj Mahal and his band.
Enmore Theatre Sydney – 1/04/2010
Tickets go on sale 9th of November and can be purchased through www.ticketek.com.au and 132849 or The Enmore Box Office for all ticketing enquiries please call (02) 95503666

Hamer Hall Melbourne – 31/04/2010
Tickets go on sale 11th of November and can be purchased through The Arts Centre Box Office 1300 182 183* or www.theartscentre.com.au*
*transaction fee applies

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