Taj Mahal Quartet

Event Description

“When I began, soul was something people had. It wasn’t a style of music,” Taj Mahal says. No matter where we come from, we are all part of the same circle. We all want to dance, to get out of our heads, and tap into ourselves. When delivered by the Taj Mahal Quartet, the blues can take us there. For more than 40 years, Grammy-winning legend Taj Mahal, internationally renowned bassist Bill Rich, and revered percussionist Kester Smith have taken blues on a joyride through reggae, funk, jazz, cajun, and more, leaving a trail of swinging hips and raised palms in their wake. In 2019, guitarist and lap steel master Bobby Ingano joined the group, and the trio became the Taj Mahal Quartet.

The four-match musical virtuosity with downhome grit unlike anyone else: a blend of sophistication and humble familiarity that is equally at home on a shotgun-shack porch or a Carnegie Hall stage. According to Taj, the collaboration extends far beyond the Taj Mahal Quartet themselves. “Music is like theater to a lot of people — they’re watching it,” he says. “Well, you can watch it, but you’re supposed to participate. The audience is just as much a part of the music as the musicians are.” Taj pauses, then adds with a warm laugh, “I do like it when they dance.”