Taj Mahal – Savoy (2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Taj Mahal – Savoy (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 58:36 minutes | 1,18 GB | Genre: Blues
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Stony Plain Records

Taj Mahal can rightfully be called a living legend for his contributions to popular music.

With a voice as instantly recognizable as Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, or Dr. John, Taj Mahal has throughout his career pushed the envelope of American music forward by incorporating sounds from the Caribbean, Africa, traditional blues and jazz. He has won 3 Grammys from 15 nominations, was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame, and presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association. With ‘Savoy’, Taj takes a new direction in his musical journey, exploring classics from the American songbook with his good friend and acclaimed record producer John Simon, whose resume includes producing classic albums by The Band, Leonard Cohen, Gordon Lightfoot and Blood Sweat & Tears. ‘Savoy’ is the realization of a musical collaboration they had been planning for decades, finally locking in the studio time to make it happen in August 2022. Recorded with the hottest musicians in San Francisco, ‘Savoy’ is a loving throwback to the sounds of the swing jazz big band era, titled as a tribute to Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom where the music composed by the likes of Duke Ellington, Louis Jordan, George Gershwin and Louis Armstrong was performed by a who’s who of iconic artists, and now brought back to life by the one and only Taj Mahal.

Taj Mahal has released many kinds of albums in a six-decade career: folk, jump, country, blues of all stripes, sounds from Africa, the Caribbean, R&B, soul, collaborations with musicians from across the globe, and even children’s records. Savoy moves in another direction still. Recorded in collaboration with producer, pianist, and longtime friend John Simon, this set offers blues-kissed reads of 14 tunes from the Great American Songbook. The album is titled as an homage to the iconic Harlem ballroom at 596 Lenox Ave. Mahal’s parents met there in 1938 seeing Ella Fitzgerald front the Chick Webb Orchestra. Simon and Mahal discussed the project for decades, but August 2022 was when the planets aligned. They cut the set live with a core band and guests. Mahal’s band includes guitarist Danny Caron, bassist Ruth Davies, Simon on piano, drummer Leon Joyce, Jr., and a vocal chorus with Carla Holbrook, Leesa Humphrey, and Charlotte McKinnon. Interestingly, Caron and Davies served in Charles Brown’s band, and Joyce drummed with Ramsey Lewis for many years. “Stompin’ at the Savoy” starts with spoken word; Mahal delivers a reenactment of his parents’ meeting. As he commences singing and scatting the lyrics, backing singers underscore with oohs, aahs, and call-and-response. “I’m Just a Lucky So-and-So” is one of three Duke Ellington numbers here. The languid horn section plays a blues progression with added warmth and grace from Kristen Strom’s swinging flute. The arrangement of George Gershwin’s “Summertime” is delivered allegretto, with blue, finger-popping swing from lush horns. “Mood Indigo” benefits from co-producer Manny Moreira’s accumulated years of big band and Broadway experience. His layered brass colorations add dimension. “Do Nothin’ Till You Hear from Me” offers languid, late-night horns (except in the bridge when they deliberately evoke gospel), and Simon’s tasteful comping adds drama. The fluid blues guitar break from Caron benefits with elegance and bite. “Sweet Georgia Brown” is meaty and sprightly as Mahal’s grainy singing and scatting contrasts beautifully with Evan Price’s “Parisian hot jazz” violin. Maria Muldaur — one of the great interpreters of vintage blues, jazz, R&B, and country — joins Mahal on the fun, sultry “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” with excellent violin, trombone, and piano solos. “Caldonia,” Louis Jordan’s striding jump boogie, offers pumping piano, swinging guitar, and smoking sax and trombone solos behind Mahal’s good-time vocal. His harmonica joins Strom’s tenor sax to elevate in Benny Golson’s dynamic “Killer Joe,” before “One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)” closes the set. Mahal references several classic versions and arrangements in shifting tempos, but he ultimately only sounds like himself. Savoy embodies the abundant joy of its predecessor, Get On Board: The Songs of Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, but the album offers added nuance, color, dynamics, and musical sophistication. It seemingly accomplishes the impossible by taking these (overly) familiar standards and breathing new life into them while simultaneously honoring their legacies as well as that of the historic Harlem ballroom.
– Thom Jurek

Tracklist:
1-01. Taj Mahal – Stompin’ At The Savoy (03:43)
1-02. Taj Mahal – I’m Just A Lucky So-And-So (03:23)
1-03. Taj Mahal – Gee Baby Ain’t I Good To You (03:51)
1-04. Taj Mahal – Summer Time (02:48)
1-05. Taj Mahal – Mood Indigo (04:09)
1-06. Taj Mahal – Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby (04:36)
1-07. Taj Mahal – Do Nothin’ Till You Hear From Me (05:05)
1-08. Taj Mahal – Sweet Georgia Brown (03:18)
1-09. Taj Mahal/Maria Muldaur – Baby It’s Cold Outside (04:31)
1-10. Taj Mahal – Lady Be Good (03:52)
1-11. Taj Mahal – Baby Won’t You Please Come Home (03:25)
1-12. Taj Mahal – Caldonia (03:32)
1-13. Taj Mahal – Killer Joe (04:09)
1-14. Taj Mahal – One For My Baby (And One More For The Road) (08:08)

Download:

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