Taj Mahal

Video

Oral History Information

Interview Date
Job Title
Musician, Guitarist

Taj Mahal helped expand the scope of the blues by incorporating elements of world music and a style of guitar playing that was rooted firmly in the African traditions that helped form the musical genre.  His goal was to play music that he felt inside him.  If others appreciated it, then he saw that as a bonus. As a result he didn't try to conform his style, which led him to incorporating sounds and styles rarely fused with the blues up until that point, including sounds of the South Pacific and the Caribbean.