The list of special guests who appear on
Taj Mahal's
Maestro is hardly what one would expect from a veteran bluesman. Among the special guests are
Ziggy Marley,
Los Lobos,
Ben Harper, and African pop vocalist
Angélique Kidjo -- not exactly a conventional blues lineup. But then,
Mahal is hardly a conventional blues artist. He has been providing eclectic, far-reaching albums for a long time, and that spirit of adventure is alive and well on this 2008 release (which marks his 40th year as a recording artist --
Mahal provided his first album in 1968). No one expects
Mahal's albums to be the work of a blues purist; in fact,
Mahal (who plays guitar, harmonica, banjo, and ukulele on
Maestro) is the opposite of a blues purist. While
Maestro has its share of electric blues, the veteran singer also gets into everything from soul ("Further on Down the Road") and early R&B (
Fats Domino's "Hello Josephine") to reggae ("Black Man, Brown Man," "Never Let You Go") and African pop ("Zanzibar"). The latter features
Kidjo on lead vocals and
Toumani Diabaté on the kora (a traditional African instrument), while
Los Lobos appear on "Never Let You Go" and the humorous "TV Mama" (which is among the disc's straight-ahead blues offerings).
Mahal, true to form, is all over the place stylistically on this 57-minute CD -- and yet,
Maestro never sounds the least bit unfocused. Being eclectic comes naturally to
Mahal, who sees to it that
Maestro is a consistently engaging celebration of his 40th year as a recording artist. ~ Alex Henderson