Swingin' Live at the Church in Tulsa

2024 studio album by Taj Mahal

Studio album by

Taj Mahal

Released

March 8, 2024 (2024-03-08)

Recorded

2023

Studio

The Church Studio, Tulsa, Oklahoma, US

Genre

Blues

Length

58:04

Language

English

Label

Lightning Rod Records

Taj Mahal chronology

Savoy
(2023)

Swingin' Live at the Church in Tulsa
(2024)

It was the water I swam in. From this perspective, I could see I was really surrounded. I was deep in the water of the music. When I started, it was really important to play for myself. Then I had some opportunities to join different bands. I knew a lot of music to play. Those guys didn't know the origins of the music. I would bring them songs I would think they knew, and I had to teach them the songs. We ended up having bands that sounded so different. They were oriented toward: "It's on the radio, therefore it is." I was like, "It's in the universe, therefore it is." I realized if it wasn't somebody else's music, I didn't really know the music or the tradition or any of the people who were in it. That's when I started buckling down and paying attention.

—Taj Mahal on his attraction to American roots music and its influence on this recording.^[1]

Swingin' Live at the Church in Tulsa is a 2024 album by American blues musician Taj Mahal, recorded live before an audience in The Church Studio.^[2] It has received positive reviews from critics.

Reception

Writing for American Songwriter, Grant Britt stated that this album "mesmerizes" and the vocals are "like hearing the voice of God".^[3] In The Arts Fuse, Scott McLennan called this release "a snapshot of a vibrant octogenarian artist who is still moving forward" that will please blues purists with Mahal's musicianship.^[4] Swingin' Live at the Church in Tulsa was an editor's pick in Spill Magazine, where Ljubinko Zivkovic rated it 9 out of 10, praising the sextet of musicians and continuing that the music is "the good old blues in its purest (electric) form and that mastery that has not left him so far shines, both in his, the band's playing and Taj Mahal's always incredible vocal delivery".^[5]

Track listing

"Betty and Dupree" (Chuck Willis) – 7:42
"Mailbox Blues" (Taj Mahal) – 4:06
"Queen Bee" (Mahal) – 6:03
"Lovin' in My Baby's Eyes" (Mahal) – 3:56
"Waiting for My Papa to Come Home" (Mahal) – 3:50
"Slow Drag" (Mahal) – 5:44
"Sitting On Top of the World" (Chester Burnett) – 5:48
"Twilight in Hawaii" (David Keliʻi) – 5:58
"Corrina" (Jesse Edwin Davis III and Mahal) – 5:11
"Mean Old World" (Aaron Walker and Marl Young) – 9:48

Personnel

The Taj Mahal Sextet

Taj Mahal – guitar, banjo, ukulele, piano, vocals
Trey Hensley – acoustic guitar, vocals
Rob Ickes – dobro guitar
Bobby Ingano – Hawaiian lap steel guitar, Fender Stratocaster
Bill Rich – bass guitar
Kester Smith – drums

References

^ Maoyeri, Lily (March 6, 2024). "The SPIN Interview: Taj Mahal". The Spin Interview. Spin. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
^ Edwards, Clayton (January 25, 2023). "Roots Legend Taj Mahal Announces New Album, Releases Live Version of Classic Track "Queen Bee"". Latest News. American Songwriter. ISSN 0896-8993. OCLC 17342741. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
^ Britt, Grant (March 4, 2023). "Taj Mahal Mesmerizes Live at The Church in Tulsa". Reviews > Album Reviews. American Songwriter. ISSN 0896-8993. OCLC 17342741. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
^ McLennan, Scott (March 14, 2023). "Folk Album Review: "Swingin' Live at the Church in Tulsa" — Taj Mahal Ascendent". Arts Reviews > Music. The Arts Fuse. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
^ Zivkovic, Ljubinko (March 8, 2024). "Taj Mahal – Swingin' Live at the Church in Tulsa". Album Reviews. Spill Magazine. Retrieved March 9, 2024.