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Taj Mahal: Dancing the Blues

     (Private Music 1993) 

   I must admit that Taj Mahal always carried a sort of ooshie, fusion-jazz connotation due to his eclectic name.  Some of the music I did hear strayed so far from the Blues idiom that I did not give him a solid listen.  However, a good friend of mine and dedicated Blues fan, John Hildy from Chicago, introduced me to his music, and proved me so very, very wrong.  When he swings, he really swings.

    Like many Blues albums, Dancing the Blues is not exclusively Swing-oriented.  However, the album contains some phenomenal songs with a great, deep, rich Groove.  "Strut" provides one of my favorite, straight-forward Groove Swing rhythms, and "Blue Light Boogie" gives a good Slow Blues groove, whereas "Hoochi Coochi Coo,"  "I'm Ready," and "I Can't Help Myself" (aka "Sugarpie Honeybunch") also provide some great alternative "Lindyable" rhythms.

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