Maestro (Taj Mahal album)

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Maestro is an album by American blues artist Taj Mahal. It was nominated for Best Contemporary Blues Album at the 2009 Grammy Awards (but lost out to Dr. John and the Lower 911's City That Care Forgot).
The release of Maestro marked the 40th anniversary of Taj Mahal's career as a recording artist. It features numerous guest artists: Los Lobos appear on Never Let You Go and TV Mama, Jack Johnson shares vocals on a re-recording of Taj's classic Further On Down the Road, and Ben Harper's vocals can be heard on Dust Me Down. Other guest appearances include Angélique Kidjo (on Zanzibar) and Ziggy Marley (on Black Man, Brown Man). Furthermore, Taj Mahal teams up again with the Phantom Blues Band (with whom he had recorded the Grammy nominated albums Señor Blues and Shoutin' in Key), Toumani Diabaté (with whom he had recorded the album Kulanjan) and his daughter Deva Mahal (with whom he had recorded several children's albums in the past).

Track listing

1. "Scratch My Back" (James Moore)
2. "Never Let You Go" (Deva Mahal, Taj Mahal)
3. "Dust Me Down" (Ben Harper)
4. "Further On Down the Road" (Jesse Edwin Davis III, Taj Mahal)
5. "Black Man Brown Man" (Taj Mahal)
6. "Zanzibar" (Angélique Kidjo, Taj Mahal)
7. "TV Mama" (Lou Willie Turner)
8. "I Can Make You Happy" (Taj Mahal)
9. "Slow Drag" (Taj Mahal)
10. "Hello Josephine" (Dave Bartholomew, Antoine Domino)
11. "Strong Man Holler" (Taj Mahal)
12. "Diddy Wah Diddy" (Ellas McDaniel, Willie Dixon)
13. "Mambo No. 5 (7-11)" (vinyl bonus track)
14. "On A Little Bamboo Bridge" (vinyl bonus track)

Personnel

• Taj Mahal – vocals, guitar, harmonica, ukulele
• Louie Pérez – guitar
• Johnny Lee Schell – guitar
• Cesar Rosas – guitar
• Leo Nocentelli – guitar
• David Hidalgo – guitar
• Jason Mozersky – guitar
• Takeshi Akimoto – guitar
• Fred Lunt – guitar
• Carlos Andrade – guitar
• Larry Fulcher – bass
• Conrad Lozano – bass
• Bill Rich – bass
• Jesse Ingalls – bass
• Paul "Pablo" Stennett – bass
• George Porter – bass
• Pancho Graham – acoustic bass, guitar
• Tony Braunagel – drums
• Cougar Estrada – drums
• Raymond Weber – drums
• Carlton "Santa" Davis – drums
• Kester Smith – drums, percussions
• Michael Jerome – drums, percussions
• Angel Roche – percussions
• Debra Dobkin – percussions
• Toumani Diabaté – kora
• Mike Finnigan – keyboards
• Jason Yates – keyboards
• Michael Hyde – keyboards
• Mick Weaver – keyboards, organ
• Henry Butler – piano
• Steve Berlin – organ
• Ivan Neville – organ
• Joe Sublette – baritone saxophone
• Joe Sublett – tenor saxophone
• Rudy Costa – alto saxophone, clarinet
• Darrel Leonard – trombone
• Angela Wellman – trombone
• Billy Branch – harmonica
• Pat Cockett – ukulele
• Bassekou Kouyate – ngoni, xalam
• Ziggy Marley – vocals
• Angélique Kidjo – vocals
• Ben Harper – vocals
• Jack Johnson – vocals
• C.C. White – backing vocals
• Pebbles Phillips – backing vocals
• Tracy Hazzard – backing vocals