August 9, 2013 – Iconic folk-blues legend Taj Mahal, performing with The Taj Mahal Trio, will headline a fall tour celebrating the global influence of American blues music as seen from three very diverse points of view and three international points of origin. The Harlem-born artist will be joined by legendary South African guitarist/vocalist Vusi Mahlasela and Fredericks Brown, a soul/R&B band that features Taj’s daughter, Deva Mahal, who hails from New Zealand. This tour, conceived and produced by Columbia Artists Management, will be the first time these artists have performed all together on one stage. Tickets are on sale now for the run, which will kick off on October 4 in Napa, CA – the first of four California dates – and continue east, wrapping up in Fairfield, CT on November 16. See below for itinerary or visit Columbia Artists Management at http://www.cami.com/?webid=2314.

“I am really excited about the World Blues Tour,” said Taj Mahal.  “It is not every day that three artists from different worlds, but who speak a common language, come together for a tour.  This used to happen a lot in the 60’s and 70’s but not as much today.  It should be real fun and you can bet filled with many surprises.”

Over the course of his five-decade career, the GRAMMY® Award-winning Taj Mahal has become a master of global styles, from Mississippi Delta blues to Hawaiian stylings to African rhythms. In addition to headlining the program, he is the binding thread throughout. He and Vusi first met at a benefit concert for Nelson Mandela’s 46664, an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign. Now, fresh from their sessions together on Vusi’s latest studio album, Say Africa, which Taj produced, the two continue to explore the intersection of African and American musical forms. With Fredericks Brown, it’s clear that Taj has influenced the next generation of blues musicians, those charged with carrying the music forward. Together these musicians will take audiences on a kaleidoscopic journey that underscores the importance of American blues music on the world stage.

About Taj Mahal

Born in Harlem and raised in Massachusetts, composer/multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Taj Mahal is one of the most prominent and influential figures in late 20^th century blues and roots music. Though his career began more than four decades ago with American blues, he has broadened his artistic scope over the years to include music representing virtually every corner of the world – including West Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, the Hawaiian Islands and India. What ties it all together is his insatiable interest in musical discovery, which has also led to noteworthy excursions in composing for film and stage and children’s music. He marked the 40^th anniversary of his recording career with 2008’s Maestro. The twelve-track set featured performances by Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Angelique Kidjo, Los Lobos, Ziggy Marley and others – many of whom have been directly influenced by Taj’s music and guidance. Taj’s most recent release is a 15-CD deluxe box set titled Taj Mahal – The Complete Columbia Albums Collection (February 2013 via Columbia/Legacy). It includes every album from his self-titled debut of 1968 through 1976’s Satisfied ’N Tickled Too, plus landmark archival compilations Rising Sons Featuring Taj Mahal And Ry Cooder and 2012’s two-CD set of previously unreleased material, The Hidden Treasures of Taj Mahal 1969-1973. The GRAMMY winner continues to tour internationally, doing as many as 150 shows per year. For more information, visit www.tajblues.com.

About Vusi Mahlasela

One of South Africa’s foremost songwriters and a singer so distinctive he is known in his country simply as “The Voice,” Vusi Mahlasela unites South African folk rhythms with a global palette of pop, blues and soul.  Growing up in the Mamelodi township, just outside of Pretoria, where he still resides, Vusi built his first guitar from fishing line and a cooking oil can and taught himself how to play. In 1976, he witnessed the massacre of more than 200 black South Africans in the Soweto Uprising.  Responding through his music, Vusi inspired those around him. At the fall of Apartheid, BMG Records signed Vusi. The title track of his first album, When You Come Back, became an anthem throughout South Africa leading Vusi to national fame and a performance at President Nelson Mandela’s inauguration. Worldwide touring and international acclaim followed. Vusi has released seven studio albums and shared the stage with Dave Matthews Band, Sting, Josh Groban, Paul Simon, Ray LaMontange, among others. But perhaps his biggest gig was in 2010 when he helped ring in the World Cup at Orlando Stadium in Soweto where the massacre had taken place nearly 35 years prior. For more information, visit www.vusimahlasela.com.

About Fredericks Brown

Fredericks Brown is the musical collaboration of vocalist Deva Mahal and keyboardist Steph Brown. After initially meeting on the festival circuit in New Zealand, where both were key players in their respective cities, Mahal and Brown moved independently to Brooklyn in 2007 where they met up again and formed Fredericks Brown. In each other, they discovered a passion for storytelling: writing songs that combine imagery and narrative, which they interpret with a stunning blend of strength and intimacy. Their music fuses the cultural heritage of both musicians: Deva Mahal, daughter of Taj Mahal, draws on her rich soul and blues roots. Steph Brown’s sound is rooted in the organic Pacific sound of her native New Zealand. Between them, they have worked with Kanye West and Common and toured worldwide, performing with such acts as De la Soul, Alice Russell and Etta James. In 2010, they released their full-length debut, Out of the Rain.

 

“WORLD BLUES” FEATURING TAJ MAHAL AND VUSI MAHLASELA WITH FREDERICKS BROWN – NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES

 

October

4 – Napa, CA @ Napa Valley Opera House

5 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Rio Theatre

6 – Malibu, CA @ Smothers Theatre – Pepperdine University

7 – San Diego, CA @ Belly Up

10 – Las Vegas, NV @ Reynolds Hall – Smith Center for the Performing Arts

11 – Phoenix, AZ @ Music Theatre – Musical Instrument Museum

12 – Tucson, AZ @ Fox Tucson Theatre

13 – Santa Fe, NM @ Lensic Performing Arts Center

15 – Logan, UT @ Ellen Eccles Theatre – Cache Valley Center for the Arts

16 – Logan, UT @ Ellen Eccles Theatre – Cache Valley Center for the Arts

17 – Idaho Falls, ID @ Colonial Theatre

19 – Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater

22 – Columbia, MO @ Jesse Auditorium – University of Missouri

23 – Tulsa, OK @ Chapman Music Hall – Tulsa Performing Arts Center

24 – Manhattan, KS @ McCain Auditorium – Kansas State University

25 – Omaha, NE @ Peter Kiewit Concert Hall – Holland Performing Arts Center

26 – Wichita, KS @ Orpheum Theatre

27 – Overland Park, KS @ Yardley Hall – Johnson County Community College

30 – Toronto, ON @ Koerner Concert Hall – Royal Conservatory of Music

 

November

1 – Buffalo, NY @ Center for the Arts – SUNY Buffalo

2 – Schenectady, NY @ Proctors

3 – Great Barrington, MA @ Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center

4 – Red Bank, NJ @ Count Basie Theatre

5 – Binghamton, NY @ Osterhout Concert Theatre – Anderson Center for the Arts

6 – St. Johnsbury, VT @ Fuller Hall – St. Johnsbury Academy

8 – Keene, NH @ Colonial Theatre

9 – Wilmington, DE @ Grand Opera House

10 – Union, NJ @ Enlow Recital Hall – Kean University

12 – Chapel Hill, NC @ Memorial Hall – Chapel Hill

13 – Richmond, VA @ Carpenter Theatre

14 – Newport News, VA @ Ferguson Center for the Arts

15 – Fairfax, VA @ Center for the Arts – George Mason

16 – Fairfield, CT @ Kelley Theatre – Quick Center for the Arts

For additional information on “WORLD BLUES,” contact:

 

Ambrosia Healy

The Fun Star

ambrosia@thefunstar.com

 

Erin Cooney

The Fun Star

erin@thefunstar.com