Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
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About this clip:
Blues legend Taj Mahal performs his song “Everybody is Somebody” from his 1987 album “Taj” during his performance on August 15, 2025, part of Summer at SFJAZZ.
Watch many other performances on SFJAZZ At Home: SFJAZZ.org/AtHome
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About this concert:
Equal parts preservationist and visionary, Taj Mahal is the closest thing we have to an American griot. His music embraces the raw energy of field hollers, the rent-party gumption of early jazz, the urbane grooves of rhythm and blues, the church-derived cadences of soul music and the rhythms of West Africa, via New Orleans and the Caribbean. Most recently, The Recording Academy named Taj Mahal a 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award honoree, for creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording.
On the heels of his triumphant 2023 concerts celebrating the legacy of Harlem’s famed Savoy Ballroom, the five-time GRAMMY winner returns with four nights of music including material from his new Concord Records album entitled Room on the Porch – his second collaboration with modern blues master Keb' Mo' and their first joint “TajMo” session in eight years.
Since his first release nearly 60 years ago with the Rising Sons, which he founded with Ry Cooder, Taj has been a cultural force, bringing blues culture to new generations.
His legacy is apparent everywhere these days, in the old-time string band sound of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and the blues troubadours Eric Bibb and Corey Harris.
A bridge builder by inclination, he’s collaborated with a gloriously eclectic array of artists, from Angelique Kidjo and Ziggy Marley to Los Lobos and Ben Harper (and that was just on the 2008 album Maestro).
PERSONNEL:
Taj Mahal: guitar, vocals
Jim Pugh: keyboards
Bill Rich: bass
Tony D: drums
Learn more at SFJAZZ.org
Subscribe to SFJAZZ's YouTube Channel: youtube.com/c/sfjazz
Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/SFJAZZ
If you enjoy the videos and concerts SFJAZZ posts every week, you can support this work by becoming an SFJAZZ Member.
Members enjoy full access to SFJAZZ livestreams and our library of on-demand concerts featuring the greatest jazz artists in the world, early access to tickets at the SFJAZZ Center, exclusive events, discounts, and more! More information is available at the link below.
Become an SFJAZZ Member today: sfjazz.org/join
Learn more at SFJAZZ.org
Subscribe to SFJAZZ's YouTube Channel: youtube.com/c/sfjazz
Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/SFJAZZ
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/SFJAZZ
***SFJAZZ is a non-profit organization that presents year round jazz concerts, festivals and educational programs at the SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco, CA.
Love these videos? Support by becoming an SFJAZZ Member: sfjazz.org/join
About this clip:
Blues legend Taj Mahal performs his song “Everybody is Somebody” from his 1987 album “Taj” during his performance on August 15, 2025, part of Summer at SFJAZZ.
Watch many other performances on SFJAZZ At Home: SFJAZZ.org/AtHome
--
About this concert:
Equal parts preservationist and visionary, Taj Mahal is the closest thing we have to an American griot. His music embraces the raw energy of field hollers, the rent-party gumption of early jazz, the urbane grooves of rhythm and blues, the church-derived cadences of soul music and the rhythms of West Africa, via New Orleans and the Caribbean. Most recently, The Recording Academy named Taj Mahal a 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award honoree, for creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording.
On the heels of his triumphant 2023 concerts celebrating the legacy of Harlem’s famed Savoy Ballroom, the five-time GRAMMY winner returns with four nights of music including material from his new Concord Records album entitled Room on the Porch – his second collaboration with modern blues master Keb' Mo' and their first joint “TajMo” session in eight years.
Since his first release nearly 60 years ago with the Rising Sons, which he founded with Ry Cooder, Taj has been a cultural force, bringing blues culture to new generations.
His legacy is apparent everywhere these days, in the old-time string band sound of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and the blues troubadours Eric Bibb and Corey Harris.
A bridge builder by inclination, he’s collaborated with a gloriously eclectic array of artists, from Angelique Kidjo and Ziggy Marley to Los Lobos and Ben Harper (and that was just on the 2008 album Maestro).
PERSONNEL:
Taj Mahal: guitar, vocals
Jim Pugh: keyboards
Bill Rich: bass
Tony D: drums
Learn more at SFJAZZ.org
Subscribe to SFJAZZ's YouTube Channel: youtube.com/c/sfjazz
Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/SFJAZZ
If you enjoy the videos and concerts SFJAZZ posts every week, you can support this work by becoming an SFJAZZ Member.
Members enjoy full access to SFJAZZ livestreams and our library of on-demand concerts featuring the greatest jazz artists in the world, early access to tickets at the SFJAZZ Center, exclusive events, discounts, and more! More information is available at the link below.
Become an SFJAZZ Member today: sfjazz.org/join
Learn more at SFJAZZ.org
Subscribe to SFJAZZ's YouTube Channel: youtube.com/c/sfjazz
Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/SFJAZZ
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/SFJAZZ
***SFJAZZ is a non-profit organization that presents year round jazz concerts, festivals and educational programs at the SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco, CA.
