Event Info
Blues Legend and Grammy Award Winner: Taj Mahal Trio, shemekia copeland
Blues Legend & Grammy Award Winner
Taj Mahal Trio
with opening guests Shemekia...
7:30pm - 10:00pm Doors at: 6:30pm
$52.50 + service charge
Event Description
Blues Legend & Grammy Award Winner
Taj Mahal Trio
with opening guests Shemekia Copeland
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Alix Goolden Performance Hall
907 Pandora St., Victoria, BC
Doors 6:30pm - Show 7:30pm - GENERAL ADMISSION - OPEN SEATING
Tickets: $52.50 + service charge
Available at: Online at http://www.hightideconcerts.net/,
Lyle's Place 770 Yates St., (250) 382-8422
Ditch Records 784 Fort St. (250) 386-5874
McPherson Box Office (250) 386-6121
ON-LINE PRESALE JANUARY 19
GENERAL ON-SALE JANUARY 23
www.tajblues.com
www.shemekiacopeland.com
www.hightideconcerts.net
YOU TUBE VIDEOS:
TAJ MAHAL “Blues With A Feeling” - http://www.youtube.com/v/XUz1hceDC78
TAJ MAHAL “Corinna” - http://www.youtube.com/v/SAzPEbU8AXg
TAJ MAHAL “Annie Mae” - http://www.youtube.com/v/2OpYUD_Fdc8
TAJ MAHAL “ Later Live With Jools Holland” –
http://www.youtube.com/v/VEfUWAFazFk
SHEMEKI COPELAND “I Pity The Fool” w/ Robert Cray - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LheOR6FgsI
SHEMEKIA COPELAND “Lemon Pie” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMDj7F2iLkk
TAJ MAHAL
Composer, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Taj Mahal is one of the most prominent and influential figures in late 20th 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 – west Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, the Hawaiian islands and so much more. What ties it all together is his insatiable interest in musical discovery. Over the years, his passion and curiosity have led him around the world, and the resulting global perspective is reflected in his music today.
Born Henry St. Claire Fredericks in Harlem on May 17, 1942, Taj grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts. His father was a jazz pianist, composer and arranger of Caribbean descent, and his mother was a schoolteacher and gospel singer from South Carolina. Both parents encouraged their children to take pride in their diverse ethnic and cultural roots. His father had an extensive record collection and a shortwave radio that brought sounds from near and far into the home. His parents also started him on classical piano lessons, but after only two weeks, young Henry already had other plans about what and how he wanted to play.
In addition to piano, the young musician learned to play the clarinet, trombone and harmonica, and he loved to sing. He discovered his stepfather’s guitar and became serious about it in his teens when a guitarist from North Carolina moved in next door and taught him the various styles of Muddy Waters, Lightnin’ Hopkins, John Lee Hooker and Jimmy Reed and other titans of Delta and Chicago blues.
Springfield in the 1950s was full of recent arrivals, not just from around the U.S. but from all over the globe. “We spoke several dialects in my house – Southern, Caribbean, African – and we heard dialects from eastern and western Europe,” Taj recalls. In addition, musicians from the Caribbean, Africa and all over the U.S. frequently visited the Fredericks home, and Taj became even more fascinated with roots – the origins of the various forms of music he was hearing, the path they took to reach their current form, and how they influenced each other along the way. He threw himself into the study of older forms of African-American music, which the record companies of the day largely ignored.
Henry studied agriculture at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in the early 1960s. Inspired by a dream, he adopted the musical alias of Taj Mahal and formed the popular U. Mass party band, the Elektras. After graduating, he headed west in 1964 to Los Angeles, where he formed the Rising Sons, a six-piece outfit that included guitarist Ry Cooder. The band opened for numerous high-profile touring artists of the ‘60s, including Otis Redding, the Temptations and Martha and the Vandellas. Around this same time, Taj also mingled with various blues legends, including Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Lightnin’ Hopkins and Sleepy John Estes.
This diversity of musical experience served as the bedrock for Taj’s first three recordings: Taj Mahal (1967), The Natch’l Blues (1968) and Giant Step (1969). Drawing on all the sounds and styles he’d absorbed as a child and a young adult, these early albums showed signs of the musical exploration that would be Taj’s hallmark over the years to come.
In the 1970s, Taj carved out a unique musical niche with a string of adventurous recordings, including Happy To be Just Like I Am (1971), Recycling the Blues and Other Related Stuff (1972), the GRAMMY®-nominated soundtrack to the movie Sounder (1973), Mo’ Roots (1974), Music Fuh Ya (Music Para Tu) (1977) and Evolution (The Most Recent (1978).
Taj’s recorded output slowed somewhat during the 1980s as he toured relentlessly and immersed himself in the music and culture of his new home in Hawaii. Still, that decade saw the well-received release of Taj in 1987, as well as the first three of his celebrated children’s albums on the Music For Little People label.
He returned to a full recording and touring schedule in the 1990s, including such projects as the musical scores for the Langston Hughes/Zora Neale Hurston play Mule Bone (1991) and the movie Zebrahead (1992). Later in the decade, Taj released a series of recordings with the Phantom Blues Band, including Dancing the Blues (1993), Phantom Blues (1996), and the two GRAMMY® winners, Señor Blues (1997) and the live Shoutin’ in Key (2000). Overall, he has been nominated for nine GRAMMY® Awards.
During this same period, Taj continued to expand his multicultural horizons by joining Indian classical musicians on Mumtaz Mahal in 1995, and recording Sacred Island, a blend of Hawaiian music and blues, with the Hula Blues Band in 1998. Kulanjan, released in 1999, was a collaborative project with Malian kora player Toumani Diabate (the kora is a 21-string west African harp). He recorded a second album with the Hula Blues Band, Hanapepe Dream, in 2003. Zanzibar, a European release, followed in 2005.
Taj continues to tour internationally, doing as many as 150 shows per year throughout the U.S., Europe, Australia, New Zealand and beyond.
He joins the Heads Up International label in the fall of 2008 with the worldwide release of Maestro. This twelve-track set – his first U.S. release in five years – marks the fortieth anniversary of Taj’s rich and varied recording career by mixing original material, chestnuts borrowed from vintage sources and newcomers alike. This anniversary gala includes 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.
“The one thing I’ve always demanded of the records I’ve made is that they be danceable,” he says. “This record is danceable, it’s listenable, it has lots of different rhythms, it’s accessible, it’s all right in front of you. It’s a lot of fun, and it represents where I am at this particular moment in my life. This record is just the beginning of another chapter, one that’s going to be open to more music and more ideas. Even at the end of forty years, in many ways my music is just getting started.”
SHEMEKIA COPELAND
At a young age, Shemekia Copeland is already a force to be reckoned with in the blues. While only in her early 30’s, she’s opened for the Rolling Stones, headlined at the Chicago Blues Festival and numerous festivals around the world, scored critics choice awards on both sides of the Atlantic (The New York Times and The Times of London), shared the stage with such luminaries as Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Mick Jagger, and Eric Clapton, and has even performed at the White House for President and Mrs. Obama. Heir to the rich tradition of soul-drenched divas like Ruth Brown, Etta James and Koko Taylor, the singer was presented with Taylor’s crown by her daughter, Cookie, on June 12, 2011 at the Chicago Blues Festival and given the honor of the new “Queen of the Blues” by official proclamation of the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois.
Copeland’s passion for singing, matched with her huge, blast-furnace voice, gives her music a timeless power and a heart-pounding urgency. Her music comes from deep within her soul and from the streets where she grew up, surrounded by the everyday sounds of the city – street performers, gospel singers, blasting radios, bands in local parks and so much more.
Born in Harlem, New York, in 1979, Copeland actually came to her singing career slowly. Her father, the late Texas blues guitar legend Johnny Clyde Copeland, recognized his daughter’s talent early on. He always encouraged her to sing at home, and even brought her on stage to sing at Harlem’s famed Cotton Club when she was just eight. At the time, Shemekia’s embarrassment outweighed her desire to sing. But when she was fifteen and her father’s health began to fail, her outlook changed. “It was like a switch went off in my head, and I wanted to sing,” she says. “It became a want and a need. I had to do it.”
At only 19, Shemekia stepped out of her father’s shadow with the Alligator release of 1998 debut recording, Turn the Heat Up!, and the critics raved. The Village Voice called her “nothing short of uncanny,” while the Boston Globe proclaimed that “she roars with a sizzling hot intensity.” A year later, she appeared in the Motion Picture Three To Tango, while her song “I Always Get My Man, was featured in the film Broken Hearts Club.
Her second album, Wicked, released in 2000, scored three Handy Awards (Song of the Year, Blues Album of the Year, Contemporary Female Artist of the Year) and a GRAMMY nomination. Two years later, New Orleans R&B legend Dr. John stepped in to produce her third recording, Talking To Strangers (2002), which Vibe called “a masterful blend of ballsy rockers and cheeky ballads.”
Copeland released The Soul Truth in 2005. The album was produced by legendary Stax guitarist Steve Cropper (who also played on the CD), and featured generous doses of blues, funk and Memphis-flavored soul.
Never Going Back, her 2009 debut on Telarc, a division of Concord Music Group, captured Copeland at a crossroads on that artistic path. While Copeland will always remain loyal to her blues roots, Never Going Back took a more forward view of the blues, and in so doing pointed her music and her career in a new direction. Produced by Oliver Wood, guest players included John Medeski, Marc Ribot and Chris Wood.
“I’ve had success in my career, and I’m happy with that,” she says. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to continue to grow. In order for an artist to grow – and for a genre to grow – you have to do new things. I’m extremely proud to say I’m a blues singer, but that doesn’t mean that’s the only thing I’m capable of singing, or that’s the only style of music I’m capable of making.”
She adds: “I want to keep growing. My main goal when I started this was that I was going to do something different with this music, so that this music could evolve and grow. I got that idea from my father. He didn’t do the typical one-four-five blues. He went to Africa and worked with musicians there. He was one of the first blues artists to do that. I want to be the same way. I want to be innovative with the blues.”
Copeland has just finished recording a brilliant new album, 33 1/3, produced by Oliver Wood and set for release September 25, 2012 on Telarc.
UPCOMING HIGH TIDE CONCERTS
Blues Legend
B.B. King
with opening guest David Gogo
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Port Theatre
125 Front St., Nanaimo BC
Doors 6:30pm - Show 7:30pm
Tickets: $116.00 - $131.00 (includes service charges)
Available at: Port Theatre Ticket Centre 125 Front St.,
by phone (250) 754-8550 or online at www.porttheatre.com
SOLD OUT
Canadian Jazz Singer
Holly Cole
with opening guests To Be Announced
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Kelowna Community Theatre
1435 Water St., Kelowna, BC
Doors 6:30pm - Show 7:30pm
Tickets: $39.50 - $47.50 + service charge
Available at: Select Your Tickets, 1223 Water St.,
by phone (250) 762-5050
or online at www.selectyourtickets.com
TICKETS ON SALE JANUARY 25
Canadian Jazz Singer
Holly Cole
with opening guests To Be Announced
Monday, March 25, 2013
Port Theatre
125 Front St., Nanaimo BC
Doors 6:30pm - Show 7:30pm
Tickets: $35.50 - $47.50 + service charge
Available at: Port Theatre Ticket Centre 125 Front St.,
by phone (250) 754-8550 or online www.porttheatre.com
PORT THEATRE MEMBERS ON-SALE DATE JAN 23
GENERAL ON-SALE JANUARY 25
Canadian Jazz Singer
Holly Cole
with opening guests To Be Announced
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Sid Williams Theatre
442 Cliffe Ave, Courtenay, BC
Doors 6:30pm - Show 7:30pm
Tickets: $49.50 - $52.50 + service charge
Available at: Sid Williams Theatre Ticket Centre 442 Cliffe Ave.,
by phone 250-338-2430 ext 1
or online www.sidwilliamstheatre.com
TICKETS ON SALE JANUARY 25
From Quebec: Traditional Francophone Folk music
mixed with Swing, Cajun, Celtic, Irish and Jazz
Le Vent du Nord
April 6 + 7, 2013
Hermanns Jazz Club
753 View St., Victoria BC
Doors 6:00pm - Show 8:00pm
Tickets: $29.50 + service charge Advance / $35 Door
Available at: Online at hightideconcerts.net,
Lyle's Place 770 Yates St., (250) 382-8422
Ditch Records 784 Fort St. (250) 386-5874
McPherson Box Office (250) 386-6121
Blues Legend
Taj Mahal
with opening guests Shemekia Copeland
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Alix Goolden Performance Hall
907 Pandora St., Victoria, BC
Doors 6:30pm - Show 7:30pm
Tickets: $52.50 + service charge - GENERAL ADMISSION
Available at: Online at hightideconcerts.net,
Lyle's Place 770 Yates St., (250) 382-8422
Ditch Records 784 Fort St. (250) 386-5874
McPherson Box Office (250) 386-6121
ON-LINE PRESALE JANUARY 19
GENERAL ON-SALE JANUARY 23
Blues Legend
Taj Mahal
with opening guests Shemekia Copeland
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Port Theatre
125 Front St., Nanaimo, BC
Doors 6:30pm - Show 7:30pm
Tickets: $50.50 - $55.50 + service charge
Available at: Port Theatre Ticket Centre 125 Front St.,
by phone (250) 754-8550 or online www.porttheatre.com
PORT THEATRE MEMBERS ON-SALE DATE JAN 21
GENERAL ON-SALE JANUARY 25
Multiple Juno Award Winner and Folk Music Sensation
David Francey
October 29 + 30, 2013 (2 nights)
Hermanns Jazz Club
753 View St., Victoria BC
Doors 6:00pm - Show 8:00pm
Tickets: $29.50 + service charge Advance / $35 Door
Available at: Online at hightideconcerts.net,
Lyle's Place 770 Yates St., (250) 382-8422
Ditch Records 784 Fort St. (250) 386-5874
McPherson Box Office (250) 386-6121
In-Person Event
Tue. April 30th 2013 + Add to Calendar
Alix Goolden Performance Hall
