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Strongly influenced by his gospel singing mother and jazz musician and composing father – who Ella Fitzgerald had referred to as “The Genius” – Fredericks was exposed to a genre-spanning collection of music from a young age. Despite being a talented and devoted farmer the bluesman decided to pursue his music career and moved to Santa Monica, California, U.S. and formed the band Rising Sons alongside Ry Cooder and Jessie Lee Kincaid. The band signed with Columbia Records however proved to be commercially unviable so Fredericks went solo. In 1968 Taj Mahal released his eponymous debut album, introducing the musician’s stripped back traditional brand of blues.
It wasn’t long before the album became a classic and paved the way for “Natch’l Blues” also in 1968 and “Giant Step/De Ole Folks at Home” in 1969. With these successes Fredericks was afforded the luxuries of working with some of the most prominent rock and blues artists, including the Rolling Stones. The ’70s represented Mahal experimenting with Caribbean themes and rhythms with “Happy Just to Be Like I Am” in 1971 and the brass-induced double live album “The Real Thing” in 1972.
After moving to Warner Bros. in 1976 and releasing the albums “Music Fuh Ya’” (1976), the soundtrack album “Brothers” (1977), and “Evolution” (1977), Fredericks moved to Hawaii to explore the island's musical tradition. After a ten-year hiatus from recording, the iconic bluesman returned with the album “Taj” in 1987, and a string of acclaimed children’s albums alongside Shake Sugaree followed. After earning a Grammy nomination in 1991 for scoring the play “Mule Bone”, Fredericks returned to his extensive recording and touring schedule on the Private Music label.
Throughout the ‘90s the blues musician covered more musical ground drifting into rock, pop, and R&B with the albums “Like Never Before” in 1991, “Dancing the Blues” in 1993, “Phantom Blues” in 1996, and the Grammy Award-winning “Señor Blues” in 1997. Fredericks subsequently collaborated with classical indian musicians to craft “Mumtaz Mahal” in 1995, and released the Hawaiian themed album “Kulunjan” in 1999. With an all-star list of guest including Ziggy Marley, Jack Johnson and Ben Harper, “Maestro” was issued in 2008, followed by the Christmas album, "Talkin' Christmas" with the Blind Boys of Alabama in 2014.
Kevin Roosevelt Moore was born on 3 October 1951 in South Los Angeles, California and had an early appreciation for music, becoming a well-established guitarist by early adolescence. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s he played as backup for various bands, as well as started to record music with violinist Papa John Creach through an R&B group. It was Creach who hired him to play on four of his albums giving Keb’ Mo’ his first gold album.
In 1980 he made his first release with “Rainmaker” with the help of Chocolate City Records, and then was further immersed into blues music by becoming a part of the band, Whodunit. Keb’ Mo’ followed up with “Rainmaker” with a self-titled album in 1994 on Okeh Records. In 1996 he released “Just Like You” which earned him his first Grammy Award. He then became involved in the German rocker Peter Maffay’s music collective project called Begegnungen (Encounter). In 1998 Keb’ Mo’ released his next album entitled “Slow Down” followed shortly in 2000 by “The Door.” He even released a children’s album in 2000 entitled “Big Wide Grin” which featured many of the childhood songs that Mo’ grew up with, followed by a television appearance on the popular children’s television show, “Sesame Street.” The next album he released, “Keep It Simple” in 2004 earned him another Grammy Award, followed by “Suitecase” in 2006. He went on to release his first live album in 2009.
When I was a young boy, my father was really into old blues music. One day when I was still a young child he introduce me to a blues musician called Taj Mahal. I didnt know it then, but as I got older into my teenage years Taj Mahal become one of my favorite musicians and greatly influenced how I approached life.
So it only made sense that I could honor my father and Taj by seeing him live in concert right? My buddy helped me find his tour dates and we split the tickets to go see him. Well the day finally arrived and we got to the House of Blues where he was performing. It wasn't too crowded and the stage was nicely light. He took the stage and began playing songs off his 1991 album Mule Bones.
Seeing him live I discovered he played a wide array of instruments including guitar, banjo, piano and harmonica, and increased my respect for him more. The man is so talented on a guitar, he makes playing it look so effortless and has such a wonderful voice as well. It was definitely a treat to see him live and really understand how talented this man is.
For over twenty years, Kevin Moore (aka Keb’ Mo’), has been keeping the spirit of delta blues alive, recalling the essence of early recordings by the likes of Charlie Patton and Muddy Waters. Yet Keb’ Mo’s blues does not simply rehash old Mississippi standards; it is a post-modern re-evaluation of these roots, reflecting and incorporating contemporary funk, soul and rock into his style. He hasn’t won three Grammys for no reason.
Performing at the annual Rawa Blues festival in 2013, Mo’ and his fellow journeyman travelled across America’s musical history with an eclectic hour- long set to an uproarious reception. The opening songs ‘Government Cheese’ and ‘More Than One Way Home’ presented a laid back blues-funk to which heads nodded as Mo’ riffed. ‘Muddy Water’ from his 1998 album of the same name was a highlight, paying tribute to Muddy Waters and the importance of the Mississippi river to the blues tradition.
The sound of Chicago Blues ran through most of the set as the audience gazed in awe as Mo’ ran up and down the fret board laying down his smooth melodies. In blues guitar, there are few artists who can match Keb’ Mo’s talent and authenticity to be found in his effortless playing. ‘The Door,’ a slow grooving blues, gave the band a chance to show off their vocal skills, as well as the talents of Irek Dudek on harmonica, during which Keb and Irek shared phrases, challenging each other to find tastier licks in response. Following this, Mo’ picked up his slide and resonator and performed the stripped-back ‘Am I wrong?’ and ‘She Just Wants to Dance’ which was simply classic delta blues, returning the audience to romanticised thoughts of those early troubadours travelling up and down the Mississippi, simply playing their guitar to whoever would turn out to listen. Keb’ Mo’ manages to avoid clichés and offers timeless blues that is effortlessly cool.