Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band: Cavalcade Sesson 2026
Taj Mahal (photo courtesy of Thirty Tigers, PR)
"Cavalcade" welcomes iconic blues-folk master Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band at 4 p.m. today for music and conversation in Studio A.
Their new album is Time, and it is both a precious commodity for the statesman musician, and it's the story of this record finally making it out. It took time, but after 15 years, the previously unknown Bill Withers-penned title track is a new benchmark for the band.
Taj reminisces about his big break on "The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus" TV show in 1968, and about playing at the Whisky a Go Go shortly before, with more rock royalty present — no pressure. These days, the pressures of a collapsed record industry and fragmented market weigh more on him, but he prevails with a fine — if long overdue — release.
Taj and the band — guitarist Johnny Lee Schell, bassist Larry Fulcher, tenor saxophonist Joe Sublett, trumpeter Les Lovitt, keyboardist Jim Pugh and percussionist Tony Durham — perform a couple of classics in Studio A: "C.C. Rider" and "Cakewalk into Town."
[Recorded: 4/30/26; Engineered by Jeremy Rainer, produced by Paul Cavalconte.]
