Henry St. Claire Fredericks Jr., better known by his stage name Taj Mahal, is an American blues musician. He plays the guitar, piano, banjo, harmonica, and many other instruments, often incorporating elements of world music into his work. Mahal has done much to reshape the definition and scope of blues music over the course of his more than 50-year career by fusing it with nontraditional forms, including sounds from the Caribbean, Africa, India, Hawaii, and the South Pacific.
Taj Mahal in 2005
Taj Mahal at the Museumsquartier in Vienna (Jazz-Fest Wien) in 2007
Taj Mahal performing in 1971 (Millard Agency photo)
Taj Mahal at the Liri Blues Festival, Italy, in 2005
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern Mill River. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 155,929, making it the 3rd most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the 4th most populous city in New England after Boston, Worcester, and Providence. Metropolitan Springfield, as one of two metropolitan areas in Massachusetts, had a population of 699,162 in 2020.
Image: Springfield MA
Image: Symphony Hall Springfield, Massachusetts DSC03277
Image: The Puritan by St. Gaudens
Image: Court Square, Springfield MA