Plundering Centrum’s vast photo archive on a recent search for photos for our website, I was immediately spellbound by this absolute gem of a picture of Doc Watson and Taj Mahal in front of a military bunker in Fort Worden State Park taken by photographer Paul Boyer. The picture was taken when Centrum was lucky enough to have Doc Watson open for Taj Mahal at Centrum Summer Arts Festival on June 30, 1990. A stunning collection of talent in one picture frame, let alone on one stage on the same bill, I was excited to share this snapshot of Centrum history featuring two of my all-time favorite musicians.
As a lifelong fan of these two stalwarts in American music history, I immediately thought of one of my favorite music recordings featuring these musicians playing together. Perhaps the only time Doc Watson and Taj Mahal played together (they didn’t play together on their visit to Centrum) was on the classic radio program, Prairie Home Companion, on August 9, 1986. No knock on the great Garrison Keillor, but this episode where he was on vacation was probably one of the best-ever Prairie Home Companion episodes (listen here). The lineup on that program also included longtime Doc Watson collaborators, the great Jack Lawrence (guitar), T. Michael Coleman (bass), and Butch Thompson (piano).
Doc Watson, blind before he turned 2 years old due to an eye infection, became legendary for his flatpicking guitar in a fiddle tunes style, garnering seven Grammys over his career. He would influence a whole generation of guitar players, such as Tony Rice, before we lost him in 2012. His music remains as relevant as ever, with today’s biggest bluegrass name, Billy Strings, playing Doc Watson-heavy setlists currently on a tour with guitarist Bryan Sutton and bassist Royal Massat (of Strings’ band). Livestreams of this tour are available here.
Taj Mahal, a tireless collaborator with all kinds of musicians throughout his career, redefined what blues music could be by incorporating African, Caribbean, Hawaiian, and more in his music that was one of the earliest ever dubbed ‘World Music’. Taj has earned five Grammys and continues to tour at age 83. A Northwest legend now in his own right, he has had a residency at Seattle’s Jazz Alley around Thanksgiving for decades. Catching him there once and meeting him backstage, my mother reminded him how he taught her some stuff on guitar at (our alma mater) UMass when they were there together. Learning guitar on a guitar that Taj has played was special (even if my Grammy count is a little behind these guys). The nicest guy in the world and a living legend, catch his 30th Anniversary of performing at Jazz Alley in Seattle with his quintet from November 21 to November 30 (tickets).