Taj Mahal Tribute Bench - Springfield, MA
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 42° 05.197 W 072° 33.301
18T E 702219 N 4662286
An artistic bench decorated with an mosaic tribute to blues musician Taj Mahal (Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, Jr.) is located on Sumner Avenue at the intersection of Ormond Street in Springfield, MA.
Waymark Code: WMWJH4
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 09/12/2017
Views: 0
A decorated bench features an mosaic image of Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, Jr., who performs under the name Taj Mahal, singing and playing the guitar. His stage name TAJ MAHAL is spelled out as is the description SPRINGFIELD BLUESMAN.
The Taj Mahal bench is a public art project completed in 2002 by Cynthia Fisher who does business as Big Bang Mosaics. It was a winner of the "Butt Stop Art" competition held in Springfield, MA.
The mosaic is made from vitreous glass> and the 59" by 17" bench is made from concrete.
Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, Jr. was born in New York City on May 17, 1942 and soon move to Springfield, MA. He is a self-taught singer-songwriter who plays guitar, banjo, taken traditional Blues music and created a fusion with influences from the Caribbean, Africa and the Pacific Islands, including: reggae, Caribbean folk, jazz, gospel, R&B, zydeco, West African styles, Latin, and Hawaiian.
Taj Mahal has been nominated for a Grammy Award nine times. In 1997, he received his first Grammy for in the Best Contemporary Blues Album category for his album Señor Blues. In 2000, he received a second Grammy in the same category for his album Shoutin' in Key. In addition, in 2006, he received the Blues Music Awards for the Historical Album of the Year for the album Essential Taj Mahal. On February 8, 2006, the Massachusetts legislature named Taj Mahal the official Blues Artist of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.