Kai Strauss - Getting Personal (2017)

Can a German play the Blues? Guitarist/singer Kai Strauss grew up in a small working class town in northern Germany. He discovered his passion for the music of Albert King, Buddy Guy, Jimmie Vaughan and many others as a teenager in the 1980s through his parents’ record collection. Soon, countless nights at the local blues jams followed, and from the 1990s on you could find him on stages all over Europe alongside Texas harmonica player Memo Gonzalez. After 15 years on the road with Gonzalez, Strauss started fronting his own group The Electric Blues All-Stars. Kai Strauss now presents his third album “Getting Personal” on the Dutch label Continental Blue Heaven/CRS, and continues to follow his own course with the more contemporary sound that he presented on his award-winning sophomore album “I Go By Feel”. Strauss, who enjoys an excellent reputation for his spicy Texas Blues guitar licks, adds fresh Chicago & Memphis flavors to his musical gumbo on this new studio effort. “Getting Personal” features lots of tasteful guitar playing - from the dirty funkiness of “The Blues Is Handmade” (written by a good friend of the band, Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame Inductee Tommie Harris) to the expressive soulfulness of “Blues for Anne”, an intense 9 minutes of moaning guitar dedicated to the memory of Strauss’ mother. You will also encounter honest, confident vocals, original songwriting, and an outstanding groove that is hard to find this side of the big pond. Together with fabulous guest appearances by US saxophone export No. 1 Sax Gordon, the wonderfully strong yet sensitive voice of Big Daddy Wilson from North Carolina, and Houston guitar ace Tony Vega, this package of 11 brand new titles represents a new peak in Kai Strauss’ career, and should be the next step up for this serious and already highly respected artist in the international blues & roots world.