Kai Strauss
&
The electric blues all stars
Electric Blues, Funk
(This artist performs in a quartet as well as in a septet)
Kai Strauss: a Blues Champion with style
Strauss now belongs to the small circle of European blues musicians to whom American colleagues and critics recognize a style. “Excellent playing, with a lot of maturity and emotion”, commented Bruce Iglauer, the legendary head of Alligator Records in Chicago (USA).
From his beginnings with Texan harmonica player Memo Gonzalez in 1995 to his brilliant career as a solo artist, Strauss has proved to be a singer, instrumentalist and composer of incomparable reverence for his art. As a leader, he quickly earned the respect of his peers for his talented originality, which over the years led to numerous professional awards.
A guardian of traditions
Next to a profound understanding of what blues is all about, his strength is his unique combination of technique, emotion and power. He likes to come to the point, avoiding showering the listener with excessive notes. No frills for Kai Strauss !
First as the mastermind behind Gonzalez’s Bluescasters and, since 2010, under his own name, he has forged a reputation as a guardian for the many traditions of the blues, nurtured by the great figures of the genre.
Versatile, Strauss remains no less consistent in the quality of his playing, a source of much praise from the profession. As a result, he regularly appears as a guest on concerts and tours by international artists.
Blues Champions League
In 2014, he formed the “Electric Blues All Stars”, now made up of Londoner Paul Jobson (keyboards, vocals), American Kevin DuVernay (bass) and German Henri Jerratsch (drums), who may be joined by German Tommy Schneller (tenor saxophone) and Jens Buschenlange (trumpet), depending on the circumstances.
With that fine combo, Strauss has since released seven highly successful CDs and an LP. This production has received unanimous critical acclaim and deservedly earned him a place in the Blues Champions League.
According to the German trade magazine BluesNews, Strauss is now considered one of the big names on the European scene. Five Blues Awards, two Record Critics’ Prizes, countless magazine covers and concerts in over 20 countries bear witness to this…
Distinctions:
- 2014: Blues in Germany BiG Award (Best Album “Electric Blues”)
- 2015: Blues in Germany BiG Award (Best Album “I Go By Feel”)
- 2016: German Blues Award (Best Band)
- 2017: German Record Critics’ Prize (Category “Blues”)
- 2018: German Blues Award (Category “Gitarre”)
- 2019: German Blues Award (Best Band)
- 2021: German Record Critics’ Prize (Category “Blues”)
Has shared the stage with:
- Carey Bell
- Jimmy Johnson
- Mike Wheeler
- Tony Vega
- Sugar Ray Norcia
- “Monster” Mike Welch
- Johnny Rawls
- Duke Robillard
- Alan Haynes
- Alex Schulz
- Curtis Salgado
- Larry Garner
- Rick Estrin
- Rusty Zinn
- Dave Specter
- Sugar Ray Rayford
- Tad Robinson
- Sugar Blue
Festivals:
- Holland International Blues Festival (NL)
- Lahnstein Blues Festival (GER)
- Blue Seas Festival Curacao (CW)
- Carlisle Blues Rock Festival (GB)
- International Blues Festival Wespelaar (BEL)
- Notodden Blues Festival (NOR)
- Cahors Blues Festival (FRA)
- Lucerne Blues Sessions (CH)
- Bla Festival Aalborg (DK)
- Poggio Picenze In Blues (ITA)
"NIGHT SHIFT" (official VIDEOs, 2023)
A press gone crazy...
"Night Shift" (CD, 2022)
With “Night Shift” (2022, Continental Blue Heaven Records), Kai Straus shows that he has what it takes to inspire worldwide. He did also an amazing job: produce an album with a live sound that crackles and crunches, without falling into caricature or cliché.
The Electric Blues All Stars, his core band, form the sonic backbone for this project: Paul Jobson (keys), Ali Neander (ex-guitar), Kevin DuVernay (bass) and Alex Lex (ex-drums) form a solid, funky unit that drives Kai’s songs forward while retaining their own distinctive personality. Special guests include Chicago’s Toronzo Cannon (guitar) and Californian Sax Gordon (saxophone) to spice things up a bit and make their mark, as they always do.
The record is bold, uplifting and really pushes Strauss’ socially relevant lyrics to new heights. The guitar work here is again great and tasteful. Strauss is a ferocious but disciplined guitarist who doesn’t churn out volcanic cascades of notes. Instead, he plays actual melodic ideas that are immediately essential to the song. His phrasing is soulful and personal, so there’s no need to overwhelm us with superfluous sounds.
Kai Strauss is a blues dynamo who deserves to be much more famous than he is. Let’s hope “Night Shift” makes the big breakthrough and sends him to the heights he’s obviously ready for. Buy this record!
Kai Strauss: Discography
Kai Strauss: B.B. King would be proud....
- “Excellent playing, with a lot of maturity and emotion.” (Bruce Iglauer, Alligator Records, Chicago)
- “Germany’s blues guitarist of the hour.” (eurojournalist.eu, France)
- “Authentic, high-class and straightforward.” (bluesnews.de)
- “It’s hard to believe that this man is a bluesman from Germany and not from Chicago.” (Blues Matters Magazine)
- “Strauss is at the top of the list for a reason.” (Grand Guitars Magazin, Germany)
- “He is one of the internationally renowned German blues musicians.” (Gitarre&Bass Magazin, Germany)
- “His record “I Go By Feel” is a must !” (Soul Bag Magazine, France)
- “The highlight was the concert by Kai Strauss.” (Tageblatt Letzebuerg, Luxembourg)
- “What a line-up: Buddy Guy, Warren Haynes and… Kai Strauss !” (Holland International Blues Festival)“
- “Strauss makes his Stratocaster vibrate so beautifully that B.B. King would be proud of him.” (thebluesalone.nl)
- “Tasteful modern soulful-funky blues.” (Guitar Magazine, Germany)
- “Kai Strauss shows that he has what it takes.” (rockandbluesmuse.com, USA)
- “Never thought that a white, German string wizard would steal our hearts.” (Jazzism, Netherlands)
- “It’s clear that real blues is embedded in Kai’s skull.” (Otis Grand, USA)
- “Strauss and his band provided with masterful skill.” (Rhein-Zeitung, Germany)
- “Simply brilliant!” (Blues in Germany)
- “The Osnabrücker is one of the best blues musicians in Europe.” (Gaildorf Bluesfest)
- “These are very serious musicians who have a deep understanding of the blues.” (Blues Junction, USA)
- “Every single note he plays is in the right place.” (CrossCut Records, Germany)
- “You can hardly perform the blues much better.” (darkstars.de)
- “The German Robert Cray”. (Lust for Life Magazine, Netherlands)
- “One of the world’s best guitarists.” (bluesblues.co.uk)
- “He fuses a lifetime of blues influences into a mesmerizing sound.” (altcountryforum.nl)
- “With his smoky voice and edgy guitar sound Kai convinces.” (Concert Monkey, Belgium)
