Wailin' In Vienna Kai Strauss

• 1 OLD FASHIONED DADDY 03:12
• 2 5$ SHAKE 03:19
• 3 TRAVELIN' MAN 04:07
• 4 STRANDED 03:37
• 5 SWEET AND SALTY 05:11
• 6 YOU QUIT THIS GAME TOO SOON 04:15
• 7 SLOW ROAST 05:25
• 8 LET'S HAVE A GOOD TIME 02:40
• 9 FEEL LIKE CRYING 02:59
• 10 WAILIN' IN VIENNA 02:48
• 11 SAVE YOUR WORRIES 04:10
• 12 COOKING FOR MY BABY 03:07
• 13 THANK YOU MR. DOGGETT 04:26
• 14 MY OLD TIME USED TO BE 04:43
• 15 THREE BELLS IN A ROW 05:02
• Total Runtime 59:01

Info for Wailin' In Vienna

Kai Strauss has the touch. After 30 years of professional blues guitar playing he has long mastered the sound and the intricacies of his blues guitar heroes, and has distilled his skills into a readily recognizable own six-string style. Most importantly, he has the feel to shift his notes into exciting places within the groove, and to create suspense with his phrasing. Along the way, especially after going solo with his own band in 2011, he has also developed into a strong, expressive singer, and an excellent songwriter with a command of the blues language that enables him to make meaningful statements on native-speaker level. With his Electric Blues All-Stars, Kai Strauss has made a name for himself all over Europe with dynamic, driving live shows and award-winning CDs, featuring an individual style that’s based on the urban blues tradition, but taking in big chunks of soulful and funky grooves. And this band knows how to rock the house! For “Wailin’ In Vienna”, Kai has realized his long-standing plan to record an old-school blues album, going back to his roots and beyond. And the results are nothing short of spectacular, with 15 self-composed songs that cover a lot of traditional ground: swinging R&B, 50’s Chicago blues, instrumental shuffles, even some bluesy jazz, a minor-key cha-cha and a tribute to Bill Doggett and his guitarist Billy Butler. Although the shadows of T-Bone, the three Kings and lesser-known guitar giants loom large over the proceedings, Kai Strauss never fails being his own man, playing his own songs that sound like they could have been spun on a U.S. jukebox 70 or more years ago.

Of course it helps when you can realize such a project with a team comprising some of the best players in this style: Dani Gugolz and Peter Müller have been a much sought-after, steadily swinging rhythm team for 35 years, with countless blues, R&B and jazz sessions and gigs under their belt. Pianists Dave Ruosch and Andreas Sobczyk combine tasteful chordal work with cascading treble runs. Sax Gordon has been a first-call R&B horn man for decades. Gerry Lülik’s full-bodied tone and extensive repertoire of classic licks have made him one of Austria’s foremost bluesharp players. Pianist Christian Dozzler, who came up in Vienna but has long made his home in Texas, can be heard with the likes of Anson Funderburgh when not doing his own thing. Finally, the two guitar greats heard alongside Kai hardly need much introduction: Rusty Zinn and Alex Schultz have been among the top tier of traditional blues string-benders since the 1990’s. Here, they are mostly heard in a supporting role for their friend and colleague, but ready to step out in style when called upon.

Kai and the gang serve up a feast of swingin’, bluesin’ & wailin’ sounds – dig in and enjoy! (Klaus Kilian)

Kai Strauss, vocals, guitar
Dani Gugolz, double bass
Peter Müller, drums
Dave Ruosch, piano
Christian Dozzler, piano
Sax Gordon, saxophone
Gerry Lülik, harmonica
Rusty Zinn, guitar
Alex Schultz, guitar
Andreas Sobczyk, piano

Kai Strauss
The times when European artists simply imitated North American productions are long gone. Whether one regrets it or not, the blues has gone global and is defended by musicians who keep the memory of the blues alive and – for the best of them – give it the extra soul that makes it special. German singer-guitarist Kai Strauss is among this elite.

Strauss is not only a convincing vocalist with warm timbre but above all an accomplished guitarist with rich and creamy phrasing, who’s fierce but disciplined playing doesn’t degenerate into volcanic cascades of notes.

Kai Strauss has been an enduring presence on the European blues scene for more than 25 years. From his professional start in the 1990s, when he teamed up with Texas, US-born singer Memo Gonzalez, to his successful career as a solo artist, Strauss has proved himself to be a guitarist and vocalist of power and originality. Several German Blues Awards confirm his relevance as a bandleader, but he is also an in-demand sideman and in recent years performed with US greats such as Jimmy Johnson, Mike Wheeler and Grammy-nominated Lurrie Bell.

With „Night Shift“ Kai Strauss has now released his seventh album, and once again he succeeds in weaving blues roots with elements of his own brand of funk and soul into an exciting contemporary sound. Strauss’ songs have gained urgency and relevance, sometimes tackling more serious topics, as in the muscular grooving „Stand Strong Together“ or the soul-blues „Bad Loser,“ disguised as a love triangle, whose inspiration was the end of the U.S. Trump administration. Although Strauss has clearly learned the grammar of the old blues masters, his guitar work is by no means „paint-by-numbers blues“. Performed in his own unique voice, Kai places his guitar licks with energy and polish like a South American penalty kicker. And when even US blues mogul Bruce Iglauer (Alligator Records) praises Strauss as a musician „who has it all“, you know that countless club and festival gigs have paid off.

The blues has always been a difficult field to conquer, but Kai Strauss is well on his way to doing just that.

„European blues guitar star Kai Strauss shows that he’s got what it takes to blow up worldwide on his latest album Night Shift. Get this record!“ - rockandbluesmuse.com (USA), Mike O’Cull

„Kai Strauss is a subtle and sophisticated bluesman who has it all.“ - Bruce Iglauer, Alligator Records (Chicago/IL)

„This is high energy top quality electric blues as it should be, from the heart and with punches of feelings and emotions. Hard to believe this man is a blues player from Germany and not from Chicago or Memphis.“ - Blues Matters! UK

„Strauss vibrates with deep musical understanding… he shows the killer instinct that the old masters like Magic Sam had – Highway Blues is one example. Strauss‘ so good here it’s scary.“ - Otis Grand, London (UK)

This album contains no booklet.