In My Prime

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Cat No: CBHLP2038

Release Date: 27 November 2020

Label: Continental Blue Heaven

Packaging Type: Digipak

No of Units: 1

Barcode: 8713762320386

Genres: Blues Chicago Blues

Release Date: 26 February 2021

Label: Continental Blue Heaven

Packaging Type: Digipak

No of Units: 1

Barcode: 8713762013387

Genres: Blues Chicago Blues

Description
Kai Strauss has been a well-known name among European Blues lovers since the early nineties. Now, at the age of 50, the guitar player and singer releases his sixth album on the Dutch CRS label – aptly titled "In My Prime". Strauss is an experienced musician with a signature, grown up from the respect for his idols. He knows them, the pioneers: Guitar Slim, Luther Tucker, all three Kings, Otis Rush and Magic Sam. You can't pin him on anyone, and yet they all live through his playing. Today Kai himself is a well-respected figure among guitar fans worldwide.

On "In My Prime", a first-class band lights a fire of 70ies funky blues influences underneath Kai, and his featuring a horn section built around US saxophone virtuoso Sax Gordon is another example of his international importance. New original songs like "Going To London" or "In My Prime" speak to his ability to walk traditional paths in a creative manner.

Strauss understands that the music should always tell a story. Heartfelt vocals and plenty of tasteful guitar playing with punches of feelings and emotions shine through these 11 tracks about personal experiences ("Guest In The House Of The Blues"), current topics ("World Crisis Blues") and also the dark side of life ("Put That Bottle Down").

Maybe he is, as he says, in his prime with this album. But "In My Prime" is definitely not simply a repetition of his previous work, but evidence of his musical and personal growth that will keep him as a meaningful and exciting blues artist in the future.

Description
After 25 years on the scene Kai Strauss is no longer "just another guitar player from Europe".
First as musical mastermind in Memo Gonzalez' Bluescasters and later under his own name, Kai has built himself a reputation of a purveyor of authentic blues traditions. He gets his inspirations from all the great players and does not restrict himself to just one type of blues.
His versatility does not get in the way from consistency in style and quality. And after receiving many awards for his previous releases we dare say that "In My Prime" is yet another step up in his already impressive body of work.
He pays tribute to his musical heroes, mostly from the 70's giving his own twist to their characteristics and with his ever soul filled voice.

As Otis Grand put it:
"You can't actually label Strauss as Just another European and separate him out from American artists - he is too good for that. In fact, he's just about the last of musicians still jumping the authentic Blues with inspired fine blues guitar improvisation firmly grounded in that old Chicago-bred music that we all love. In choosing his songs or the appropriate intros, he shows the killer instinct that the old masters like Magic Sam had. Strauss is so good it's scary."
Tracklisting
Tracklisting