For
more than 40 years, Wolfgang Kalb has been playing and singing acoustic
Blues, predominantly Country Blues, as well as ragtime music, gospel songs
and jazz ballads. He
interprets the songs of the old
blues masters in his unique way using the fingerpicking style or the bottleneck
method on his resonator guitar, changing the music and lyrics and adapting
them to his own personal situation. His repertoire includes the styles of
his role models Blind Blake, Robert Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt and other
country blues artists from the 20’s and 30’s. The musical influences of Muddy
Waters and John Lee Hooker are also clearly evident.
At
appearances between the 70’s and the mid-90’s he shared the stage with
regional artists such as Martin Philippi from Nuremberg and Blues greats such
as Champion Jack Dupree, Louisiana Red and Blind John Davis.
After
taking a break from giving concerts that lasted several years, he started to
tour again six years ago and has become firmly established in the German
country blues scene.
As
well as appearing at established blues festivals, he plays regular gigs at
well-known jazz and blues clubs in
He is a
welcome guest at previews of art exhibitions and as an opening act for bands.
At church concerts he presents his special gospel blues show.
Wolfgang
Kalb visited
At his
concerts, the musical journey through the history of this music is
accompanied by stories about the blues, the origin of the songs and his
personal experiences.
All of
the songs were recorded live in the unique-musique studios in
On the
CD “Got Them Old Walkin’ Blues” Wolfgang showcases 15 of his favourite
country blues songs from the prewar era.