Abi Wallenstein
Abi Wallenstein (born December 8, 1945 in Jerusalem ) is a German blues interpreter (guitar and vocals). He has lived in Germany since 1960 , initially in North Rhine-Westphalia and since the mid-1960s in Hamburg .
biography
He is known as the "father of the Hamburg blues scene" and "living legend of the blues". Characteristic of Abi Wallenstein's playing is his picking style, which is in the tradition of the Piedmont Blues or Texas Country Blues, such as a Mance Lipscomb. The Delta Blues slide guitar is also part of his repertoire. His guitars, tuned in Open Tuning , have eight strings , inspired by Big Joe Williams , which, together with his authentic blues voice, makes his special sound.
In 2006, Wallenstein celebrated its 40th stage anniversary. He has been a blues interpreter on stage since 1966, since then he has played in numerous bands and together with well-known musicians such as Joja Wendt , Vince Weber , Inga Rumpf , Axel Zwingenberger , Tom Shaka . Abi was at a number of blues and boogie festivals, such as the Ascona Jazz Festival and Monopoly (Italy), the Lahnsteiner Blues Festival and festivals in Auriac, Chedigny and St. Aignan (France), Vienna and Wels (Austria), in Olsztyn and Toruń (Poland) as guests. For musicians like Joe Cocker , Christy Moore , Fats Domino , Robben Ford, Eric Burdon and Johnny Winter he performed successfully as a support.
He has released numerous LPs with well-known bands and several CDs under his own name. His two CDs "Step in Time" and "Blues Culture" were awarded the German Record Critics' Prize.
Abi Wallenstein still plays actively in constantly changing formations, although he is not afraid to play street music at city festivals, such as at the Oldesloer Kurparkfest together with Kai Brockmann. Among other things, he now plays in the band "Blues Culture" with Steve Baker (harmonica, background vocals) and Martin Röttger (cajon, percussion). Also with “Prof. Washboard ”(washboard, drums and percussion) as well as the Kiel blues musicians Georg Schroeter (piano) and Marc Breitfelder (harmonica) and in various duo concerts with, among others, the Hamburg-based saxophonist Kurt Buschmann .
In December 2001 Abi Wallenstein performed with two friends on the occasion of a Christmas party in the legendary Hamburg overnight stay Pik As in Neustädter Straße 31a. The audience consisted exclusively of homeless people from Hamburg, whom Wallenstein wanted to please with the performance without charging a fee. It was a free performance in which blues and hip-hop music were combined in a very special and artistic way, which was very popular with an audience of around 100 people.
In 2004 he was awarded the Ravensburger Kupferle together with Steve Baker .
In 2011 Abi Wallenstein was honored at the German Blues Awards in the Solo / Duo category. In 2012 he even won this audience award in two categories (solo / duo and male voice). In 2015 he was the winner of the Blues-Louis award, which is awarded annually at the Lahnstein Blues Festival . In 2017 and again in 2018 he won the German Blues Award in the Solo / Duo category. He lives with the playwright and director Maryn Stucken .
Discography
- 1978 Bad News Reunion, Live im Logo (LP)
- 1980 Bad News Reunion, The Easiest Way (LP)
- 1981 Bad News Reunion, Two Steps Forward (LP)
- 1982 Bad News Reunion, Last Orders Please (LP)
- 1989 Bad News Reunion, Just One Night (LP)
- 1989 Abi Wallenstein With Uli Kringler, Christoph Buse, Stefan Gade, Rockin 'Shoes (LP)
- 1993 Abi Wallenstein with Henry Heggen and Steve Baker , Two Times 2 (CD)
- 1995 Abi Wallenstein with Joja Wendt , Good Morning Blues (CD)
- 1995 Abi Wallenstein with Lars-Luis Linek , Blues, Shuffle, Cajun (CD)
- 1996 Abi Wallenstein with Henry Heggen , Steve Baker and Christoph Buse, Blues Avenue (CD)
- 1998 Abi Wallenstein with Joja Wendt , Blues on Air (Live) (CD)
- 1999 Abi Wallenstein & Friends, For Hinz & Kunzt (CD)
- 2000 Abi Wallenstein and Steve Baker , In Your Face (CD)
- 2003 Abi Wallenstein with Henry Heggen , Steve Baker , Martin Röttger and others, Step in time (CD)
- 2007 BluesCulture with Steve Baker , Christoph Buhse , Blues Culture (CD)
- 2009 BluesCulture, In Concert (LIVE) (CD)
Books
- Abi Wallenstein: My Style / Blues Songs & Adventures in Open G-Tuning . Bärensong Verlag, 2009. ISBN 3-940474-63-0
literature
- Gudrun Schumann: The pulse of the city: Stories from Hamburg . BooksOnDemand, Norderstedt, 2004. ISBN 3-8334-1723-4
- Michael Rauhut, Reinhard Lorenz (Ed.): I've had the blues a little longer . Ch. Links Verlag, Berlin, 2008. ISBN 978-3-86153-495-2
Web links
- Abi Wallenstein's website
- Works by and about Abi Wallenstein in the catalog of the German National Library
- Wallenstein with Bluesculture on the side of artist management Nico Baker
Individual evidence
- ^ Report in the Hamburger Abendblatt from January 14, 2005; Retrieved May 23, 2008
- ↑ Interview with Abi Wallenstein; accessed on May 23, 2008 ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
- ^ Winner of the German Blues Award 2012 ( memento of March 8, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on November 25, 2012
- ^ Report in the Hamburger Abendblatt from December 4, 2015; accessed on June 10, 2020
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wallenstein, Abi |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German blues interpreter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 1945 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Jerusalem |