Pop, rock & jazz
The Hamburg Blues Band & Friends - feat. Krissy Matthews & Vanja Sky
Friday, 24/01/2025 / 08:00 PM / Jazzhaus Freiburg
Over 40 years of St. Pauli Blues! For 4 decades, five guys have been touring through crowded clubs and are among the best the European blues scene has to offer. The Hamburg Blues Band stands for intense, cleverly arranged and live stunning roots blues that regularly leaves purists mentally reeling. The band, led by singer Gert Lange, who is often compared to Joe Cocker, mixes hard-hitting guitar blues rock with soul, psychedelic, rhythm & blues, boogie and even excursions into the realms of jazz.
In 1982, the Hamburg singer and the English saxophonist Dick Heckstall-Smith spontaneously founded the Hamburg Blues Band after a midnight session at the legendary "Onkel Pö" in Hamburg. "Dick Heckstall-Smith was our key to the British blues scene, our Brit blues connection". "He was to us what Alexis Korner was to the Stones and many others," says Lange today. So it's not surprising that the band went on tour with the stars of the scene over the years: Jack Bruce, Chris Farlowe, Mike Harrison, Arthur Brown and guitar heroes such as Clem Clempson & Miller Anderson became band members. "We were also very lucky that Dick Heckstall-Smith brought us together with the legendary lyricist Pete Brown (Cream), who wrote our lyrics until his death in 2023 and was also a welcome guest on our tours."
Even after 40 years, the Hamburg Blues Band is always good for surprises and presents its very own sound far removed from any clichés. On the "Friends For A LIVEtime VOL. II" tour, the audience can expect musical fireworks with real guys and originals.