BIO - W. Strauss:
"Michael Hedges meets Bruce Cockburn and together they steal
Ry Cooder's smoking jacket..."
Blame it on Rawlins, Wyoming. Fingerstyle guitar wizard Walter
Strauss was born out there in the big open, and was seduced to look
to the vast spaces of the American West for his musical inspiration.
But while rooted in American folk forms, Walter's music evokes far
reaches of the globe as well. He's worked with musicians from West
Africa to Australia and Finland, and successfully weaves world beat,
Americana, and jazz into a brand uniquely his own.
Walter Strauss digs deep grooves for his audiences - he layers on
highly articulated melodies and harmonies, rhythms and counter-rhythms
in a way that gives the impression he is playing several instruments
at once. His voice is smokey and intimate, and captivates the listener
with a dastardly charm whether he's singing a lusty proposition or
an existential lament.
Before embarking on his solo career, Walter performed for more
than 15 years as an ensemble musician at concert venues, theaters
and festivals throughout the United States, Canada and Ireland.
He toured extensively with Rounder Records' eclectic folksters The
Burns Sisters Band and performed alongside numerous first-rate musicians,
such as fiddle legend Vassar Clements and Celtic guitar wizard Martin
Simpson. Of late, Walter has been performing solo and with The Walter
Strauss Trio – with bassist Sam Bevan (David Grisman, Joe
Craven) and drummer/percussionist Kendrick Freeman (Alison Brown,
Rob Ickes). For the last 3 years, Walter has also engaged in a unique
transcultural collaboration, touring periodically in a duo with
Malian kora virtuoso and 2005 Grammy nominee Mamadou Diabate.
In the words of reviewer Patti Witten (FAME), Walter's first solo
CD "Pulling Shadows" is "a soulful journey of stellar
guitar playing and songs suffused with tenderness and wit. Walter
Strauss has the scope and musicianship to express himself in multiple
genres... in a fresh way, without cliché or repetition."
Legendary British broadcaster Bob Harris gives the CD a big thumbs
up... "What a lovely album it is!" On the disc, as in
live performance, he weaves together a cohesive quilt of musical
styles and somehow renders each more 3-D, more psychedelic. Walter
colors outside the lines.
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