Photo by Paul Moore
On November 18, 2022, Angela Strehli returned with her first album in over 17 years, blues ace, via Antone’s/New West Records. The 12-track project served as a representation of the enduring quality of not only her voice that has graced the world of music, specifically the blues scene, for 50 years, but also her connection to the artists who have inspired her throughout. of his life and career.
Through her role as co-founder of Antone’s, the iconic blues club in Austin, Texas, with the late Clifford Antone, Strehli befriended and performed with Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, Jimmy Reed, Albert King and many more. It was the vitality of these artists that inspired her to create a tribute to their music, made up of songs written and associated with them.
“With the exception of Chuck Berry, I knew every one of those artists,” Strehli said. relic at the beginning of this year. “I think I got a chance to be on the same stage with everyone else at Antone’s. That’s where I met many of my idols, everyone from Albert King to BB King to Eddie Taylor to Jimmy Reed. Otis Rush was another big problem for me.”
Today, we premiere the video of Strehli’s live performance of “Gambler’s Blues,” a song recorded by BB King on November 5, 1966 and released in 1967, who teamed up with Otis Rush after he released its slow-burn version. , equipped with a guttural and ferocious voice that she made her own in 1969.
In the video, Strehli captures not only the rhythm but also the cadence of Rush’s version of the song as she and a backing band walk through the dragged reality of the entertaining nature of luck and love. The live performance is filled with admiration and dancing from a packed room, a shared musical space on stage for guitarists and trumpeters to express and connect with their feelings. At the same time, Strehli puts those sentiments into words, freeing herself, her band, and the hall from any stifling truth through an unabashed love of music, what once was and what is.
“I was happy to record this tune because it really embodies the intensity of Otis Rush that I was lucky enough to know,” added Strehli.
Listen to blues ace here.
Check out the premiere video for “Gambler’s Blues” below.
