“I remember talking to Sunnyland Slim, he answered to that question “The Blues is a woman!” So to him it had always to do with the relationship between women and men, love and honesty, cheating and lying. It’s about everyday life and people from all cultures can identify with the stories.”

Eddie Kold: Blues In My Heart

Eddie Kold (real name Jorg Fennekold) is a German blues guitarist, now based in Cologne, but who spent much of the 1980s and 1990s learning his craft in the bars of Chicago, playing with the likes of Vance Kelly, Buddy Scott, L.V. Banks, Zora Young and Buster Benton. Kold's deep connection to Chicago began in 1986, leading him to play in legendary venues like the Checkerboard Lounge and Lee's Unleaded Blues. Over the years, he has performed and recorded with blues icons such as Buddy Scott, Vance Kelly, and Zora Young. His style is characterized as soulful and versatile, blending traditional blues with hints of jazz. His latest album, Blues In My Heart, is a fine example of modern Chicago-style blues, with a bucket-load of fabulous guitar playing. This third collaborative work with vocalist Larry "Doc" Watkins features 13 tracks that showcase a modern take on the traditional Chicago Blues.

(Photo: Eddie Kold)

The album includes several notable guest musicians, such as Tom Holland (guitar/piano), L.P. Davenport, and Honeydew Melon Davenport on vocals. It spans various styles from funky grooves to soulful ballads, including an upbeat cover of the classic "Further On Up The Road". His albums, often recorded at Chicago's Joyride Studios and released through L+R Records, include: Blues in My Heart (2025), Chicago Alley Blues (2020), Chicago Blues Heaven (2018), Notable Tracks. Eddie Kold has recorded 10 new songs with friends in Chicago on a recent visit. Including Latimore’s Band around Big Lew Powell. Featured singers are Joe Barr and Thomas Melvin Jr. along with Big Lew. Release in 2026.

Interview by Michael Limnios

How has the music influenced your views of the world? What does the blues mean to you?

I remember talking to Sunnyland Slim, he answered to that question “The Blues is a woman!” So to him it had always to do with the relationship between women and men, love and honesty, cheating and lying. It’s about everyday life and people from all cultures can identify with the stories.

Of course, I don´t have the African-American heritage in me. I was listening to Rock´n Roll as a youngster. The Rolling Stones were my idols. Later figured out that Muddy gave them their name. So Blues developed also through acculturation – many people on the world play and listen to Blues.

I love it when it´s getting down, when you see and hear the singer sweating, the guitarists taking over and opening a new world. So it´s lyrics, the story, the music and the sound that counts.

How do you describe your sound and music philosophy? What's the balance in music between technique (skills) and soul/emotions?

Well, when I learned to play the guitar I have always wanted to be a good guitarist getting better. I took lessons in classical guitar and studied that at the University. I played Folk Blues acoustically in the my younger days. With the knowledge of classical fingering and the use of all fingers I could develop my style. Clean sound is what I prefer and let the fingers do the job. Fast and precise. Not everybody likes that but it´s my style. I took also lessons in Jazz so I use all 12 notes not only the blues scale. So it´s a lot of technique but I feel it. It’s the way that I do the playing. And my teachers were Vance Kelly or Hollywood Scott. Their playing is also fast and virtuous. These long nights with Vance taught me a lot. Also the approach of Sir Walter Scott – you can cover a song but make it your song – was a big help.

And emotions develop in the in-between-play with others, the rhythm section can push you. Next minute you bring it down that you could hear  guitar played almost acoustically.

“I hope that the blues and soul survive in the clubs of the South Side. What I can see now is that there are a few shows going on every week and regularly bigger shows. And there are people supporting this. That makes me happy and I hope to be back in Chicago soon. And when I’m home in Cologne, I miss Chicago.” (Photo: Eddie Kold, spent much of the 1980s and 1990s learning his craft in the bars of Chicago)

Why do you think that the Blues music continues to generate such a devoted following in Germany?

The Blues audience has always been small but loyal. They support the artists and the music, they have done it for a long time.

What moment changed your music life the most? What´s been the highlights in your life and career so far?

Good question and not an easy answer. There is more than one highlight that had changed my music life. Number one was attending a concert of the American Folk and Blues Fest 1980 in Kassel. I saw Louisiana Red, Lurrie and Carey Bell, Bob Stroger among others. I decided that I wanted to see these guys in their home Chicago. So I traveled to Chicago. Next highlight was -after listening to a lot of Blues greats in North Side Clubs in Chicago with great music – checking out the South Side and West Side bars. That is where I wanted to be – the church like atmosphere, the bond between singers and audience, that impressed me. I´ve been going to South Side Clubs ever since.

Highlight of my playing career? Robert Jr Lockwood when he stopped by after playing the Chicago Blues Fest at a LV Banks show at the Tam Tam Lounge. I played a whole set behind him. And recently playing with Bobby Rush in Paris, France, in an intimate club setting. Of course all kind of festival gigs – Chicago Blues Fest, Montreal and Winnipeg Blues & Jazz Fests. And not to forget the recordings I have done – latest with Joe Barr, Thomas Melvin Jr and an Allstar Group in Chicago. Coming out soon.

What do you miss most nowadays from the blues of past? What are your hopes and fears for the future of?

All of my heroes are gone – after visiting the South Side Clubs my musical taste had changed. I was listening to the Malaco catalogue and being in Chicago I could watch shows from Bobby Bland, Little Milton, Denise LaSalle, Johnny Taylor or Bobby Rush. Only Bobby Rush is still alive (and well). Back then everybody had a new single at least every other year, that is something I’m missing. I think Last Two Dollars was the last hit that became a standard.

I hope that the blues and soul survive in the clubs of the South Side. What I can see now is that there are a few shows going on every week and regularly bigger shows. And there are people supporting this. That makes me happy and I hope to be back in Chicago soon. And when I’m home in Cologne, I miss Chicago.

“As a white guitarist from Germany, I had listened to the guitar players in the band. Big guys like Buddy Guy and BB and Otis Rush were my idols. But the South Side experience sets the singer in the center, the sound of the voice, the intensity of the emotion, how the song is presented to the audience. The connection between singer, lyrics and audience is the most important thing and band has to keep it rolling.” (Photos Eddie Kold on stage with Larry "Doc" Watkins and Buddy Scott)

What is the impact of music on the socio-cultural implications? How do you want the music to affect people?

From the beginning in the 1880s till today the Blues have always commented on the conditions of life, the life of African-Americans in racist US. From the field-hollers to the levee camps blues had been there. Musicians commented on their lifes. In the cities the bands came together after migrating to the north and the Blues were about city life. With the electric guitar the sound changed but the Blues man was always part of the community, talking the language of the community. In Chicago on the South Side sometimes the singer knows 80-90% of the audience personally. But to be clear: nowadays younger people are listening to rap, Hip Hop describes their lives and the Blues is the music from their parents and grandparents.

What are some of the most important lessons you have learned from your experience in the USA?

It´s the singer! As a white guitarist from Germany, I had listened to the guitar players in the band. Big guys like Buddy Guy and BB and Otis Rush were my idols. But the South Side experience sets the singer in the center, the sound of the voice, the intensity of the emotion, how the song is presented to the audience. The connection between singer, lyrics and audience is the most important thing and band has to keep it rolling. You need good guitar players but they don´t have to be upfront.

What are you doing to keep your music relevant today, to develop it and present it to the new generation?

Well, I’m glad that I can play with my good friend Larry Doc Watkins who is not only a great person on stage but also off stage. He is the key in connecting with the audience in our shows. Of course I walk around with my cable-free guitar, play the guitar on my back or crawl around still playing. We like to spread that spirit that we heard on the South Side in all the clubs where we play here. And it’s about having fun. You gotta love what you are doing.

Eddie Kold - Home

(Photo: Eddie Kold (aka Jorg Fennekold), German blues guitarist)