Corky Siegel

Corky Siegel's professional music career began in 1964, when he met guitarist Jim Schwall. Both were studying music at Roosevelt University in Chicago. The two became a duo, performing blues music. They landed a regular gig at Pepper's Lounge, where well known, established blues musicians such as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Willie Dixon would often sit in.[4] After a while the duo became a quartet, the Siegel-Schwall Band.

The Siegel-Schwall Band enjoyed increasing popularity, and by 1967 were touring nationally, playing at large rock venues like the Fillmore West and sharing the bill with famous rock bands.[5][6] Between 1966 and 1974, they released ten albums. After 1974, they stopped playing concerts, but the band re-formed in 1987. They released two albums of new material.[7] Until "Siegel-Schwall lovingly disbanded" in March 2016, they still played occasional live dates and featured drummer Sam Lay and bassist Rollo Radford; Lay played with Siegel in the Happy Year Band of 1973 which also featured Chicago blues guitarist Albert Joseph.[8]

The idea of combining blues and classical music was first suggested by classical conductor Seiji Ozawa. Ozawa brought together the Siegel-Schwall Band and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. They first performed "Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra", by William Russo in 1968. In 1973, the band and Ozawa released a recording of this work performed with the San Francisco Symphony. In 1975, Siegel and Ozawa, with the San Francisco Symphony, first performed another William Russo work, "Street Music: A Blues Concerto". A recording of this piece was released in 1979.[9]

Inspired by his collaboration with Ozawa, Corky Siegel formed Chamber Blues in 1988. The group's music combines elements of classical, blues, and jazz. The band consists of a string quartet – two violins, a viola, and a cello – along with percussionist Frank Donaldson, and Siegel on harmonica and also sometimes doubling on piano. As of early 2019, Chamber Blues has released four albums,[10][11][12][13][14] and still tours nationally and internationally.[15]

Siegel has also worked on numerous other musical projects. In 2004, he was a member of the Chicago Blues Reunion band, which released the album Buried Alive in the Blues.[16]

With Peter Krammer, Corky Siegel wrote a book for musicians and music students, called Let Your Music Soar: The Emotional Connection. It was published by Nova Vista Publishing in 2007.

For Siegel's recordings with the Siegel-Schwall Band, see Siegel-Schwall Band.

• Corky Siegel – Corky Siegel (1974 – Dharma)
• Street Music: A Blues Concerto – San Francisco Symphony and Corky Siegel (1979 – Deutsche Grammophon)
• Out of the Blue – Corky Siegel (1980 – Stuff)
• Goodbye California - Corky Siegel (1984 – Skitzo/Frenia Records [re-release of Out of the Blue])
• Corky Siegel's Chamber Blues – Chamber Blues (1994 – Alligator)
• Complementary Colors – Chamber Blues (1998 – Gadfly)
• Solo Flight – Corky Siegel (1999 – Gadfly)
• Corky Siegel's Traveling Chamber Blues Show – Chamber Blues (2005 – Alligator)
• Buried Alive in the Blues – Chicago Blues Reunion (2005 – 33rd Street)
• Different Voices – Chamber Blues (2017 – Dawnserly)

• Corky Siegel, the official website of his musical endeavors, including Chamber Blues and the Siegel-Schwall Blues Band