CORKY SIEGEL
Corky Siegel's Chamber Blues (Alligator Records and Artist Management)
Reviewed by Eric Steiner

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For many blues fans, Corky Siegel's Chamber Blues self-titled debut on Alligator is a foray into unknown territory, blues with a chamber music flavor. In the hands of a blues master like Corky Siegel, though, it works. "Unfinished Jump" features Corky blowing blues harmonica along with Frank Donaldson on tabla, Richard Haladjian on viola, Jill Kaeding on cello, and Corinne Stillwell and Katherine Hughes on violin. "No One's Got Them Like I Do" recalls Corky's Siegel-Schwall days, when the Siegel-Schwall band played sold out clubs at Chicago's Near North Side more than 25 years ago. In those days, Maestro Seiji Ozawa, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's summer conductor, was in the audience and wanted his band to jam with the Siegel-Schwall Band. You heard right: the CSO playing the blues with Corky & Company. That vision has grown into Corky Siegel's Chamber Blues, and he's not afraid to lend his considerable blues talent to "Filisko's Dream" and "Koulangatta." For a truly new approach to both classical music and the blues, check out Corky Siegel's Chamber Blues, with tour dates and audio samples online at http://www.chamberblues.com.

Special Thanks to Corky Siegel

Track List:

Unfinished Jump * Filisko's Dream, Opus 12 * Concerto for Alberti Blues Piano, Opus 6 * Koulangatta * Allegro, Opus 8 * No One's Got Them Like I Do * Opus 11 for Solo Violin * Slow Blues Opus 7 * Concerto for 2nd Violin, Opus 9 * Insecurity

© 1999 - Eric Steiner