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 By
Cornbread
 Corky
Siegel’s Traveling Chamber Blues Show!
{2005 | Alligator Records}
The
question, Is it blues? Is it classical? It’s
blassical or would that be clues? It’s
both, blues and classical together as one.
Corky
is the co-leader of the Chicago based Siegel-Schwall
Blues Band. Corky played with Muddy Waters and
Howlin’ Wolf and has been experimenting
with blues classical fusion since 1968.
Corky
Siegel’s Traveling Chamber Blues Show!
was recorded live in Illinois, New York, Minnesota,
Michigan and Wisconsin. The musicians are Corky
Siegel on harmonica, piano and vocals, Jill
Kaeding on cello, Jeff Yang on violin, Nell
Flanders playing viola, Mark Agnor also on violin
and Frank Donaldson “the Octopus”
on tabla and percussion plus Richard Halajian
playing viola, Randy Sabien playing the jazz
violin on song 3 and Rollo Radford playing bass
and singing on song 6.
While
there are only 7 songs, three are over 5 minutes
in length and those are the short songs the
other four are 10, 11 & 12 minutes long.
Opus
(5:28)
Five Planets In Harmonica Convergence
(6:34)
Manhattan Island (10:09)
Serenade (10:59)
The Woofy Girl Stroll (12:33) –
good piano, harmonica and percussion makes this
the
bluesiest of the songs.
Train (5:33) – I enjoyed having
some vocals even if fast talking versus singing.
Opus 4 {1/2 of Opus 8} (11:14)
I
enjoyed the harmonica playing as it gave it
a bluesy feel. The music itself was fair to
OK, just too slow and orchestral for my liking.
While
an interesting combination I could not get into
it and would not listen to it again.
Rating
1 out of 5. One because it takes guts to do
what no one else has done.
Ciao'
for now, peace.
Cornbread
Cornbread@stlblues.net
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