Symphonic Blues No. 6 Album Reviews

A growing list of journalistic perspectives
This project was a community effort with crowdfunders, musicians, and producers.

…a masterpiece of stunning proportions

At 81, Corky Siegel—harmonica player/composer/pioneer—has finally succeeded in accomplishing something he’s long yearned to do: that is to put his synthesis of classical music and blues on record for the ages. Symphonic Blues #6 debuted in 2008 to rave reviews across the board but it was never recorded. Until now. It has to be looked upon as the crowning achievement of his six-decade career. He gathered members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for the project, along with longstanding members of his Chicago Blues Ensemble, to record their parts individually hearing only themselves, and, in effect, all becoming soloists. It’s amazing how it all coalesced into a cohesive whole but the result is a masterpiece of stunning proportions. I could've done without the 18-minute recitation at the end but the dude has had some history! He's been blending blues with classical for years.  - MIKE GREENBLATT

…a testament to Siegel’s vision and an invigorating example of what genre-blending can achieve. …soulful … raw, heartfelt … sophisticated …unexpected and effortlessly cohesive.

Corky Siegel's newest release is a remarkable fusion of blues and classical music, showcasing the harmonica virtuoso’s lifelong dedication to bridging genres. Known for pioneering the symphonic blues genre, Siegel has always dared to merge the raw, heartfelt expression of the blues with the sophisticated structures of classical composition. With this release, he delivers yet another powerful piece that deepens the genre's possibilities. The piece opens with a haunting, soulful harmonica line, straight from the smoky blues clubs of Chicago, Filisko’s Dream. It then intertwines with lush orchestral arrangements that feel both unexpected and effortlessly cohesive. The dialogue between the orchestra and Siegel’s harmonica gives the work an electrifying tension. The symphony’s swelling strings and brass sections provide a grand, dynamic backdrop, while Siegel’s harmonica adds an edge that’s gritty, tender, and often joyfully defiant. What’s particularly impressive about the release is its capacity to evoke both intimacy and grandeur. Moments of lyrical, melancholic beauty flow into raucous, foot-stomping crescendos in six titles, blurring the line between blues and classical traditions. Siegel’s expertise shines in his precise, emotive harmonica performance, driving home a powerful sense of narrative whether on the piece, Slow Blues or the up-tempo and comical Allegro. The CODA is especially evocative and inspiring. Wrecking Ball Sonata is another heady atmospheric tune with a well delivered dialogue. Opus 11 is a solo violin piece hewn from the Appalachian Mountains by the sound of it, superb. On the seventh track Corky informs the listener of his vision for the release. For fans of boundary-pushing music, this is a must-listen, a testament to Siegel’s vision and an invigorating example of what genre-blending can achieve.

COLIN CAMPBELL

…incomparable legacy. Listen up and appreciate it.

Corky Siegel - Symphonic Blues No. 6 - Dawnserley

This may well be the last symphonic blues for harp master Corky Siegel.  Yes, those of us boomers may have forgotten about Siegel somewhat and still relate to his late ‘60s/‘70s duo with guitarist Jim Schwall – Siegel & Schwall. Well, if you haven’ kept up with Corky he’s been working with symphonic orchestras for 59 years, a unique endeavor where his harmonic is the lead  instrument in either a chamber blues format or a large orchestral setting like this one, as a collection of players from his Chamber blues ensemble and multiple symphony orchestras.                                 .

Okay, two items before we move on.  1) Much is made of the modern day blues harmonicists such as Charlie Musselwhite, Rick Estrin, Dennis Gruenling and others (you know the names) but relegate all of them to small combos. To these ears the three most versatile players of the  instruments are with no disrespect to the above; Gregoire Maret, Lee Oskar, and Siegel as each is so adaptable to so many musical configurations.  2) Warning label: The last 19 minutes of this LP/CD is Siegel telling his story so that leaves just six musical pieces, running to about 38 minutes. You also have the option of ending the music right there and reading his story in the enclosed booklet or keep the CD on for the audio book style.

This is Siegel’s first symphonic blues recording (the others have mostly been with chamber ensembles) since the release of his two major selling benchmark albums on Deutsche Grammophon with Maestro Seji Ozawa (also formerly of the Chicago Symphony) and the San Francisco Symphony back in 1973 and 1977. Symphonic Blues No. 6 was commissioned by Maestro Stephen Gunzenhauser and the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra. It was premiered in 2008, and he toured the world with this work. Celebrating his 80th birthday last year, he wanted to preserve this masterwork and make it available. He gathered first chair masters from the Chicago Symphony, other top orchestras, and his own Chamber blues ensemble. Each musician recorded the work individually and “in the dark,” hearing only themselves, without any reference to any sound or music. This deemed all the parts ‘solo parts” and all the musicians “soloists,” quite a feat to say the least.  If you haven’t heard Siegel in this classical context before, you might be stunned at his lyricism on the most simple of instruments.

Symphonic Blues no. 6 has three movements – Filisko’s Dream, Slow Blues, and Allegro. The other three musical offerings are “CODA for Tabla and Harmonica” featuring Kalyan Pathak,  “Wrecking Ball Sonata” with his Chamber Blues aggregation, and “Opus 11 for Solo Violin” featuring Dr. Jaime Gorgojo.

This intersection of two musical worlds can best be summed up by an excerpt from his story (you just have to love this!)

A blues player and a classical conductor walk into a bar

As Siegel tells it, “1966…this fellow used to come into Big John’s night after night and stays all night. Apparently he’s a big fan of our music. One night he comes up to me and says, ‘Corky, I’d like your band to jam with my band.’ I’m thinking; Who is this guy and what is his band? He was the renowned Maestro Seiji Ozawa and his band was the Chicago Symphony.”

Delve a bit deeper into the story to find this – “In 1969 America was so divided (sound familiar?) I was only 24, and I was almost booed off the stage at Lincoln Center with the longest and most intense vitriol from an audience that I could imagine. The audience was outraged that hippies, in a blues band, were onstage as guest soloists with their New York Philharmonic. We reached the last measure of William Russo’s Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra to a thunderous, standing ovation. The Symphony president told me that it was the longest and most intense standing ovation he had ever seen. He compared this to Enrico Caruso’s last appearance…”.

If this is Siegel’s last recorded document, he only adds to his incomparable legacy. Listen up and appreciate it.

– JIM HYNES

…stone cold innovator…true-blue living history…all kinds of ground breaking sounds

Talk about amalgamations, try this. Longtime Chicago blues harp player, bandleader, composer and stone cold innovator Corky Siegel has recorded a blues/classical symphony. Yes, symphony. For someone who broke into the Southside Chicago scene in the early 1960s with Paul Butterfield, Nick Gravenites, Michael Bloomfield, Charlie Musselwhite and other blues whizzes, Siegel is someone who’s come a long way. And Symphonic Blues No. 6 is sure to set this record straight that this composer is still playing outside the fence and creating music that really hasn’t been tried before. It also just happens to be the first symphonic blues recording since Corky Siegel’s albums recorded with Maestro Seiji Ozawa and San Francisco Symphony in 1973 and 1977, started a half-century ago. That’s persistence. There are all kinds of ground-breaking sounds on these recordings, and since its earlier live performances in 2008 Corky Siegel has been pushing at all ends to bring this to completion now. Included in these compositions are “Wrecking Ball Sonata,” “Opus 11” for solo violin and, get this, the man’s audio book-style reading of Siegel’s unique history breaking into the Chicago blues scene at the start of the 1960s. This is true-blue living history recollections of how the music of the South and West Side of Chicago was first shared with the world thanks to musicians like Corky Siegel, and then thanks to his virtuosity and beliefs, classical elements were merged with the blues. As the blues audiences used to yell at harp blowers back in the start of electric blues: “Blow your face off.” - BENTLEY’S BANDSTAND - BILL BENTLEY

…stirring, spellbinding melodies… grand, dramatic delivery. Clearly this is an album that requires a deep listen, and then brings with it ardent appreciation.

Corky Siegel is an iconic artist in every sense of the word, and he’s earned that title for the better part of a nearly 60-year career. He made his mark as part of the Siegel- Schwall Band, whose two principals, among other accomplishments, happened to be the producers of a demo tape for Joni Mitchell that included the seminal song "Circle Game”. Siegel himself worked with Rado and Ragni on a four-man musical that would turn out to be the predecessor to the hit musical “Hair”. He also opened for two polar opposite performers, Bob Hope and George Carlin, as well as more likely suspects that included Steppenwolf, Buddy Guy, and Santana. To his credit however, Siegel has never rested on his laurels. He’s an innovator whose harmonica skills breach any number of boundaries. And while Symphonic Blues No. 6 may seem to some outside his normal wheelhouse, it’s actually the fourth of his symphonic commissions to date, but also the first since two previous benchmark album releases on the prestigious Deutsche Grammophone label recorded with Maestro Seiji Ozawa and the San Francisco Symphony in 1973 and 1977, respectively. As noted in a press release that accompanied the new album, Corky Siegel is the only Blues player to be  featured on the DG classical label, and his is the only classical string quartet featured as soloists on the Blues label Alligator Records. 
 
Symphonic Blues No. 6 was commissioned by Maestro Stephen Gunzenhauser and the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, premiered in 2008, and subsequently toured worldwide to critical acclaim. Now, as part of the celebration for his 80th birthday, Siegel assembled an orchestra consisting of first chair musicians from the Chicago Symphony and other orchestras, as well as those from his own Chamber Blues ensemble. In addition to various live performances consisting of “Movements I - III”, it marks the debut of the new “Wrecking Ball Sonata” for Corky Siegel's Chamber Blues ensemble, “Opus 11 for Solo Violin”, an audio book that retells his early history and how these particular projects came into being. 
 
While Blues aficionados may find the music a bit of a learning curve, at least in terms of finding common ground between these two seemingly disparate genres, classical music lovers will likely find plenty to admire. Clearly, a work of love, the various progressions effectively integrate Siegel’s harmonica and occasional vocal interjections with the sweep of strings and a series of stirring, spellbinding melodies. The particular pastiche that defines “Movement I - Filisko’s Dream” finds a facile blend of Corky Siegel’s searing and sprawling harmonica refrains and the piece’s grand, dramatic delivery. “Movement II - Slow Blues” thrives on mostly delicate designs. “Movement III - Allegro” comes across as somewhat quirky and yet also triumphant, a respite from the serious nature of the previous proceedings.  All three movements were captured live in concert. 
 
The later pieces — a scat-sung “CODA for Tabla and Harmonica”, the otherwise serene and calmingly sung “Wrecking Ball Sonata” and “Opus 11 for Solo Violin”, which is all it its title suggests — found the participating musicians recording their parts on their own, supposedly unaware of the parts others might be adding. To a great degree, the album is an oral documentary, given that its final 18 minutes and 48 seconds are devoted to Corky Siegel’s autobiographical reading, a lengthy addition to liner notes that repeat Siegel’s spoken narrative. Clearly, this is an album that requires a deep listen, and then brings with it ardent appreciation. - LEE ZIMMERMAN

…Ear-grabbing … creative jousting … compelling …

On the spoken-word segment which closes this disc, harmonica player and composer Corky Siegel explains that his intent with bringing blues and classical music into coexistence wasn’t to create a blended music but rather to have the genres work off each other.  Ear-grabbing evidence of this creative jousting is abundant during the first and third movements of the title piece with animated orchestral passages providing engaging pathways for Mr. Siegel’s true-blue navigations.  Most compelling, though, maybe the down-tempo second movement, featuring particularly fiery play from the leader.  Additional tracks include the entertaining and informative spoken section mentioned previously.  - Duane Verh

PERSONALS

From PETER KRAMMER

(dear friend, co-author of Let Your Music Soar, jazz guitar enthusiast and player, lover of music but dangerous critic has offered his take)

This is an amazing record. I gave my speakers a workout (and woke my neighbors up) with these incredibly conceived and performed masterpieces. The story and the process behind these recordings is astonishing. The orchestra was assembled remotely, everyone recorded remotely, and it was mixed together with total artistry and loving care in a way that puts you in the middle of the music - not sitting up front in an auditorium. Corky does it up every time, and this time went 5 steps further. Bravo to Cork!

(Thank you Peter)

From CHIHSUAN YANG

Dear Corky and Holly,

I finally had the chance to give Symphony Blues 6 a proper listen on my speakers. I am sorry it took me a while. I have to say - WOW! What an incredible masterpiece and production!  Congratulations!!!! You should both be so proud ❤️

Corky, you are a true genius. Thank you for not letting this brilliant work disappear into oblivion. It is so unapologetically Corky! A genuine reflection and representation of who you are as an artist and composer.

I’m in complete awe of the complexity of the composition, instrumentation and your rhythmic brilliance. It kept me captivated from start to finish. It’s so refreshing! I can't wait to go back and listen over and over again. And what a star line-up!!!  I feel so honored to be on the recording with each of them and so proud to be on this project with all of you.

I can honestly say I’ve never experienced or heard anything like it in my life. Additionally, knowing how it was recorded and meticulously engineered together adds even more genius and brilliance to your artistry.

What an authentic and complete sonic journey you took me on! Thank You! Thank You! Thank you for creating this masterpiece. It’s a treasure and a gift to the world!

LOVE,

Chihsuan