A pioneer from the Chicago music scene joins forces with the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra for a lively evening of blues and brass — and strings and woodwinds.
Corky Siegel — composer, bandleader, harmonica and piano player — has made a name for himself blending blues and classical music together since 1966. He is the co-leader of the Siegel-Schwall Band and leader of the Chamber Blues ensemble, a string quartet with percussion. He also plays harmonica and piano.
Siegel will share the stage with his Chamber Blues, the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra and the EYSO’s Brass Choir April 8. The show will be at 7 p.m. in the Blizzard Theatre at Elgin Community College.
A highlight of the program, said Randal Swiggum, artistic director of the Elgin Youth Symphony, will be a Tom Waits song called “Shiny Things.”
“It’s a brand new arrangement for his group Chamber Blues and our brass choir and him,” Swiggum said. “The arrangement was done by Ethan Parcell, who is our composer in residence. He’s also originally from Geneva and an EYSO alum. Now he’s a professional composer, but we asked him to write this arrangement. So Corky had to learn it just like the kids did, because it’s not part of his regular repertoire.”
The piece de resistance, Swiggum said, is a piece Siegel wrote called Symphonic Blues No. 6 for a Full Orchestra, performed with the EYSO.
Siegel said, “It was commissioned by the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra and I’ve played it all over the world – in France and Mexico and Belgrade.”
Additionally, Chamber Blues will perform from its vast repertoire, as well as excerpts from Siegel’s new album, “Different Voices,” which drops April 7. It’s his first new album since 2005.
“It’s very diverse,” Siegel said. “This is the sixth classical-slash-blues album. They all juxtapose blues and classical (but) this is the first one where I’ve intentionally brought in other elements.”
Those elements include guest musicians such as blues drummer and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Sam Lay, jazz saxophonist Ernie Watts, R&B singer Marcella Detroit, Chicago’s folk trio Sons of the Never Wrong, Sandeep Das (original member of YoYo Ma’s Silk Road ensemble) and singer/beat boxer Matthew Santos.
“So the blues and classical thing is still going on, but all of a sudden there’s a third element,” Siegel said.
But back to the evening at hand. This is Siegel’s first time collaborating with the EYSO.
The kids are – no pun intended — jazzed, Swiggum said.
“They’re definitely excited for a lot of reasons,” he said. “One, the music is super cool. Two, he’s really good and he’s got this amazing reputation. He’s connected with every famous blues artist. Plus he’s hilarious – he’s this quirky, dynamic, super-interesting, charismatic person.”
Siegel too said he is excited to work with the kids. Kids aren’t caught up in the business aspect of performing, they’re just all about the music, he said.
“That can be a bit of a distraction from why we play music in the first place and for many performers and artists, it isn’t about those things, it’s about the music,” Siegel said. “For this youth symphony, it’s about the music. Even though they haven’t been performing a lot, the energy and the love – which is what music is about – is palpable and brilliant and it’s why we play music. For me, when I think of the youth symphony, I think we are all partners in a project together. The broader part is that we are bringing music to the world in our own way and there’s no level or difference between adult and youth. It’s an honor to do this together. I play with the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra; I’ve recorded two albums with the San Francisco Symphony so I’ve been in the symphonic world and there’s nothing like a youth symphony. It’s special.”
Swiggum agreed.
“This orchestra’s really, really good. They’re probably as good as some of the adult orchestras (Siegel’s) played with,” he said. “But more than that, they’re just so eager because they’re not jaded about anything. Everything is exciting for them.”
Swiggum said audiences can look forward to an exciting evening.
“There is constant invention and excitement and style and pizazz,” he said. “There are some tender moments, but there’s also a lot of toe-tapping and feel-good, smiling music. Corky just brings such energy to it, I think it’s going to be non-stop fun from beginning to end. I have a sense that people who were there will feel like they were at an event — like, ‘Wow, I just saw something really extraordinary.'”
Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for the Courier-News.
‘Corky Siegel’
When: April 8
Where: Elgin Community College, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin
Tickets: $35
Information: 847-622-0300; www.tickets.elgin.edu
