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) – Some vocals even if fast talking versus singing.
Opus 4 {1/2 of Opus 8} (11:14)

Rating 1 out of 5. One because it takes guts to do what no one else has done.