Corky Siegel's Chamber Blues - Extended Liner Notes

MY TRAVELS WITH CORKY SIEGEL'S CHAMBER BLUES

On the Road - Recording the New CD - Page Two

FIVE PLANETS IN HARMONICA CONVERGENCE
One of the most memorable performances ever was at Chicago's planetarium. The windy city commissioned Corky to write a commemorative piece he called: 5 Planets in Harmonica Convergence written in 5/4 time (5 beat to a measure); using the pentatonic mode (based on 5 scale tones). It was written in honor of the unusual spectacle of the alignment of 5 planets - which happens once every 500 years!

The premiere took place in the historic Zeiss sky theater - the first planetarium in the western hemisphere. Now we are at the premiere, laying comfortably back in the reclining seats, looking up at the velvety dark star-studded sky as the milky way and the galaxies glide gracefully by, witnessing the convergence of musical styles and the convergence of planets on the water's edge of lake Michigan. At the same time the narration from one of the astronomers weaves in and out of the musical performance, as some wonderful aspects about the convergence are explained.

MANHATTAN ISLAND
Corky wrote the lyrics to Manhattan Island about 5 or 6 years ago, and thought the song would make a great new piece for Chamber Blues. Randy Sabien was warming up on his violin to get ready for the 10 AM rehearsal with the string quartet to work on Manhattan Island and some other pieces. This would be his first rehearsal with Chamber Blues. It was around 9 AM, September 11, 2001. The phone rang. It was Sandra (Corky's ex-wife) and she said, "turn on the TV, we are experiencing a major national emergency." Corky, Randy and I were stunned as we saw the image of the first World Trade Tower with black smoke pouring out filling the screen. As we watched, horrified, we witnessed the second plane hit tower 2. It was surreal, ghastly. The phone rang again. It was a member of the group asking if we should just call the rehearsal off. Immediately they decided," no...no... we should go ahead and play, it is what we do." If you have any question about the healing power of music, listening to the group play so passionately that morning in our living room would erase any doubt. In fact, we received calls from neighbors thanking us for bringing them such comfort through the soulful sounds of the strings and blues harmonica. It made me think of the stirring scene in the film "Titanic" where as the ship is sinking, the string quartet continues to play to sooth the doomed passengers. At the end, they shake one another's hand while saying "I've never been so honored to play with you than at this very moment." Manhattan Island was recorded at Chautauqua, New York. You can hear the subtle strains of world-music flavor in Randy's solo violin in honor of the many nationalities impacted on that tragic day in New York City.

SERENADE
Serenade was written by violist Richard Halajian. Rich was the last of "our" generation to get polio. As a child he couldn't run and play with the other children, so his Armenian father, bought Rich a viola. His dad asked Richard if he couldn't play something from the "old country". Rich got some old 78's and learned an Armenian folk tune on his viola to surprise his father. When he played the piece, his father was so touched that he began to cry. This piece, Serenade, is based on that folk tune Rich learned for his Dad as a child. Rich would always introduce this piece by saying: "This is for Mike, my Dad. Then he would tease Corky by saying "hey, if you want to play a viola solo in this group, you have to write one for yourself!"

This recording is from the group to Rich's family, his wife Patty, and lovely daughters, Elizabeth and Katy. Patty was present at this performance held at the Frank Lloyd Wright landmark, Unity Temple, in Oak Park, Illinois. Rich would have been so proud of Nell's performance of this piece.

NEXT: My Travels ... Page Three



Also On Our Site: About Chamber Blues Siegel-Schwall Bios Chicago Blues Reunion Symphonic Blues Music Shop History and Tall Tales Corky's Home Page	MY TRAVELS WITH CORKY SIEGEL'S CHAMBER BLUES On the Road - Recording the New CD - Page Two FIVE PLANETS IN HARMONICA CONVERGENCE One of the most memorable performances ever was at Chicago's planetarium. The windy city commissioned Corky to write a commemorative piece he called: 5 Planets in Harmonica Convergence written in 5/4 time (5 beat to a measure); using the pentatonic mode (based on 5 scale tones). It was written in honor of the unusual spectacle of the alignment of 5 planets - which happens once every 500 years! The premiere took place in the historic Zeiss sky theater - the first planetarium in the western hemisphere. Now we are at the premiere, laying comfortably back in the reclining seats, looking up at the velvety dark star-studded sky as the milky way and the galaxies glide gracefully by, witnessing the convergence of musical styles and the convergence of planets on the water's edge of lake Michigan. At the same time the narration from one of the astronomers weaves in and out of the musical performance, as some wonderful aspects about the convergence are explained. MANHATTAN ISLAND Corky wrote the lyrics to Manhattan Island about 5 or 6 years ago, and thought the song would make a great new piece for Chamber Blues. Randy Sabien was warming up on his violin to get ready for the 10 AM rehearsal with the string quartet to work on Manhattan Island and some other pieces. This would be his first rehearsal with Chamber Blues. It was around 9 AM, September 11, 2001. The phone rang. It was Sandra (Corky's ex-wife) and she said, "turn on the TV, we are experiencing a major national emergency." Corky, Randy and I were stunned as we saw the image of the first World Trade Tower with black smoke pouring out filling the screen. As we watched, horrified, we witnessed the second plane hit tower 2. It was surreal, ghastly. The phone rang again. It was a member of the group asking if we should just call the rehearsal off. Immediately they decided," no...no... we should go ahead and play, it is what we do." If you have any question about the healing power of music, listening to the group play so passionately that morning in our living room would erase any doubt. In fact, we received calls from neighbors thanking us for bringing them such comfort through the soulful sounds of the strings and blues harmonica. It made me think of the stirring scene in the film "Titanic" where as the ship is sinking, the string quartet continues to play to sooth the doomed passengers. At the end, they shake one another's hand while saying "I've never been so honored to play with you than at this very moment." Manhattan Island was recorded at Chautauqua, New York. You can hear the subtle strains of world-music flavor in Randy's solo violin in honor of the many nationalities impacted on that tragic day in New York City. SERENADE Serenade was written by violist Richard Halajian. Rich was the last of "our" generation to get polio. As a child he couldn't run and play with the other children, so his Armenian father, bought Rich a viola. His dad asked Richard if he couldn't play something from the "old country". Rich got some old 78's and learned an Armenian folk tune on his viola to surprise his father. When he played the piece, his father was so touched that he began to cry. This piece, Serenade, is based on that folk tune Rich learned for his Dad as a child. Rich would always introduce this piece by saying: "This is for Mike, my Dad. Then he would tease Corky by saying "hey, if you want to play a viola solo in this group, you have to write one for yourself!" This recording is from the group to Rich's family, his wife Patty, and lovely daughters, Elizabeth and Katy. Patty was present at this performance held at the Frank Lloyd Wright landmark, Unity Temple, in Oak Park, Illinois. Rich would have been so proud of Nell's performance of this piece. NEXT: My Travels ... Page Three
CORKY SIEGEL'S TRAVELING CHAMBER BLUES SHOW The latest CD on Alligator Records. Listen: Opus 17.2