Corky Siegel's Harmonica Showmanship

#1

I though y’all might enjoy seeing this performance of Chicago harmonica legend Corky Siegel. Can’t believe I’d never heard of this cat before a few weeks ago when @rondiecks turned me onto him.

One thing I’m loving about Corky, he’s a great example of how we each have our unique set of gifts and talents that makes us who we are. Who else is composing music for chamber orchestra and harmonica? I mean this video is pretty bluesy stuff, but if you enjoy classical music, check out his music on Spotify.

What a unique dude. Another thing this video highlights is the power of showmanship. An audience isn’t moved only by what you play, but by how you dress, how you carry yourself on stage, what your energy and antics are, how you interact with other musicians. These all fit into the important category of showmanship. A category that Mr. Siegel recognizes and has mastered, as evidenced in this video, in my opinion.

What do y’all think?

Aloha,
Luke

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#2

I too am glad that @rondiecks brought up Corky Siegel !! I remember seeing and hearing him play back in the 1970s in the Chicago area and he was terrific. Unfortunately I forgot all about him as I concentrated on my studies, my flute playing and my girl friends (not necessarily in that order). :laughing:

Now that I also play the harmonica I can appreciate even more what Corky has done on the harmonica! :point_left:

Regards,
– Slim :sunglasses:

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#3

Corky is also a gifted pianist. I met him after a concert and he asked me"think I still got it. I’m 75" ( He’s now 78) Of course I said yes you still got it Corky.
See play harmonica and stay young. I just turned 76.
A similar player is Howard Levy considered by some the best all around player especially jazz and classical. I read that Howard is also responsible for overblowing. Howard played with Bella Fleck who does magic with a banjo. A book I read is Harmonica Masters by Marge Goldstein covering mostly pop and blues players.Well worth the read.

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#4

His energy and interaction are indeed amazing!

How cool is it that all we really need to enjoy the harmonica is to literally have another breath…

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#5

Well said Bobby! Well said.

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#6

Yeah, I’d have been surprised if Corky wasn’t a great pianist based on his compositions. Howard Levy also is an accomplished pianist, and yes you are correct his is probably the foremost pioneer of overblows and overbends and an absolute MONSTER harmonica player jazz, classical…But he can kill the blues too! I first fell in love with his playing when I happened upon the Bela Fleck album Flight of the Cosmic Hippo back in the 90’s.
One of my favorite songs from his 2009 release Tonight and Tomorrow is the song Flunky Jazz which you can hear on Spotify here.

Hey I can’t seem to find Harmonica Masters by Marge Goldstein anywhere. Can you please double-check that’s the title?

Thanks again for sharing!

Aloha,
Luke

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#7

Ha! Nice. So when you saw him it was probably with the Siegel-Schwall Band I’m guessing? Before he got into the classical thing?

Rock on,
Luke

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#8

Exactly, @Luke, it was with the Siegel-Schwall Band. I saw them a number of times and they were always on fire! :star_struck:

And Howard Levy is indeed a MONSTER who seems to never stop expanding and improving. His videos are great but the tabs don’t help me much – way over my level of skill :roll_eyes: but it is still fun to see what it is that he’s doing! :face_with_monocle: Maybe a little bit of it will slip into my trick bag? :thinking: :slightly_smiling_face:

Regards,
– Slim

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#9

HellYea
Hes jammin

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#10

HA! Right on Allan. Glad you dug it.
Rock on,
Luke

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#11

It’s Masters of the Harmonica by Margie Goldsmith. I thought sent it earlier but maybe not

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#12

@Luke, Luke, wow wow wow. I am very impressed: smiling_face_with_three_hearts:
To be able to play like this you have to have it in your blood and in your heart.
Here you can also see how well young and older people get together, if you just want to. : easy_smiling_face:
Thank you for your introduction! Aloha from Astrid

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#13

Thanks my friend! Just arrived from Amazon. Looking forward to reading it!
Thanks again,
Luke

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#14

glad you liked it Astrid!

Aloha,
Luke

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#15

Corky has recently created a course Learn Harmonica with Corky Siegel which I’ll be reviewing in a separate post in the future, but just wanted to say here that the more I learn about Corky, the deeper my respect grows for him. He is the real deal - a master musician to be sure.

Regardless of how familiar you are with his career, I’m sure you will be impressed as I was by reading the Bio from his website.

I’m looking forward to reading more on his Blog and I’ve also added his book “Let Your Music Soar” to my books-t0-read stack.

You can count on hearing more about Corky Siegel from me in the future!

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#16

Hello Everyone.

Thank you for your kind words.

I will be here for you all.

Luke is the man!

Admittedly I’m at a loss for words, but don’t worry, I’m actually a man of many words and I will catch up. LOL!

Corky

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#17

Hi Corky @Corky_Music

I can’t believe this! About 50-55 years ago I saw you play in some bar or whatever in “Chambana” (University of Illinois) where I was a student, and never would I have expected to communicate with you now, especially now that I live in Germany! The wonders of the interweb!

I hope you are doing well, Corky. I think all of us here feel honored that you have posted here. :point_left:

Best regards and keep on harpin’,
– Slim :sunglasses:

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#18

Hello @Corky_Music,
welcome and thanks for posting here in the forum.
Wow, now I’m really curious after what @Slim writes. This is a real miracle and you can see how small the world is thanks to the Internet.
Greetings, also from Germany from Astrid :woman_in_lotus_position:

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#19

I played in Germany in 2019 at that little blues club in Brawnsheig (sp). My cousin lives up there and I was visiting him. Twas fun. Corky

#20

Ah. Also from Germany. Wow! It’s not such small world it’s just over-populated. :slight_smile: