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A note from Corky Siegel

Try to imagine the iconic Ernie Watts performing with Chamber Blues. …  I did.


He’s one of the greatest living saxophonists, at the top of his game.
– All About Jazz Magazine

Ernie Watts with Chamber Blues – Sun. Jan. 10 – The Dakota in Minneapolis

First show at 7pm.  Phone: 612-332-1010.  Ticket link above.

Dear Cousins, 

I met Ernie (Two-time Grammy Award winner, featured on over 500 recordings by artists ranging from Cannonball Adderley to Frank Zappa) when we toured together in India with Dr. L. Subramaniam.  I was blown away by Ernie’s depth of musicality and his ability to lift me off my feet to somewhere up in heaven.  If you can’t meet me in heaven, please join us in Minneapolis.

A Rib-Tickling Saxophone Story:  My first “playing out” experiences began in maybe 1959.  I was playing tenor saxophone back then.  It was mostly in the style of the Fats Domino, Little Richard, Elvis music of the day.  We played some jazz spots on the south side of Chicago, and though we were “out of place” according to the general thinking, we were made to feel more welcome than we did in our own neighborhoods.  I really wanted to be Roland Kirk at that time, but for a lot of reasons that was not going to happen.  I ended up majoring in classical saxophone at Roosevelt University, I think in 61.  It might have been 1964 when I began investigating the harmonica.

A few years ago, maybe 1981, I was doing a solo show in Chicago.  It was a small auditorium filled to the brim with about 1,000 or so fans. At some point during the show I noticed my saxophone teacher, Mr. Rosenwasser sitting in the audience. I hadn’t seen him since I left both college and the saxophone behind in 65.

“Hey everyone, meet my saxophone teacher from Roosevelt University.” And then I asked Mr. Rosenwasser to stand up and take a bow – which he did to enthusiastic applause.

And then I proclaimed; “Too bad I didn’t bring my saxophone.”

At first there was silence.  And then, out of the silence Mr. Rosenwasser proclaimed gently but with firm conviction;

“No it’s not.”

Needless to say the audience and I lost it completely.  We all were in unison, screaming in joyous agony and clutching our stomachs.  Call it laughter.  It was something more.  LOL!

And so my late and dear friend and teacher Mr. Marty Rosenwasser, I will probably see you for a moment in heaven during my performance in Minneapolis with Ernie Watts.  And you can tell me how proud you are that, this time, I did bring a saxophone with me.  But fortunately for both the world and heaven it will be attached to Ernie Watts!

Cousin Corky

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That’s me playing Saxophone in the 1900s
with Dan Glicken on Guitar (who lives a few doors from me) and the late Russ Chadwick, (first drummer with Siegel-Schwall).

Mike Bloomfield eventually purchased this guitar in the photo. Spellbinding performance … Watts and Siegel kept the audience enthralled
 – Times of India

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-From Corky Siegel’s Bluesletter

 

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