Continuing with our mission of “something for everyone” we are excited to open our Season 3 events with the amazing duo of blues harmonica player Corky Siegel and violinist Randy Sabien. Not only are they new to Rendezvous—so is the genre of Blues music and the harmonica!

Lightening struck for both Corky Siegel and Randy Sabien as teenagers when they first were introduced to their idols via vinyl recordings. For Corky, growing up on the Southside of Chicago, Blues icons Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, and Willie Dixon were his electrical spark. For Randy, it was Jazz violin master, Stephane Grappelli. Neither realized that they would soon actually meet their mentors.

Remarkably, In 1965 Corky was hired to perform night after night with these very blues masters. And he became a part of the international blues-rock explosion as documented in the film Born In Chicago. A year later 22-year-old Siegel was introduced to another visionary. He was approached by a young man who asked Corky to jam with his band. Corky asked; “Who are you, and what is your band?" The reply; “I’m Seiji Ozawa, my band is the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.” This unlikely meeting and the subsequent collaborations with Siegel, composer William Russo, and Maestro Ozawa, including many performances with the major orchestras, resulted in two award-winning "American Classic" recordings for premier classical label Deutsche Grammophon with Siegel, Ozawa, and the San Francisco Symphony. Few could have claimed to create an entirely original form of music. Still, Siegel, with his mentors, accomplished just that, guiding the blues out of smokey blues clubs and onto the stages of the Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and beyond. Siegel, a harmonica-playing mad scientist, continues to have crowds on their feet clamoring for more of this blues-classical alchemy with his invention of the award-winning Chamber Blues.

At age 21, Sabien too met his mentor, Stephane Grappelli, and was struck with inspiration. He founded and chaired the Jazz string department while attending the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. Since that time, Sabien has gone on to co-author (for Alfred Music Publishing) a top-selling Jazz Philharmonic Series teaching his own method for alternative strings.

Siegel and Sabien, two extraordinary innovators were bound to meet. Randy was a fan of Corky’s music, and Corky was always impressed with Sabien’s playing and brilliant placement of notes. Randy has since been a guest both on recording and in concert with Chamber Blues. The two have fomented many decades of fond friendship with countless sold-out duo performances.

https://www.corkymusic.com