 |
Western
Illinois University College of Fine Arts and Communication |
KARL E. H. SEIGFRIED
Dr. Karl E. H. Seigfried has played for symphony & opera orchestras, chamber ensembles, big bands, jazz groups, Latin groups, R&B groups, folk groups, klezmer groups, and theatrical musicals around the country and in Europe as well as performing several solo recitals. He is the first teacher of jazz and classical bass at Western Illinois University and a founding member of the resident jazz group, the Hopper Jazz Sextet.
Seigfried plays Principal Bass for the City Symphony of Chicago and the Peoria Symphony Orchestra and is a member of the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra and the New Philharmonic. He has been a member of the La Jolla Symphony Orchestra, the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Mid-Texas Symphony, and the Temple Symphony. He has performed with several other orchestras, often as Principal Bassist, including the Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra, Austin Lyric Opera, Austin Symphony Orchestra, Bach Chamber Orchestra, Illinois Chamber Symphony, Mendelssohn Club Chamber Orchestra, Metropolis Symphony Orchestra, New Texas Festival Orchestra, Rockford Symphony Orchestra, Victoria Bach Festival Orchestra, and Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra.
Seigfried’s recitals of solo music for the double bass have included compositions for the instrument by Bottesini, Misek, Mingus, Proto, Rossini, and Vanhal; transcriptions of works by Handel, Scarlatti, and Telemann; and original bass quartet arrangements of pieces by Snow and Spinal Tap. His most recent solo performance was “A Recital of Solo and Duo Works by African-American Composers” and featured pieces for double bass and piano by Blanton, a composition by Ellington from the Sacred Concerts, and several transcriptions: unaccompanied pieces by Kay (for flute) and Dolphy (for bass clarinet), vocal pieces by Swanson and Texas prison inmates, and a trombone concerto by Walker.
Seigfried has performed with legendary figures in jazz music for over a decade. He has worked with various members of the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians), including Roscoe Mitchell (Art Ensemble of Chicago), Mwata Bowden (8 Bold Souls), Billy Brimfield, and Ajaramu (aka Gerald Donovan). He premiered Frank Proto’s “Paganini in Metropolis” with clarinetist Eddie Daniels. He has worked with Martin Banks (Sun Ra Arkestra), Carmen Bradford, Johnny Frigo, and Barry Winograd. He has played at jam sessions behind Fred Anderson, Douglas Ewart, Fred Hopkins (Air), Kidd Jordan, and John Young. He is a member of the Tim Daisy Trio, run by the drummer of the Vandermark 5 and featuring pianist Jim Baker, and he performs with various groups led by guitarist Joel Patterson (Four Charms). Seigfried’s own jazz groups have featured established players including Alex Coke (Willem Breuker Kollektief), Jimmy Ellis, Tina Marsh, Avreeayl Ra (Sun Ra Arkestra), and Phillipe Vieux (Black Note).
Since November of 2002, Seigfried has hosted the weekly Avant-Garde Jazz Jam Session with Nicole Mitchell, David Boykin and Mike Reed, the only one of its kind in Chicago. He performs on bass and tuba on the Sunday sessions at Cafe Mestizo on Chicago's South Side. Guests have included Josh Abrams (founding member of the Roots) and Harrison Bankhead (8 Bold Souls). Boykin, Seigfried, & Reed have played on the Candlestick Maker Series, Empty Bottle Jazz Series, Elastic Revolution Series, Sunday Transmissions Series, Unusual Pairings Series, and WNUR-FM’s “Airplay.” The trio featured guest guitarist Jeff Parker (Chicago Underground, Tortoise) for a performance on the Chicago Indie Jazz Series.
Seigfried has performed with many big bands, including the Dick Jurgens Orchestra, Jan Garber Orchestra, and Mr. Fabulous & the Casino Royale Orchestra. While living in Austin, he played with swing superstars the Lucky Strikes and Afro-Cuban jazz group Cubano Bop. He has also played in the house band for several renowned jam sessions, including those at the Green Mill and the Velvet Lounge. His festival appearances with various groups (sometimes his own) include the AFM Jazz Festival, Austin Jazz & Arts Fest, Dreamtime Records Black Future Month Jazz Festival, Isthmus Jazz Festival, Phrenology Festival, and Texas Jazz Festival.
Seigfried’s degrees include a BA in Music Performance (Magna Cum Laude) from the University of California at San Diego, an MM from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and a DMA from the University of Texas at Austin. His doctoral treatise, “‘At Once Old-Timey and Avant-Garde’: The Innovation and Influence of Wilbur Ware,” was the first scholarly work written on the legendary Chicago bassist who influenced a generation of players. His bass teachers were Bertram Turetzky (“the Godfather of the Modern Contrabass”), Richard Davis (bassist for Sarah Vaughan, Eric Dolphy, Albert Ayler), and David Neubert (past president of the International Society of Bassists). His other mentors and teachers, with whom he sometimes performed, include George Lewis (MacArthur Genius and member of the classic Anthony Braxton Quartet), Jimmy Cheatham (formerly with Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Charles Mingus, Ornette Coleman), Anthony Davis (composer of "X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X"), and Carol Kaye (bassist for Quincy Jones and the classic Motown recordings).
Seigfried’s awards include the Clark Terry International Institute of Jazz Studies Outstanding Bassist Award; Jazz Society of Southern California Jazz Award; Marguerite Fairchild Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Music at the University of Texas; Regents Scholarship at the University of California; Richard C. Church Award for Most Potential as a Teacher; UCSD Music Department Jazz Performance Awards for Composing & Arranging, Group Leadership, and Double Bass & Electric Bass Performance as a Soloist; and University Fellowship at the University of Wisconsin. The Austin Chronicle’s Music Poll ranked him in the top 10 best jazz, swing, and Latin groups for 2002 and 2003.
Seigfried was a Teaching Assistant at the University of Texas and the University of Wisconsin. He has taught for the Austin Chamber Music Center, the UT String Project, the UT Longhorn Music Camp, the UW Student Teaching Division, and the UW Summer Music Clinic. He has done several clinics for jazz, orchestral, and solo bass at high schools in Illinois, including Lake Forest, New Trier, Peoria, and York. In addition to teaching double bass master classes and orchestral sectionals, he has taught classes on the evolution of the jazz rhythm section, jazz history, jazz theory & rhythm, improvisation for string players, small group jazz performance, and chamber music performance.
Seigfried's recordings include "E.C.F.A." (Pull the String Records), recorded with German bassist Peter Kowald during his 2000 solo tour of the USA; "Detritus" by Horses and Corpses (beta:sound); and "Boykin, Seigfried, and Reed" (Imaginary Records). He currently runs Imaginary Records with the members of his trio.
Seigfried is a member of the American Federation of Musicians, the Chicago Federation of Musicians, the College Music Society, the Lomographic Society International, Phi Beta Kappa, and ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers).Office Location: 205 Sallee Hall
Office Phone: (309) 298-2545
Email: KEH-Seigfried@wiu.edu
 |
[ Music ] [ College of Fine Arts and Communication ] [ Western Illinois University ] School of Music | 1 University Circle | Macomb, IL 61455 Last updated: August 26, 2007 |