Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra
Encyclopedia
Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra is an avant-garde
musical composition written by William Russo
in 1968. It combines classical music
played by an orchestra
with blues music
played by a four-piece band.
Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra was recorded in 1972 by the San Francisco Symphony
and the Siegel–Schwall Band, conducted by Seiji Ozawa
. When the album was released the following year by Deutsche Grammophon
, it became one of the company's best selling records, reaching number 21 on the Billboard Jazz Chart
and number 105 on the Billboard 200
. Side two of the original LP record
was Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
by Leonard Bernstein
. When the album was reissued on CD
in 2002, the Bernstein piece was omitted in favor of An American in Paris
by George Gershwin
and another Russo composition combining classical and blues, Street Music: A Blues Concerto.
. The Siegel–Schwall Band was a blues-rock group led by Corky Siegel
(harmonica
, piano
, vocals
) and Jim Schwall
(guitar
, vocals). Ozawa conceived the idea of combining blues and classical music. The following year, Ozawa conducted a performance of William Russo's Symphony No. 2, Titans, at the Ravinia Festival. Shortly after that, Russo was commissioned to write and orchestrate the composition that became Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra. Russo consulted with Siegel when writing this work. While the orchestral parts are fully delineated, the blues band parts are more broadly outlined, leaving significant room for musical improvisation
.
Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra was first performed at the Ravinia Festival on July 7, 1968 by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
, conducted by Ozawa, and the Siegel–Schwall Band. It was subsequently performed by the Siegel–Schwall Band and several other orchestras around the United States, one of which was the San Francisco Symphony.
In 1972, the San Francisco Symphony was reunited with the Siegel–Schwall Band to record Three Pieces for the album.
label, backed by Street Music: A Blues Concerto.
In 2002, Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra was released on CD, combined with Street Music and An American in Paris.
by Miles Davis
, you will love these pieces blending the upbeat sound of a blues band with a symphony orchestra. And if you love the sound of a well-played blues harmonica, just wait until you hear what Corky Siegel can achieve on that versatile instrument. It will make you love the blues all over again."
On Allmusic, Cub Koda
was considerably more reserved, saying "This is not an album — or a piece of music — to be neutral about. Collaborations between the high brow and the low down have always been dicey... but this one will definitely leave [you] on one side of the debate or the other..."
Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra (William Russo
)
with the Siegel–Schwall Band; Stuart Canin – solo violin on "2nd Part"
Side two:
Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
(Leonard Bernstein
)
)
with Corky Siegel
Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra (William Russo)
with the Siegel–Schwall Band; Stuart Canin – solo violin on "2nd Part"
An American in Paris
(George Gershwin
)
Avant-garde music
Avant-garde music is a term used to characterize music which is thought to be ahead of its time, i.e. containing innovative elements or fusing different genres....
musical composition written by William Russo
William Russo (musician)
William Russo, better known as Bill Russo , was an American jazz musician. He is considered one of the greatest jazz composers and arrangers.-History:...
in 1968. It combines classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
played by an orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
with blues music
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
played by a four-piece band.
Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra was recorded in 1972 by the San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
The San Francisco Symphony is an orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980, the orchestra has performed at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus are part of the organization...
and the Siegel–Schwall Band, conducted by Seiji Ozawa
Seiji Ozawa
is a Japanese conductor, particularly noted for his interpretations of large-scale late Romantic works. He is most known for his work as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and principal conductor of the Vienna State Opera.-Early years:...
. When the album was released the following year by Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
, it became one of the company's best selling records, reaching number 21 on the Billboard Jazz Chart
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
and number 105 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. Side two of the original LP record
LP record
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
was Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
West Side Story
West Side Story is an American musical with a script by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins...
by Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
. When the album was reissued on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
in 2002, the Bernstein piece was omitted in favor of An American in Paris
An American in Paris
An American in Paris is a symphonic tone poem by the American composer George Gershwin, written in 1928. Inspired by the time Gershwin had spent in Paris, it evokes the sights and energy of the French capital in the 1920s. It is one of Gershwin's best-known compositions.Gershwin composed the piece...
by George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
and another Russo composition combining classical and blues, Street Music: A Blues Concerto.
From concept to album release
In 1966, Seiji Ozawa saw the Siegel–Schwall Band perform live at Big John's in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. The Siegel–Schwall Band was a blues-rock group led by Corky Siegel
Corky Siegel
Mark Paul "Corky" Siegel is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and composer. He plays harmonica and piano. He plays and writes blues and blues-rock music, and has also worked extensively on combining blues and classical music...
(harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, vocals
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
) and Jim Schwall
Jim Schwall
Jim Schwall is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as a co-founder and member of the Siegel-Schwall Band.-Musical career:...
(guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocals). Ozawa conceived the idea of combining blues and classical music. The following year, Ozawa conducted a performance of William Russo's Symphony No. 2, Titans, at the Ravinia Festival. Shortly after that, Russo was commissioned to write and orchestrate the composition that became Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra. Russo consulted with Siegel when writing this work. While the orchestral parts are fully delineated, the blues band parts are more broadly outlined, leaving significant room for musical improvisation
Musical improvisation
Musical improvisation is the creative activity of immediate musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique as well as spontaneous response to other musicians...
.
Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra was first performed at the Ravinia Festival on July 7, 1968 by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1891, the Symphony makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival...
, conducted by Ozawa, and the Siegel–Schwall Band. It was subsequently performed by the Siegel–Schwall Band and several other orchestras around the United States, one of which was the San Francisco Symphony.
In 1972, the San Francisco Symphony was reunited with the Siegel–Schwall Band to record Three Pieces for the album.
Street Music
Several years later, William Russo wrote another composition combining classical music and the blues, Street Music: A Blues Concerto. This piece was recorded by the San Francisco Symphony, again conducted by Seiji Ozawa, with Corky Siegel playing harmonica and electric piano. Street Music was released as an album in 1977 by Deutsche Grammophon, with a "B side" of George Gershwin's An American in Paris.Three Pieces reissued
Later in 1977, Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra was re-released on vinyl by Deutsche Grammophon, on their Polydor RecordsPolydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
label, backed by Street Music: A Blues Concerto.
In 2002, Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra was released on CD, combined with Street Music and An American in Paris.
Critical reception
On Classical Music Sentinel in 2011, Jean-Yves Duperron wrote, "This great collaborative recording from the 1970s deserves the term of Definitive Recording simply for being what it is. A very successful coming together of different genres of music that created an impact, that is still being felt today.... If you like blues music, Leonard Bernstein's Mass, even something a bit more remote like the Sketches of SpainSketches of Spain
Sketches of Spain is an album by Miles Davis, recorded between November 1959 and March 1960 at the Columbia 30th Street Studio in New York City....
by Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
, you will love these pieces blending the upbeat sound of a blues band with a symphony orchestra. And if you love the sound of a well-played blues harmonica, just wait until you hear what Corky Siegel can achieve on that versatile instrument. It will make you love the blues all over again."
On Allmusic, Cub Koda
Cub Koda
Michael "Cub" Koda was an American rock and roll singer, guitarist, songwriter, disc jockey, music critic, and record compiler. Rolling Stone magazine felt that Koda was best known for writing the song "Smokin' in the Boys' Room", which reached #3 on the 1974 Billboard charts as performed by...
was considerably more reserved, saying "This is not an album — or a piece of music — to be neutral about. Collaborations between the high brow and the low down have always been dicey... but this one will definitely leave [you] on one side of the debate or the other..."
Original LP
Side one:Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra (William Russo
William Russo (musician)
William Russo, better known as Bill Russo , was an American jazz musician. He is considered one of the greatest jazz composers and arrangers.-History:...
)
with the Siegel–Schwall Band; Stuart Canin – solo violin on "2nd Part"
- "1st Part"
- "2nd Part"
- "3rd Part"
Side two:
Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
West Side Story
West Side Story is an American musical with a script by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins...
(Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
)
- "Prologue" (allegro moderato)
- "Somewhere" (adagio)
- "Scherzo" (vivace e leggiero)
- "Mambo" (meno presto)
- "Cha-Cha" (andantino con grazia)
- "Meeting Scene" (meno mosso)
- "Cool" Fugue (allegretto)
- "Rumble" (molto allegro)
- "Finale" (adagio)
Compact Disc
Street Music: A Blues Concerto (William RussoWilliam Russo (musician)
William Russo, better known as Bill Russo , was an American jazz musician. He is considered one of the greatest jazz composers and arrangers.-History:...
)
with Corky Siegel
Corky Siegel
Mark Paul "Corky" Siegel is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and composer. He plays harmonica and piano. He plays and writes blues and blues-rock music, and has also worked extensively on combining blues and classical music...
- "1st Movement" – 8:16
- "2nd Movement" – 5:17
- "3rd Movement" – 8:52
- "4th Movement" – 8:53
Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra (William Russo)
with the Siegel–Schwall Band; Stuart Canin – solo violin on "2nd Part"
- "1st Part" – 8:08
- "2nd Part" – 8:58
- "3rd Part" – 7:11
An American in Paris
An American in Paris
An American in Paris is a symphonic tone poem by the American composer George Gershwin, written in 1928. Inspired by the time Gershwin had spent in Paris, it evokes the sights and energy of the French capital in the 1920s. It is one of Gershwin's best-known compositions.Gershwin composed the piece...
(George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
)
- "An American in Paris" – 18:03
Siegel–Schwall Band
- Corky SiegelCorky SiegelMark Paul "Corky" Siegel is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and composer. He plays harmonica and piano. He plays and writes blues and blues-rock music, and has also worked extensively on combining blues and classical music...
– harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, electric pianoElectric pianoAn electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented... - Jim SchwallJim SchwallJim Schwall is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as a co-founder and member of the Siegel-Schwall Band.-Musical career:...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Rollo Radford – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Shelly Plotkin – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Production
- Thomas Mowrey – producer
- Jack Hunt – sound engineer
- Tom Scott – recording engineer
- Ken Caillat – recording engineer
- Terry Stark – recording engineer