Schools

Corky Siegel to Headline November 9 Jazz Benefit for Roosevelt University Students


Corky Siegel

CHICAGO–(ENEWSPF)–October 31, 2014.  Corky Siegel, a 1966 Roosevelt University alumnus and Chicago blues legend, will join 12 Chicago College of Performing Arts (CCPA) jazz faculty members on stage for a fundraiser that will establish the Joe Segal Jazz Scholarship fund for the benefit of CCPA jazz students.

The Jazz on Sunday Afternoon benefit will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 9 at the Jazz Showcase, 806 S. Plymouth Court, Chicago.

“This is a major event for the jazz community and the first of its kind for our program,” said Scott Mason, director of Roosevelt’s jazz program, which offers undergraduates the opportunity to major in jazz vocal performance and jazz and contemporary music studies.  

Siegel took music courses in 1966 at CCPA (formerly Chicago Musical College) where he met Jim Schwall, and the two Roosevelt students went on to form the Siegel-Schwall Band.

“I will always have a personal connection to Roosevelt University,” said Siegel, who will perform his tune “Twisted,” as a solo on piano and then on harmonica with members of Roosevelt’s CCPA jazz faculty.

Performing at the benefit with Siegel will be CCPA’s Neal Alger, guitar; Ruben Alvarez, percussion; Alejandro Cortes, piano; Yvonne Gage, vocals; Jim Gailloreto, saxophone; Paulinho Garcia, guitar and vocals; Victor Garcia, trumpet; Roger Harris, piano; Henry Johnson, guitar; Charlie Klepac, guitar; Scott Mason, bass; Fred Simon, piano; Paul Wertico, drums; and Cheryl Wilson, vocals.  Performances by CCPA’s jazz vocal group, Rush Hour, will include members Sean Archer, Leslie Beukelman, Andrew Distel, Leslie Hunt and Mariama Torruella.

Joe Segal

At the event, CCPA will be launching a new scholarship fund that is named for one of its legendary students, Joe Segal (pictured at right). The recipient of a 2013 honorary doctorate from Roosevelt and an award-winning jazz impresario, Segal is responsible for bringing to Chicago many of the world’s great jazz legends including Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Dexter Gordon, Thelonius Monk, Sonny Rollins and others for jam sessions and performances.

A Roosevelt student between 1947 and 1957, Segal got his start presenting jazz shows for the enjoyment of all Chicagoans in 1947 as a Roosevelt student. Today, he continues to run the Jazz Showcase, which is the second oldest jazz club in the nation, and he is much loved in the city where a portion of South Plymouth Court in front of his renowned club was recently officially named “Joe Segal Way” in his honor.

“I began my career at Roosevelt in 1947, and to have a scholarship fund in my name for the benefit of today’s Roosevelt students is a wonderful culmination of things that brings my career full circle,” said Segal.

Tickets for Jazz on a Sunday Afternoon are $100 each or $350 for four, and are tax-deductible. . Program for the event includes instrumentals: Cedar Walton’s “Firm Roots;” Ralph Rainger’s and Leo Robin’s “If I Should Lose You;” Herb Brown’s and Gus Kahn’s “You Stepped Out of a Dream;” Noro Morales’ “Maria Cervantes;” Benny Golson’s “Stablemates;” and George Shearing’s “Conception.” The vocal set includes: Harold Arlen’s and Johnny Mercer’s “Come Rain or Come Shine;” Dan Fisher’s, Irene Higginbotham’s and Ervin Drake’s “Good Morning, Heartache;” Tools Thielemans’ “Bluesette;” Michel LeGrand’s “What are you Doing the Rest of Your Life?;” Simon and Mitchell’s “Hiccups/River;” and Corky Siegel’s “Twisted.”

For more information or for reservations, contact Rosalyn Collins at 312-341-3627 or [email protected]

Source: roosevelt.edu


ARCHIVES