Born: March 8, 1973 Primary Instrument: Bass
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT KARL'S OFFICIAL WEBSITE.
Karl E. H. Seigfried is a critically-acclaimed bassist and guitarist deeply involved in Chicago music scene. He has performed and recorded in virtually all musical styles - jazz and classical, country and rock, traditional and avant-garde.
As a bandleader and composer, Karl has led groups featuring Ernest Dawkins, Jimmy Ellis, Nicole Mitchell and Jeff Parker. His recordings as a leader feature the best of Chicago's Young Lions, including Frank Rosaly and Greg Ward.
Karl has performed duets with Bobby McFerrin, Fred Hopkins, Peter Kowald and Nik Turner and played in ensembles fronted by Roscoe Mitchell, Fred Anderson, Henry Grimes, George Lewis and Bertram Turetzky. His recorded collaborations include work with members of Hawkwind, Gong, Jefferson Starship, Cartoon, Psychic TV and Lucky Leif & the Longships.
Karl has performed as a soloist with both the Chicago Sinfonietta and the Rockford Symphony Orchestra. He has played bass in such diverse big bands as the AACM Great Black Music Ensemble and the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
Karl plays Principal Bass for many Chicago-area orchestras - both classical and avant-garde - including the Chicago Modern Orchestra Project, Chicago Sinfonietta Chamber Ensemble, Heartland Festival Orchestra, Mantra Blue Free Orchestra, New Black Music Repertory Ensemble and Peoria Symphony Orchestra. He is former Principal Bassist of the City Symphony of Chicago and a current member of the Chicago Sinfonietta and Rockford Symphony Orchestra.
Dedicated to education, Karl teaches at Carthage College, Loyola University Chicago - Continuum and the Newberry Library Seminars Program. His doctoral dissertation - “At Once Old-Timey and Avant-Garde”: The Innovation and Influence of Wilbur Ware - remains the only scholarly work on the great Chicago bassist.
Karl is currently recording bass and guitar tracks for the new album by Calvin Weston, legendary drummer for Ornette Coleman, James “Blood” Ulmer, Derek Bailey, Marc Ribot, James Carter and many others. The album also features Hawkwind founding member Nik Turner on saxophone. Watch for it later this year on Imaginary Chicago Records.
Awards:
Jazziz Editor's Choice - Top 10 Album of 2010 (Portrait of Jack Johnson)DownBeat Four Stars (Portrait of Jack Johnson)
JazzEd New Notable CD Release (Portrait of Jack Johnson)
New York City Jazz Record Editor's Recommended New Release (Portrait of Jack Johnson)
Bass Musician Magazine New and Noteworthy CD Release (Portrait of Jack Johnson)
Diversity in Business Musical Pick of the Season (Portrait of Jack Johnson)
2007 Gallery 37/Downtown Sound Gallery (Chicago)
Composition/performance grant for Blue Rhizome
2006 WNUR-FM (Chicago) Jazz Show
Top 30 by airplay for the year (Criminal Mastermind)
Top 40 by DJ vote for the year (Criminal Mastermind)
2004 WNUR-FM (Chicago) Jazz Show
Top 20 by airplay for the year (Boykin, Seigfried, & Reed)
2003 Austin Chronicle Music Poll
Top 5 Swing Group (Lucky Strikes)
Top 5 Latin Group (Cubano Bop)
2002 Austin Chronicle Music Poll
Top 10 Jazz Group (Sarah Sharp Jazz Quintet)
1995 Jazz Society of Southern California
Jazz Award
1994 Clark Terry International Institute of Jazz Studies
Outstanding Bassist Award
Chicago Weekly
Seigfried has formed collaborations that celebrate diversity and high-level musicianship.
Jazz Institute of Chicago Jazzgram
Seigfried’s got a clear, ringing tone and executes ideas exuberantly.
Madison Isthmus
Jazz fans will recognize Dr. Karl E. H. Seigfried from his tenure on acoustic double bass but will be entertained to see his wizardry on electric guitar.
Centerstage Chicago
Some of the innovative jazz musicians who have come to public attention since the early 1990s are David Boykin, Karl E. H. Seigfried, Jeff Parker and Jim Baker. This new generation embraces a wide variety of styles and techniques, creating sounds that keep the jazz scene fresh and forever evolving in true Chicago style.
The Reverend Al Sharpton / Michigan Avenue Magazine
One of the Midwest’s most exciting free bassists. A long-time figure in the city’s improvised-music scene.
TimeOut Chicago
Among the best and the brightest from the Chicago avant-garde’s new generation.
Chicago Reader
Karl’s a tremendous bassist - he’s versatile, technically adept and a very emotional player.
Wisconsin Public Radio
For complete discography, visit Karl's website.
PORTRAIT OF JACK JOHNSON
Imaginary Chicago Records
2010
Karl E. H. Seigfried, bass & guitar
Greg Ward, saxophone
Frank Rosaly, drums
WALK ON
Imaginary Chicago Records
2009
Karl E. H. Seigfried, bass & guitar
Gabrielle Schafer, vocals & guitar
Erin Fusco, vocals & keyboard
Aaron Rester, vocals & guitar
Jason Haaheim, drums & percussion
BLUE RHIZOME
Imaginary Chicago Records
2008
Karl E. H. Seigfried, bass & guitar
Greg Ward, saxophone & flute
Carmel Raz, violin
Chris Avgerin, drums & percussion
CRIMINAL MASTERMIND
Imaginary Chicago Records
2006
Karl E. H. Seigfried, bass
BOYKIN, SEIGFRIED, & REED
Imaginary Chicago Records
2004
David Boykin, saxophone
Karl E. H. Seigfried, bass
Mike Reed, drums
Disclaimer: All About Jazz is not responsible for the accuracy of the discographical data at the website(s) provided. If a link is no longer valid, please contact discography@allaboutjazz.com. Thank you.
Primary Instrument:
Bass
Location:
Evanston, IL
Willing to teach:
Beginners
Credentials/Background:
After earning degrees in Music Performance from University of California-San Diego and University of Wisconsin-Madison, Karl received his doctorate from University of Texas-Austin. His doctoral dissertation - "At Once Old-Timey and Avant-Garde": The Innovation and Influence of Wilbur Ware - remains the only scholarly work on the great Chicago bassist and was recently cited in Robin D. G. Kelley's Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original.
Through two of his bass teachers - New Music innovator Bertram Turetzky and jazz legend Richard Davis - Karl's lineage as a performer and pedagogue can be traced back through David Walter, Frederick Zimmermann, Hermann Reinshagen, Ludwig Manoly, Franz Simandl and Josef Hrabe to Wenzel Hause (1764-1847) of the Prague Conservatory, founder of the Prague School of double bass playing and teacher of the first-ever double bass class.
While living in San Diego, Karl studied with Carol Kaye, the legendary Los Angeles studio bassist of the 1960s who was a top bebop guitarist in the 1940s and 1950s. The late great Jimmy Cheatham was a beloved mentor - Karl was a featured soloist in his student ensembles at the University of California for several years. Also at UCSD, Karl performed in the improvisation ensemble led by Anthony Davis and worked on an independent study with George Lewis on the history of the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians).
Karl teaches private lessons on both bass and guitar. His students have had great success in local and regional orchestra auditions - as well as performing at a high level in jazz combos and big bands - and won scholarships to prestigious university music programs. If you are interested in taking lessons in the Chicago area, you can reach him through the contact page at his website.
In addition to studying music, Karl earned a degree in literature (English, American and German) from University of California-San Diego and studied literature and art at Loyola University Chicago's Rome Center in Italy. His work as a Norse mythologist is featured at The Norse Mythology Blog.
FACULTY POSITIONS
Carthage College
Bass & Guitar Faculty
Loyola University Chicago - Continuum
Music & History Faculty
Newberry Library Seminars Program
Literature Faculty
Clinic/Workshop Information:
Dr. Seigfried is an experienced clinician. Past clinics have included the following:
Jazz Rhythm Sectionals
"Creating Walking Bass Lines" (for Educators and/or Students)
Orchestral Bass Sectionals
Jazz Bass Masterclasses
Classical Bass Masterclasses
Big Band Clinics
Chamber Music Clinics
"Improvisation for Strings"
"From From Electric to Acoustic Bass"
Velvet Strings
INSTRUMENTS
1890s Rubner Contrabass (The Rubner Rune Bass)
1980 Kramer Vanguard Bass Guitar
1966 Fender Mustang Fretless Bass Guitar
Epiphone Longhorn Bass Guitar
Ace Frehley Epiphone Les Paul Guitar
Taylor Koa Acoustic Guitar
Melobar Rattler Lap Steel Guitar
