ANNIE SIEGEL I was born and raised in New York. When I was nine years old, I started classical flute lessons. At thirteen, I began singing and playing folk-style guitar and quickly became involved with the blues. I learned by listening to records of Lightning' Hopkins, Robert Johnson, Dave Van Ronk, Ma Rainy, Bessie Smith, etc. "The Village" in New York, at that time, was a mecca of folk and blues. When I was 16, I started singing and playing at Open Stage Nights at Gerdie's Folk City, Gaslight, Village Vanguard. This experience of watching, jamming, and exchanging ideas with other musicians was an integral part of my musical education and my love of the process of music.

The blues led me to discover jazz. At the University of Buffalo, where I majored in music and painting, I continued performing the blues with my guitar and voice but also became involved with studying flute and piano in the jazz idiom. I attended workshops and classes led by Ron Carter, Paul Chambers, Archie Shepp, Charles Gayle, Jackie MacClean and Charlie Kyle. I graduated with a BA Fine Arts in 1970.

I moved to British Colombia in 1970. Between 1970 and 1989, I performed in Vancouver area venues (Le Chat Noir, Classical Joint, The Eagress, Nucleus, Oil Can Harry's, UBC, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver East Cultural Centre, CBC Jazz Radio Canada, CFRO, Simon Fraser pub and SFU Theatre, and many more) as a single act as well as with various groups: Al Neil's Jazz Probe (1971-2) avant-guard jazz, playing flute and saxophone; Annie Siegel and the HP Kids (1972-77) swing & blues, flute and vocals; Nightshade (1977-1982) R&B piano and vocals; and other freelance jazz ensembles.

In 1981, I received my Associate in Arts & Science/ Commercial Music Capilano College, North Vancouver, B.C. I studied piano with Al Wold and flute with Tom Keenliside.

In 1989 I moved to Denman Island, a small Gulf Island off the east coast of Vancouver Island. Since then, I have been performing regularly in the Courtenay-Campbell River area and on the Gulf Islands with the Annie Siegel Trio as well as solo, duo and ensemble groups.
You can catch me every Friday night at the Hornby Island Resort Thatch Pub with Tony Wilson, Nick McGowan, Dana Ingliss and Darryl Boyn. This will be our 17th year playing jazz every week at this venue!



INTERVIEW WITH ANNIE    28/01/08


You live on a small island a short ferry ride from a large island off the coast of western Canada. What brought you to this place?

I've always wanted to live a rural lifestyle- it was really only music and finances that kept me in or near the city. But finally in 1989, I was financially able to buy my own place. I chose Denman Island because there were artists and musicians in the area and access to Vancouver Island for gigs.

It seems you have been recognized more for your painting than your music.

It's easier to get my art "out" - I can work all year in my studio and then send the paintings out for shows without too much traveling. Music gigs, on the other hand, demand constant traveling, dragging equipment around, and dealing with all the hassles of "being on the road". I prefer to stay close to home and thankfully have enough gigs in my area to keep me musically stimulated.

Though many of the tracks sound as if they were recorded live in the studio, Black in Blue took a long time to complete.

Once we had the concept for the CD straight in our minds, there was a lot of time spent in the studio making demos, choosing the songs and deciding on the line up. Then the musicians and sessions had to be scheduled. Everyone living here had a big disruption in the winter of 06. A freak storm hit the island. The intense moment was an ocean twister that knocked down many power and telephone poles, and trees.

I've been told that some people still refer to what happened to you as "X marks the spot".

Five large Douglas fir trees landed on the roof of my house while I was in it. I had to vacate for four months and re-build. We eventually got back to work on the recording project, as my house was being fitted with a new roof, a new wall, greenhouse...

Back in Blue has been referred to as a retrospective.

That's the intension. I spent many years singing and playing the blues on guitar and it has greatly influenced my jazz style. So in choosing the concept, we decided that we wanted to represent these influences and make the CD a varied "style" rather then just the piano related jazz that I perform now.

Baltimore Oriole is a great interpretation, but it's very sparse.

Thank you- yes- it's meant to be sparse. A trio without drums becomes more of a conversation between musicians. The voice, guitar and bass lines move in counterpoint rather than being rhythm driven. Singing with Pat and Ken was such an inspiration because they provided constant ideas for my phrasing. It was really a 3 part counterpoint …….

Wild Women is getting a lot of attention. Who are the musicians on that track?

That's the Thatch Band but featuring Bobby Grant on drums. We've been playing together every Friday night at the Thatch Pub on Hornby Island for 17 years. Tony's on guitar, Nick on Sax, Dana plays the bass, and Darryl's our drummer. The band is tight, and a lot of good music gets worked out there.

Back in Blue is a rare find. It passes my "Do I want to play it twice in a row?" test. What's next for Annie Siegel?

The CD will be released in late March. We had a limited deluxe edition pre-release for Christmas which sold out- very encouraging. The early reaction to Back in Blue is really positive. Aside from the excellent musicians, the variety of styles on the CD seem to be really popular.

You have described yourself as an artist, musician and gardener. From where I sit looking through your window past the attached greenhouse, it looks like gardening to you is more than planting flowers.

Yes, I try to grow all my own food- I am able to grow a lot of vegetables year round and the rest I preserve, freeze, store or keep in the ground. I also have chickens for eggs and meat.

So it's not a hobby.

No- it's a life-syle that I have purposely chosen for health, political and social reasons. It gives me great pleasure to be as self-sufficient as I can and I love the gardening and working with animals.

And I guess, part of it is choosing to live where you are.

Yes- I am really lucky to have found a place to live that allows me to do my music and art as well as live the rural life-style that I have always wanted.


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