“Karl Seigfried is one of those Chicago presences that helps make the city a great one for jazz. Highly recommended.” -Cadence Magazine
Karl E. H. Seigfried is a critically-acclaimed bassist and guitarist deeply involved in the Chicago music scene. He has performed and recorded in virtually all musical styles — jazz and classical, country and rock, traditional and avant-garde. He has received rave international reviews for his performances and compositions documented on twenty-five recordings.
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. He has also appeared on stage with Saturday Night Live’s Martin Short. His recorded collaborations include work with members of Hawkwind, Gong, Jefferson Starship, Cartoon, Psychic TV and Lucky Leif & the Longships.
Karl produced, co-wrote and played bass and guitar for Of Alien Feelings, 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’s lineup of players features a cross-section of virtuoso instrumentalists from modern jazz and progressive rock: Todd Rundgren (Utopia), John Medeski (Medeski Martin & Wood), Jack Walrath (Charles Mingus Quintet), John Helliwell (Supertramp), Jay Beckenstein (Spyro Gyra), Vernon Reid (Living Colour), Nik Turner (Hawkind) and Thijs van Leer (Focus). Click here to listen to samples of all tracks from the album.
Karl has played bass in big bands for nearly twenty years, including with such diverse groups as the AACM Great Black Music Ensemble and the Glenn Miller Orchestra. He is a founding member of Saalik Ziyad’s NSA Ensemble, an intergenerational and multicultural group that plays completely original music. He has also performed with Alan Gresik’s Swing Shift Orchestra, the swinging big band that has been in residency at Chicago’s historic Green Mill since the 1990s.