BILL RUSSO

William Russo

The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra 

and The Siegel-Schwall Band

Seiji Ozawa

William Russo

Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra Op. 50 (1968)

While this is not Jazz, it’s Bill Russo with his Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra Op. 50 (1968)

The pictures shown are obviously much later then the recording date.  Here is a little story I put together about  it.

I call it:

Meeting Seiji Ozawa

In the mid 60s I had a part time job as a bartender at Mother Blues.

Mother Blue’s was a club in the center, actually it was at the end, 

of Chicago’s hippy district, Old Town.

The bar featured blues and folk music with several nationally known acts performing fairly regularly. It was owned by a woman by the name of Lorraine Blue. Her club and her home were known as rehab institutes for burnt and strung out hippies many of whom were returning from San Francisco experiencing constant  flash backs, an inevitable result of too much amphetamine use.

  

Well, I was merrily tending bar one night upstairs at the club.  I looked over to the stairs and saw this very nattily clad young Asian Guy walk up and over to the bar where I was. I mean this guy was really dressed  complete with long tails.  In a different area at different times this might have raised an eyebrow, but you have to remember that this was the 60s in Old Town, Chicago.

Anyway, he walks up and asks if I had seen Corky Siegel. 

I said I had not.  He thanked me and turned around and left.

A young lady, one of the patrons, excitedly runs up to me and asks if I knew who that was. I admitted that I did not. She told me it was Seiji Ozawa. 

At first I didn’t believe her. I just figured she was stoned as the majority of the people there were.  But not too much later I found out that she was absolutely correct.

It seems that Ozawa was in town guest conducting the CSO at Rivinia.  He had been working with composer/ arranger Bill Russo who had written a piece for Ozawa to perform with the CSO. Russo had completed the work. It was titled Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony. 

Ozawa was trying to get ahold of Corky Siegel as the blues band was going to be the Siegel Schwall band. He was to have met him after his Rivinia. concert to plan a rehearsal for the premier.  Siegel was supposed to meet him at The Hungry Eye down the street but didn’t show and someone there told him he might be at Mother Blues. 

Well, they finally met up and the concert went off well. They later made a recording with the San Francisco Symphony.

Just another day in OldTown in the 1960s