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! We also have some exciting guest musicians including Marc Atkinson, who sits in with us regularly. Our CD, "Live at the Thatch" was released July 2007 and is available through me at annie@denmanisland.com or at various local venues including the Thatch Pub.

My new CD has just been released and is called “Back in Blue”. It is a retrospective and includes the various styles of jazz and blues that I have performed over 30 years. Players include the musicians from my Thatch Pub band as well as Pat Coleman, Ken Lister and Bob Grant. It is available online at baynessounds.com.

For more information, please contact me at annie@denmanisland.com.
Photo credit: Ed Robertson