Cameron Siegal

Cam Siegal (b. 1988) is a Portland, Oregon based drummer, percussionist, teacher, and composer. His experience in world and western music styles alike led to collaborations with Peruvian guitar virtuoso Carlos Odria, Ghanaian singer and drummer Obuamah Laud Addy, and saxophonist, flautist, and percussionist Jorge Continentino, to name a few. Cam’s background includes drum set, West African drumming, song, and dance, Balinese and Javanese Gamelan, percussion of Central and South America, as well as marching with the Cadets, and East Coast Jazz, Drum and Bugle Corps.

Cameron currently leads the Cameron Siegal Worldtet, a world-jazz fusion project, and Space Leech, an afrofunk/second line/improvisation ensemble. He is also involved in the Portland funk band Vinyl Gold, Portland forro band Z’bumba!, and the Tom Bergeron Brasil Sextet. Before his relocation to Portland, Cameron performed in several notable bands, including: the Criss Cross Afrobeat Orchestra, led by Ghanaian singer and drummer Obuamah Laud Addy; the Jorge Continentino Quartet, Tallahassee, FL; virtuoso guitarist Carlos Odria’s latin jazz trio; the Big Daddy and Red Hot Java Blues Band, from Tallahassee, FL; as well as other groups.

Cam completed his Masters of Jazz Studies at the Florida State University, in Tallahassee, FL in 2014, while studying drum set with Leon Anderson, Jr. While at FSU he was also involved in the West African Drum ensemble (under the direction of the late Wilbur “Baba Hamza” Davis), the Balinese Gamelan (under the direction of ethnomusicologist Dr. Michael Bakan), as well as jazz combos and big bands.

Cam has studied drum set and improvisation with Rakalam Bob Moses at the New England Conservatory, and royal hartigan and Chris Poudrier at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, where he completed his Bachelor of Arts in Music. Cam marched in the tenor lines of the Cadets of Bergen County (2007, 2008) and the East Coast Jazz Drum and Bugle Corps (2006). Cameron’s debut album as leader, World Junk, was released to 2015. Synthesizing jazz, funk, and world music, the release featured saxophonist, flautist, and percussionist Jorge Continentino, Peruvian guitar virtuoso Carlos Odria, steel pannist Mia Gormandy, and violinist Mark Russell.

He is currently the Director of Percussion at West Salem High School, in Salem, OR, and can be seen performing around the Portland area.

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