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- ONLY THE DEAD CHATTERBOXES KNOW BACK HOME BLUES: EDDIE CHATTERBOX THE LOST YEARS VOLUME FOUR
ONLY THE DEAD CHATTERBOXES KNOW BACK HOME BLUES: EDDIE CHATTERBOX THE LOST YEARS VOLUME FOUR
ONLY THE DEAD CHATTERBOXES KNOW BACK HOME BLUES: EDDIE CHATTERBOX THE LOST YEARS VOLUME FOUR
Project Omnibook: the Bruce Gallanter reviews
As the main force behind Downtown Music Gallery and one of the most avid music listeners and gig-goers in history, the comments of Bruce are something I take seriously, once past the basic watermark of not giving a flying fuck what anyone thinks about anything I do.
Herewith are his comments regarding the six volumes in the Eddie Chatterbox “Omnibook” series. Enthusiasts who are mystified by the content of these recordings may find Bruce’s comments enlightening.
Bruce’s patience and love of weirdness is truly appreciated. As an artist the chance to comment on a review is too rare to pass up when circumstances dictate, so in response to some of Bruce’s comments about collage techniques, I would trace my own interest in this to recordings heard as a teenager on underground radio in Boulder by Charles Ives, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Tod Dockstader and George Crumb; the latter two also had a local presence during this period. Further on I became quite inspired to get deeper into this art by things I heard during my travels, two events stand out in particular: (1) an encounter between several large machines of demolition and a large concrete block building in Amsterdam (the machines made by the Van Vliet company!) and (2) listening to simultaneous sets by a rock band (upstairs) and a jazz band (downstairs) at the Court Tavern, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
VOLUME FOUR: ONLY THE DEAD CHATTERBOXES KNOW BACK HOME BLUES
Featuring Eugene Chadbourne on guitar & banjo, Tony Trischka on banjo, Toshinori Kondo on trumpet, Walter Malli on soprano sax, Martin Klapper on cheap electronics, Herman Muntzing on homemades, Rebekka Rakar on vocals, Werner Dafeldecker on contrabass and David Licht, Rogier Smal and Warren Smith on drums, vibes & percussion. Continuing in the tribute to Charlie Parker for the 100th anniversary of his birth, Doc Chadbourne picks four songs associated with Bird, as well as a few songs with French titles like “Sur LePont D’Avignon”. What I find intriguing about this six-part series is that Dr. Chadbourne keeps things interesting by spinning several simultaneous layers of guitars, banjos, drums, percussion with various sound effects or samples of voices, birds and a variety of strange sounds too hard to describe. The central ongoing playing is by Chadbourne himself switching between electric & acoustic guitars while tapes and other musicians fade in and out of the mix. Bird’s classic song, “Ornithology” gets a strong reading here by the good doctor on guitar and Tony Trischka on banjo, switching licks effortlessly, speeding up and slowing down, a series of tangled webs spinning freely yet connected by the inner urgency of bebop. From time to time, a small group of musicians will come together to combine forces with Mr. Chadbourne: Walter Malli (soprano sax), Werner Dafeldecker (bass) perhaps Warren Smith (vibes & marimba) pop up for one section and then mutate into another bebop standard on “Yardbird Suite”. It does take some time to adapt to the way things are in constant motion flowing from one section to the next. Occasionally confusing but more often mesmerizing
Project Omnibook: the Bruce Gallanter reviews
As the main force behind Downtown Music Gallery and one of the most avid music listeners and gig-goers in history, the comments of Bruce are something I take seriously, once past the basic watermark of not giving a flying fuck what anyone thinks about anything I do.
Herewith are his comments regarding the six volumes in the Eddie Chatterbox “Omnibook” series. Enthusiasts who are mystified by the content of these recordings may find Bruce’s comments enlightening.
Bruce’s patience and love of weirdness is truly appreciated. As an artist the chance to comment on a review is too rare to pass up when circumstances dictate, so in response to some of Bruce’s comments about collage techniques, I would trace my own interest in this to recordings heard as a teenager on underground radio in Boulder by Charles Ives, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Tod Dockstader and George Crumb; the latter two also had a local presence during this period. Further on I became quite inspired to get deeper into this art by things I heard during my travels, two events stand out in particular: (1) an encounter between several large machines of demolition and a large concrete block building in Amsterdam (the machines made by the Van Vliet company!) and (2) listening to simultaneous sets by a rock band (upstairs) and a jazz band (downstairs) at the Court Tavern, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
VOLUME FOUR: ONLY THE DEAD CHATTERBOXES KNOW BACK HOME BLUES
Featuring Eugene Chadbourne on guitar & banjo, Tony Trischka on banjo, Toshinori Kondo on trumpet, Walter Malli on soprano sax, Martin Klapper on cheap electronics, Herman Muntzing on homemades, Rebekka Rakar on vocals, Werner Dafeldecker on contrabass and David Licht, Rogier Smal and Warren Smith on drums, vibes & percussion. Continuing in the tribute to Charlie Parker for the 100th anniversary of his birth, Doc Chadbourne picks four songs associated with Bird, as well as a few songs with French titles like “Sur LePont D’Avignon”. What I find intriguing about this six-part series is that Dr. Chadbourne keeps things interesting by spinning several simultaneous layers of guitars, banjos, drums, percussion with various sound effects or samples of voices, birds and a variety of strange sounds too hard to describe. The central ongoing playing is by Chadbourne himself switching between electric & acoustic guitars while tapes and other musicians fade in and out of the mix. Bird’s classic song, “Ornithology” gets a strong reading here by the good doctor on guitar and Tony Trischka on banjo, switching licks effortlessly, speeding up and slowing down, a series of tangled webs spinning freely yet connected by the inner urgency of bebop. From time to time, a small group of musicians will come together to combine forces with Mr. Chadbourne: Walter Malli (soprano sax), Werner Dafeldecker (bass) perhaps Warren Smith (vibes & marimba) pop up for one section and then mutate into another bebop standard on “Yardbird Suite”. It does take some time to adapt to the way things are in constant motion flowing from one section to the next. Occasionally confusing but more often mesmerizing
Eddie Chatterbox has largely taken refuge in his hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina, by the time of this volume, striking up a friendship with a former high school girlfriend of bebop legend Tal Farlow (she called him ‘Talmadge’) and appearing at local bars such as the Niteshade Cafe (whenever it was flooded). The family home was also the location of a rare jam session featuring Eddie’s father, a retired professor who plays French and Irish songs by ear on the piano. The newly mixed excerpts reveal the presence of family member Hank Gonzalez, a mysterious Texas relative whose accomplishments are said to include fronting a western swing band, running for county commissioner in a jurisdiction abutting San Antonio and performing the entire Thelonious Monk repertoire in one sitting (this is said to have happened in Santa Cruz, CA.) without ever lifting the slide bar. In this period the documentation of Mucty Munchose (and, by reflection the activities of Chattebox) take on the influence of low-rent producers trying to steer the project away from pure music into realms of sordid melodramatic expoitation. And it will get worse!