Jazz Articles about Eugene Chadbourne

Chadbourne/Dresser/Ibarra/Morris: Pain Pen

by Mark Corroto
September 1, 2000

There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but there is free-jazz and Eugene Chadbourne has been one of its stars for many years. He has worked with every free jazz musician, plus Camper Van Beethoven, They Might Be Giants, and John Zorn. Likewise, Boston guitarist Joe Morris has been making waves of late with his own group for AUM, Knitting Factory, and Omnitine records. Bassist Dresser is a veteran of recording dates with John Zorn, Anthony Braxton, ...

Eugene Chadbourne & Paul Lovens: Young At Heart/Forgiven

by Glenn Astarita
July 1, 2000

When guitarist/vocalist/improviser Dr. Eugene Chadbourne sings a ballad or standard he certainly won’t erase memories of Nat King Cole or Sinatra yet Chadbourne melds his acerbic wit and time-honored sense of humor with his often-stunning technical finesse as a slick picking guitarist. With Young At Heart/Forgiven Chadbourne aligns himself with drummer Paul Lovens for 2 CDs worth of original material and unlikely covers of such familiar pieces as Johnny Mercer’s “Skylark”, Willie Nelson’s “I Let My Mind Wander” and others. ...

Eugene Chadbourne and the Insect and Western Party: Beauty and the Bloodsucker

by Robert Spencer
November 1, 1999

Eugene Chadbourne is an American original: consummate improviser, rockabilly jazz guitarist, genre crosser, bug enthusiast, certifiable madman. This disc is a worthy addition to his oeuvre, as it features some notable collaborators: Ellery Eskelin, Gino Robair, and others. As usual, it is full of irony and all over the stylistic map. As usual, it is full of great music.

Chadbourne and Eskelin have their best moment on the opening “Nymphialiadae," on which they spin loose-limbed lines rapidly over a rhythmically ...

Eugene Chadbourne: Worms with Strings

by Robert Spencer
April 1, 1999

Well, the world may or may not be ready for a musical celebration of fecal worms, but Eugene Chadbourne certainly is, and when Eugene Chadbourne is ready for something, he has long since ceased to wait for any sign of approval or readiness from the populace. For all his joyful eccentricity, Chadbourne is a first-rate instrumentalist, and this disc displays his talents well. As he plays guitar, banjo, and various other things, he's joined here in ensembles, live and multi-tracked, ...

Eugene Chadbourne: Worms with Strings

by Robert Spencer
April 1, 1999

Well, the world may or may not be ready for a musical celebration of fecal worms, but Eugene Chadbourne certainly is, and when Eugene Chadbourne is ready for something, he has long since ceased to wait for any sign of approval or readiness from the populace. For all his joyful eccentricity, Chadbourne is a first-rate instrumentalist, and this disc displays his talents well. As he plays guitar, banjo, and various other things, he's joined here in ensembles, live and multi-tracked, ...

Eugene Chadbourne: Worms With Strings

by AAJ Staff
March 1, 1999

Over the past 20 years, Eugene Chadbourne has established well deserved reputations as virtuoso improvising guitarist, musical eccentric, and all around troublemaker. This project, recorded primarily during 1997-1998, unsurprisingly reinforces these designations (or accusations as the case may be). Chadbourne’s liner notes describe this recording as paying tribute to worms (although cockroaches and other insect life figure prominently as well). However, and perhaps more importantly, the ‘strings’ portion of the title refers directly to the music itself, described as a ...