James “Blood” Ulmer

James Blood Ulmer was once described by the Village Voice as: “…the missing link between Jimi Hendrix and Wes Montgomery…between P-Funk and Mississippi Fred McDowell.” After a stint in the juke joint scene, he dove headlong into jazz. While still struggling to develop his own unique voice, Blood wound up a sideman on a handful of Blue Note recordings. In New York City in ’71 he met the legendary avant-garde jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman, which led to a stint in Coleman’s revolutionary group, as well as collaborations with groundbreaking experimental musicians such as Larry Young and Joe Henderson. His solo debut Tales of Captain Black (’78) saw him finally beginning to stake his claim to the American music tapestry. Critics touted him as the hottest new thing on the scene and fans packing his NYC performances. He recorded Are You Glad To Be In America? for Rough Trade, a frentic concoction of free funk and jazz that pushed the concept of harmolodic guitar towards previously unimagined frontiers. On the back of ecstatic reviews of his album and live show, CBS bought out his contract and released three landmark records: Free Lancing (’81), Black Rock (’82), and Odyssey (’83). Blending blues, jazz, funk, country and freeform noise in dense musical themes and sonic structures, Odyssey is considered by many as a peak moment in American music daring. In 2003, Memphis Blood: The Sun Sessions, reawoke fans and critics alike to his power and electricity and earned a Grammy nomination for “Best Traditional Blues Album.” Birthright was Blood’s first ever recording completely solo, digging into deep, haunted blues. His latest effort is Bad Blood In The City, a cycle of songs that deal with Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Visit www.myspace.com/jamesbloodulmer for more.