James Blood Ulmer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
James Blood Ulmer
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Ulmer performs in Innsbruck in 2011 with Charles Burnham and Warren Benbow.
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Willie James Ulmer |
| Also known as | Damu Mustafa Abdul Musawwir |
| Born | February 8, 1940 St. Matthews, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz, harmolodics, free funk, electric blues, avant-funk |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
James "Blood" Ulmer (born February 8, 1940) is an American musician. He is known for playing the guitar and singing. His music mixes different styles like jazz, free funk, and blues. Ulmer plays a special guitar called a Gibson Byrdland. People have described his guitar sound as "jagged" and "stinging." His singing style is often called "raggedly soulful."
Contents
The Story of James "Blood" Ulmer
Willie James Ulmer was born in St. Matthews, South Carolina, United States. He started his music career playing with soul jazz groups. From 1959 to 1964, he played in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Then, from 1964 to 1967, he played around Columbus, Ohio. He even recorded music with organ player Hank Marr in 1964.
Moving to New York and New Sounds
In 1971, Ulmer moved to New York City. There, he played with many famous jazz musicians. These included Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Joe Henderson, Paul Bley, Rashied Ali, and Larry Young.
In the early 1970s, Ulmer joined Ornette Coleman's band. Coleman was a very important jazz musician. James Blood Ulmer was the first electric guitarist to record and tour a lot with Coleman. Ulmer has said that Coleman was a huge influence on his music. Coleman often used electric guitar in his jazz fusion music, thanks to Ulmer's playing.
Releasing His Own Albums
After playing with Arthur Blythe on two albums, Ulmer signed with Columbia Records. This led to three of his own albums: Free Lancing, Black Rock, and Odyssey. The album Odyssey was the first release by a group called Odyssey The Band. This band included drummer Warren Benbow and violinist Charles Burnham.
Forming Music Groups
Around 1980, Ulmer started a group called Music Revelation Ensemble. He led this group with saxophonist David Murray for the first ten years. Other famous musicians like Arthur Blythe and John Zorn also played with the band later.
In the 1980s, Ulmer also co-led a group called Phalanx. This quartet included saxophonist George Adams. Ulmer has also recorded many albums as a leader. Some of these albums focused more on blues music. These blues albums include Memphis Blood and Birthright.
Later Career and Unique Style
In 2009, Ulmer started his own music label called American Revelation. In 2011, he joined James Carter's organ trio as a special guest. They performed together at the Blue Note in New York.
James Blood Ulmer is known for his unique way of playing the guitar. He tunes his guitar strings to the note A. This helps him create his distinct sound.
James Blood Ulmer's Music Albums
Here is a list of some of the albums James Blood Ulmer has released or played on.
As leader
- Tales of Captain Black (Artists House, 1979)
- Are You Glad to Be in America? (Rough Trade, 1980)
- Free Lancing (Columbia, 1981)
- Black Rock (CBS, 1982)
- Odyssey (CBS, 1983)
- Part Time (Rough Trade, 1984)
- Live at the Caravan of Dreams (Caravan of Dreams, 1986)
- America – Do You Remember the Love? (Blue Note, 1987)
- Blues Allnight (Bellaphon, 1990)
- Revealing (In+Out, 1990)
- Black and Blues (DIW, 1991)
- Blues Preacher (DIW, 1993)
- Live at the Bayerischer Hof (In+Out, 1994)
- Music Speaks Louder than Words (DIW, 1995)
- Plays the Music of Ornette Coleman (DIW, 1996)
- Harmolodic Guitar with Strings (DIW, 1997)
- Reunion (Knitting Factory, 1997)
- Forbidden Blues (DIW, 1998)
- Memphis Blood: The Sun Sessions (Label M, 2001)
- Blue Blood (Innerhythmic, 2001)
- No Escape from the Blues: The Electric Lady Sessions (Hyena, 2003)
- Guitar Music (Dernière Bande, 2003) – with Rodolphe Burger
- Back in Time (Pi, 2005)
- Birthright (Hyena, 2005)
- Bad Blood in the City: The Piety Street Sessions (Hyena, 2007)
- In and Out (In+Out, 2009)
- Black Rock Reunion (American Revelation, 2009)
- Blues Odyssey (American Revelation, 2010)
- Live at Birdland (American Revelation, 2010)
- Freelancing Live (American Revelation, 2013)
With Music Revelation Ensemble
- No Wave (Moers, 1980)
- Music Revelation Ensemble (DIW, 1988)
- Elec. Jazz (DIW, 1990)
- After Dark (DIW, 1992)
- In the Name of... (DIW, 1994)
- Knights of Power (DIW, 1996)
- Cross Fire (DIW, 1997)
With Phalanx
- Got Something Good for You (Moers Music, 1986)
- Original Phalanx (DIW, 1987)
- In Touch (DIW, 1988)
- Phalanx Live (American Revelation, 2013)
With Third Rail
- South Delta Space Age (Antilles, 1995)
As sideman
- Rashied Ali, Rashied Ali Quintet (Survival, 1973)
- Karl Berger, Conversations (In+Out, 1994)
- Arthur Blythe, Lenox Avenue Breakdown (Columbia, 1979)
- Arthur Blythe, Illusions (Columbia, 1980)
- James Carter, Out of Nowhere (Half Note, 2005)
- Ornette Coleman, Celebrate Ornette (Song X 2016)
- Ry Cooder, The End of Violence (Outpost, 1997)
- Jayne Cortez, Borders of Disorderly Time (Bola, 2003)
- Joe Henderson, Multiple (Milestone, 1973)
- Hank Marr, Sounds from the Marr-Ket Place (King, 1968)
- David Murray, Children (Black Saint, 1985)
- David Murray, Recording N.Y.C. 1986 (DIW, 1986)
- John Patton, Accent on the Blues (Blue Note, 1969)
- John Patton, Memphis to New York Spirit (Blue Note, 1996)
- Rochester/Veasley Band, One Minute of Love (Gramavision, 1985)
- The Roots, Phrenology (MCA, 2002)
- Juma Sultan, Whispers from the Archive (Porter, 2012)
- Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Show Stopper (Gramavision, 1983)
- World Saxophone Quartet, Political Blues (Justin Time, 2006)
- Frank Wright, Blues for Albert Ayler (ESP Disk, 2012)
- Larry Young, Lawrence of Newark (Perception, 1973)
See also
In Spanish: James Blood Ulmer para niños
