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Biography
about|the musician|the entertainment journalist|James Ulmer (journalist)Infobox musical artist | name = James Blood Ulmer| image = James Blood Ulmer.jpg| caption = Photo by Christian Sahm| image_size =| background = solo_singer| birth_name = James Ulmer| alias = Damu Mustafa Abdul Musawwir| birth_date = Birth date and age|1942|02|02| birth_place = St. Matthews, South Carolina , U.S.| death_date =| instrument = Guitar , Singing|vocals | genre = Jazz music|Jazz , free funk , Blues (music)|blues , electric blues | occupation = Musician | years_active = 1967–present| label = Hyena , Rough Trade Records|Rough Trade , Sony Records , Columbia Records , Blue Note , DIW Records , Pi Records , In and Out , Artists House, Innerhythmic, Antilles Records , Moers Music , Survival/Knitting Factory| associated_acts = Art Blakey , Joe Henderson , Paul Bley , Rashied Ali , Larry Young (jazz)|Larry Young ,| website = http://www.myspace.com/jamesbloodulmer Myspace.com/jamesbloodulmer| notable_instruments = James "Blood" Ulmer (born February 2, 1942) is an American jazz and blues music|blues guitar ist and singer. Ulmer's distinctive guitar sound has been described as "jagged" and "stinging." His singing has been called "raggedly soulful." http://trouserpress.com/entry_90s.php? a=james_blood_ulmer James Blood Ulmer at the Trouser Press website
Biography
Ulmer was born in St. Matthews, South Carolina . He began his career playing with various soul jazz ensembles, first in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , from 1959-1964, and then in the Columbus, Ohio region, from 1964-1967. He first recorded with Organ (music)|organ ist John Patton (musician)|John Patton in 1969. After moving to New York in 1971, Ulmer played with Art Blakey 's Jazz Messengers, Joe Henderson , Paul Bley , Rashied Ali and Larry Young (jazz)|Larry Young .
In the early 1970s, Ulmer joined Ornette Coleman ; he was the first electric guitarist to record and tour extensively with Coleman. He has credited Coleman as a major influence, and Coleman's strong reliance on electric guitar in his jazz fusion|fusion -oriented recordings owes a distinct debt to Ulmer.
He formed a group called the Music Revelation Ensemble with David Murray (jazz musician)|David Murray and Ronald Shannon Jackson , with whom he recorded throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Different incarnations of the group also featured Julius Hemphill , Arthur Blythe , Sam Rivers , and Hamiet Bluiett on saxophones and flutes. In the 1980s he co-led, with saxophonist George Adams (musician)|George Adams , the musical ensemble|ensemble Phalanx (band)|Phalanx .
1983's Odyssey (James Blood Ulmer album)|Odyssey , with drummer Warren Benbow and violin ist Charles Burnham , was described as "avant-gutbucket," leading writer Bill Milkowski to describe the music as "conjuring images of Skip James and Albert Ayler jamming on the Mississippi Delta ."
Ulmer has recorded many albums as a leader, including three recent acclaimed blues -oriented records produced by Vernon Reid . He also performs solo.
Ulmer was also a judge for the 8th annual The Independent Music Awards|Independent Music Awards to support independent artists. http://www.prlog.org/10244858-bostons-own-debbie-and-friends-among-the-8th-annual-independent-music-awards-vox-populi-winners.html PRLog http://www.independentmusicawards.com/ima_new/imajudges2009.asp Independent Music Awards - 8th Annual IMA Judges
In a 2005 Down Beat interview, Ulmer opined that guitar technique had not advanced since the death of Jimi Hendrix .cite journal |last=Micallef |first=Ken |year=2005 |month=Dec. |title=James 'Blood' Ulmer: Blues Album of the Year ( Birthright ) |journal= Down Beat |volume=72 |issue=12 |page=62 |publisher=Maher |location=Elmhurst, IL |issn=0012-5768 He stated that technique could advance "if the guitar would stop following the piano," and indicated that he tunes all of his guitar strings to A (musical note)|A .
In spring 2011, Ulmer joined saxophone luminary James Carter (musician)|James Carter 's organ trio as a special guest along with Nicholas Payton on trumpet for a six-night stand of performances at Blue Note New York.
Discography
As leader
Revealing (album)|Revealing (In + Out, 1977)
Tales of Captain Black ( Artists House , 1978)
Are You Glad to Be in America? ( Rough Trade Records|Rough Trade , 1980)
Free Lancing ( Columbia Records|Columbia , 1981)
Black Rock (James Blood Ulmer album)|Black Rock (Columbia, 1982)
http://www.furious.com/perfect/bloodulmer.html A 1998 Interview
http://web.archive.org/web/20091027075718/ http://geocities.com/BourbonStreet/Quarter/7055/Ulmer/ James Blood Ulmer Online Archive including detailed discography
Persondata | NAME = Ulmer, James Blood | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = 2 February 1942 | PLACE OF BIRTH = St. Matthews, South Carolina , U.S. | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Ulmer, James Blood Category:Free funk musicians Category:Soul-jazz musicians Category:American blues guitarists Category:American jazz guitarists Category:American jazz singers Category:American blues singers Category:American male singers Category:People from New York City Category:People from Calhoun County, South Carolina Category:1942 births Category:Living people Category:Pi Recordings artists Category:DIW Records artists Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Moers Music artists Category:Musicians from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
