James Blood Ulmer

Vinyl Records and Rare LPs:

	Are You Glad To Be In America? Used - LP - ROUGH 16 1980 UK Original. Appears Unplayed. James Blood Ulmer, Guitar; Amin Ali, Electric Bass; Ronald Shannon Jackson, Drums; C. Calvin Weston, Drums; David Murray, Tenor Sax; Oliver Lake, Alto Sax; Olu Dara, Trumpet; William Peterson, Rhythm Guitar. Tunes Are: "Layout," "Pressure," "Interview," "Jazz Is The Teacher (Funk Is The Preacher)" "See-Through," "Time Out," "T.V. Blues," "Light Eyed," "Revelation March" And "Are You Glad To Be In America." Appears Unplayed. Alternate Cover Art To Both U.S. And French Versions. more
	Are You Glad To Be In America? Used Import - ROUGH 16 1980 UK import original. "Are You Glad To Be In America?" is a seminal album by guitarist and vocalist James Blood Ulmer, released in 1980. Known for his distinctive blend of jazz, blues, and rock, Ulmer's work on this album is often associated with the free jazz movement, showcasing his innovative approach to guitar playing. The album features a raw and energetic sound, characterized by Ulmer's unique use of dissonance and rhythm. It includes contributions from several notable musicians, including Ronald Shannon Jackson on drums, who adds a dynamic and powerful percussion backdrop to Ulmer's intricate guitar work. The album's title track, "Are You Glad To Be In America?", stands out for its driving rhythm and political undercurrents, reflecting the socio-political climate of the time. The album remains an influential work in Ulmer's discography, highlighting his ability to transcend conventional genre boundaries. It captures a period in music history when artists were boldly experimenting with form and content, contributing to the evolution of jazz into the avant-garde. Ulmer's approach, often described as "harmolodic," draws from his collaboration with jazz legend Ornette Coleman and showcases a fearless exploration of musical possibilities. The album has been reissued multiple times, ensuring its availability to new generations of listeners who continue to appreciate its groundbreaking qualities. "Are You Glad To Be In America?" represents a crucial point in the fusion of jazz with other contemporary music styles, solidifying James Blood Ulmer's place as a pioneering figure in modern music. more
	Black Rock Used - LP - ARC 38285 1982 Original In Shrink Wrap. Glossy, Unplayed Condition. “Black Rock Was James Blood Ulmer's Second Columbia Album, A Follow-Up To The Previous Year's Free Lancing. This Was Also Blood's First Attempt To Take The Harmolodic Jazz Of Ornette Coleman And Marry It Directly To Rock's Visceral Appearance And Funk's In-The-Pocket Groove. Certainly All His Records From Captain Black On Displayed This Penchant In Varying Degrees, But All Were Linked To The Deep Exploration Of Harmolodic's Scalular Heights And Unknown Territories. Black Rock Is An In-Your-Face Amalgam Of Hard Rock And Punk Funk, Full Of Angular Riffs And Smokin' Rhythms And Popped Basslines Courtesy Of A Band That Included Drummers Grant Calvin Weston And Cornell Rochester; Rhythm Guitarist Ronnie Drayton, Who Freed Blood Up To Turn Riffs Inside Out And Solo At The Same Time -- Something He Does Live To This Day; Bassist Amin Ali; And Contributions From Sam Sanders On Saxes And Flutes And Vocals By Irene Datcher On One Cut……. Black Rock Is Among Blood's Strongest Records. As Tough As Are You Glad To Be In America And The Music Revelation Ensemble's No Wave, Yet More Accessible Than Either. This Is A Fitting Introduction To Blood Ulmer's Unique, Knotty, And Truly Original Guitar And Composition Style. Black Rock Is All Funk, Rock, Jazz, And Punk, Indivisible And Under A One World Groove.” Thom Jurek, AMG. more
	Free Lancing Used Import - 85224 1981 UK original. Gold promo stamped on back cover. Featuring David Murray, Oliver Lake and others. "Free Lancing" is an album by American guitarist James Blood Ulmer, released in 1981. This record marks Ulmer's first solo venture with major label Columbia Records and is considered a landmark in the genre of free funk—a fusion of free jazz and funk elements. The album showcases Ulmer's distinctive guitar style, which is characterized by a raw, blues-infused approach and an adventurous use of harmonics and dissonance. The music on "Free Lancing" is rhythmically intense and features complex, improvisational structures, underpinned by a strong rhythm section. The album consists of seven tracks, each highlighting Ulmer's innovative blending of styles. It features contributions from notable musicians such as drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson, bassist Amin Ali, and jazz keyboardist G. Calvin Weston. Standout tracks include "Where Did All the Girls Come From," which combines tight funk grooves with avant-garde jazz sensibilities, and "Jazz Is the Teacher," a track that underscores the album's blend of groove and experimentation. "Free Lancing" is widely regarded as a crucial work in Ulmer's discography and a significant influence on the development of genre-defying jazz music in the 1980s. more
	Freelancing Used - LP - ARC 37493 1981 Original Featuring David Murray, Oliver Lake And Others. Shrink Wrap Intact With Custom Hype Sticker. more
	Freelancing Used - LP - ARC 37493 1981 US original. Strong VG++ copy. Featuring David Murray, Oliver Lake and others. more
	Freelancing Used - LP - ARC 37493 1981 Original Featuring David Murray, Oliver Lake And Others. Appears Unplayed. more
	Live At The Caravan Of Dreams New - LP - CDP 85004 Sealed 1986 Original. more
	Live At The Caravan Of Dreams Used - LP - CDP 85004 Rare 1986 Original. Appears Unplayed. more
	Tales Of Captain Black Used - LP - AH 7 Stunning 1979 Gatefold Original With 8 Page Booklet. Tiny top left corner ding. Features Ornette Coleman! Van Gelder in deadwax. "Tales of Captain Black first appeared in 1978 on the Artist House label in America. It was a label set up for the purpose of allowing visionary artists to do exactly what they wanted to do. They had issued a couple of records by Ornette Coleman previously, so it only made sense to issue one by his then guitarist, James Blood Ulmer. With Coleman on alto, his son Denardo Coleman on drums, and bassist Jamaladeen Tacuma on bass, Ornette's harmolodic theory of musical composition and improvisation (whereby on a scale of whole tones, every person in the ensemble could solo at one time and stay in this new harmony) was going to get its first test outside of his own recordings. Blood was, before he was a jazz player, a funk guitarist who had tenured with Black Nasty and a side project of George Clinton's in Detroit, as well as playing as a sideman to organ groovemaster Big John Patton. Having an ally in Tacuma, Ulmer brought funk deep into free jazz territory. The disc opens with "Theme From Captain Black," a furious exercise on the interplay between Ulmer and Tacuma's root contribution. Ulmer sounds like a sideways Jimi Hendrix driving home the rhythmic riff from "Voodoo Chile" as Tacuma charges toward Denardo to undercut the time and Coleman soars over the top. But we also hear Ulmer slipping his fills in, faster than lightning, always in the cut and rolling those strings out like a sax player. On "Moon Shine," we hear the blues angle of harmolodics assert itself. Long, repetitive melody lines are played between Coleman and Blood; there's a modal feel, but it's subverted by the lack of flats. Blood augments all his chords to be played as drone-like as possible, so then even though the piece appears to be played in a minor key, after the first two measures it makes no difference because everyone is soling, not along a set of changes but a melodic line introduced at the beginning. Here is where Blood shines. His fiery arpeggios cut across the bass and rhythm lines and become their own tempo while never leaving the ensemble. The melody restates itself only often enough for the microtonal alignment between Coleman and Blood to become apparent. They are playing in different keys, and through different modal inventions, but sound in unison. On "Revelation March," which Blood recorded on Are You Glad to Be in America, is indicative of the complexities of harmolodics; it also offers a glimpse of this music out from under Coleman's tutelage. The previous melodies were all from Coleman's fake book. Here, Blood introduces the anarchy he's interested in, allowing fragmentary ideas to assert themselves as the sole reason to engage in group improvisation. Tacuma and Denardo are more than up to the challenge. Tacuma trades single lines with Blood's triple-timed fours and chords, creating a kind of melodic invention on the fly. Denardo treats the tune as if it were a march in hyperspeed. Only Coleman dares to play his loping, easy, graceful pace, blues -- wailing it above the chaos. It's beautiful. Safe to say, there are no weak tracks on Tales From Captain Black, and even the redo of "Revealing" from Ulmer's previous album show an unbridled excitement and an extrapolation of that tune's rhythmic and harmonic elements into something more sinister, more driven, more angular, more mercurial. Captain Black marks the real beginning of Ulmer's career as a leader. It has been a bumpy, restless ride since that time with many creative and professional ups and downs, but it hardly matters. Records like this one make him the most visionary and brilliant electric guitarist in a generation." All Music Guide – Thom Jurek more