James "Blood Ulmer
Odyssey
A disciple of Ornette Colman, James Blood Ulmer has quietly cranked out more than 20 albums in the last 30 years, and heads the very short list of master jazz guitarists of that era (alongside maybe only Sonny Sharrock). As an introduction to Ulmer’s massive body of work, Odyssey is damn near unimpeachable, swimming effortlessly between free jazz, electric blues, and funk. Assisted only by violinist Charles Burnham and drummer Warren Benbow, Ulmer twists though a series of what feel almost like avant-garde lullabies. He alternates instrumental tracks with vocal tracks, and when Ulmer sings—as he does on “Little Red House,” “Are You Glad To Be In America” and “Please Tell Her”—he sounds a little like the classic bluesman and a little like Jimi Hendrix. On “Please Tell Her” he sings, “Please please tell her that I had to go/ And I could hardly stay to wake her/ I love her so,” and when the song shifts abruptly into album closer “Swing & Things” it’s not difficult to imagine that Ulmer is already gone, chasing after the ephemeral beauty that Odyssey conjures.
-Marty Brown, 2007
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