|
James Blood Ulmer
"Blues Album of the Year!"
-Downbeat's Readers Poll and Critics Poll
"James Blood Ulmer's contributions to the blues, in his short time he's been gracing it with his artistry, are already irreplaceable."
-David Whiteis, Living Blues
"The missing link between Jimi Hendrix and Wes Montgomery on one hand,
between P-Funk and Mississippi Fred McDowell on the other."
-Greg Tate, Village Voice
The last several years have seen James Blood Ulmer gaining renewed popularity around the world. In 2006, he toured Europe frequently with the "Memphis Blood Blues Band" leading to France's prestigious "Jazzman of the Year" award. His 2005 album, Birthright, was his first ever solo effort. Captured alone on voice and guitar, hazy and fractured songs like "Take My Music Back To The Church" and "Geechee Joe" added a new chapter to the solo blues idiom begun by artists like Robert Johnson, Son House and Leadbelly. The album has quickly become a modern blues cornerstone. It was awarded "Blues Album of the Year" in both Downbeat's "Readers Poll" and "Critics Poll," while receiving a "Blues Music Award" (formerly W.C. Handy Award) nomination for "Best Acoustic Blues Album" by The Blues Foundation. Subsequently, Ulmer began to receive high profile performance invitations, such as slots with Govt. Mule, Susan Tedeschi, Hal Willner's Neil Young Tribute Concert and Antoine Fuqua's documentary, Lightning In A Bottle, filmed live at Radio City Music Hall and presented by Martin Scorsese. In 2007, he will make his first ever appearance at festival of all American rock festivals, Bonnaroo.
Previously described by Village Voice music critic Greg Tate as, "the missing link between Jimi Hendrix and Wes Montgomery on one hand, between P-Funk and Mississippi Fred McDowell on the other," James Blood Ulmer has made a career built on left turns and reinvention. Born and raised during segregation in rural South Carolina, Ulmer's earliest musical roots can be traced back to the Baptist church and the gospel music of which he was raised. In his early 20s, Ulmer went to Pittsburgh where he first began gigging as a professional musician on the Midwest's chitlin' circuit playing with R&B and organ jazz bands. It was after meeting Ornette Coleman upon moving to New York in the early 1970s that Ulmer truly found his voice. Working steadily alongside his harmolodic mentor in the fabled New York City downtown loft jazz scene, Ulmer's guitar work blossomed into a one-of-a-kind idiosyncratic style that transcended genre. He'd go onto release a string of acclaimed albums that remain classics to this day, including Tales of Captain Black, Freelancing, Black Rock and Odyssey. And now in the 21st century, Ulmer continues to progress as his most recent history finds him being recognized as an elder statesman of the blues. At the core, however, remains the one and only James Blood Ulmer.
-Excerpt from Hyena Records
|
