#james blood ulmer

[infiniterichesinalittleroom]

Not just a physical release, although there is that, too, but to be held by an artist at the crucial moment of expression — to be awed, second by second, at the way a song or piece of music unfolds, to be held on the edge of tears by the drama of it all, and to be, as an audience member, an essential participant in the drama itself. That is a wonderful thing. With Nina Simone, of course, and The Saints, many times. Neubauten in their prime. The Dirty Three. I experienced it the first time I saw Crime and the City Solution in some shithole in Sydney in the late seventies — a kind of crucial beauty. Swans. The Cramps. Johnny Cash. Emmylou Harris singing at a Hal Willner event, Led Zeppelin in Kooyong Park in Melbourne back in the mid-seventies, Bryan Ferry singing 'The Butcher Boy' alone at the piano, Bob Dylan in a tiny club in Rio. So thank God, quite literally, for music, because it's one of the last remaining places, beyond raw nature, that people can feel awed by something happening in real time, that feeling of reverence and wonder. Fucking Al Green running up and down the aisles, screaming his head off, a James Blood Ulmer gig in a tiny club in London, Martin Rev's legendary fifteen-minute gig upstairs at the Garage in Islington, back in the nineties. These are sacred moments.

Nick Cave • Faith, Hope and Carnage

[jt1674]

[jazzdailyblog]

Rashied Ali: The Innovator of Free Jazz Drumming

Introduction: Rashied Ali, born Robert Patterson ninety-one years ago today on July 1, 1933, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is one of the most influential drummers in the history of jazz. Known for his innovative approach to free jazz drumming, Ali played a crucial role in shaping the genre and left an indelible mark on the music world through his collaborations, recordings, and unique style.…

[aquariumdrunkard]

[soundgrammar]

James Blood Ulmer: Odyssey

[gotankgo]

two more from 1981

[takmiblog]

James Blood Ulmer

Odyssey

[jpbjazz]

LÉGENDES DU JAZZ

ARTHUR BLYTHE, UN MUSICIEN HORS-NORMES

“The music that I deal with has elements of bebop to ballad, swing to sweet, blues to boogie, and pop to rock. If I have the ability to do that, I should be able to do whatever I want to do in those areas — because I am dealing with the tradition, and my culture, and my heritage.”

- Arthur Blythe

Né à Los Angeles le 5 juillet 1940, Arthur Murray Blythe était le troisième d’une famille de trois garçons (un quatrième était mort en bas âge). Le père d’Arthur était mécanicien, sa mère maîtresse de maison et couturière à temps partiel. Après le divorce de ses parents, Arthur était allé vivre avec sa mère à Chicago. Il était éventuellement retourné à Los Angeles à l’âge de dix-neuf ans.

C’est à Los Angeles que Blythe avait rencontré le pianiste Horace Tapscott et qu’il était devenu membre de l’Union of God’s Musicians and Artists Ascension, dont Tapscott était un des principaux représentants.

À l’âge de neuf ans, inspiré par le rhythm n’ blues et la musique swing qu’adorait sa mère, Blythe lui avait demandé de lui acheter un trombone, mais celle-ci lui avait offert un saxophone alto à la place.

Blythe avait étudié la musique avec Kirkland Bradford, un ancien membre du big band de Jimmie Lunceford. On raconte que le style de Blythe rappelait alors celui de saxophonistes d’après-guerre comme Earl Bostic. Blythe avait joué du rhythm n’ blues jusqu’au milieu de son adolescence alors qu’il avait découvert le jazz. Au milieu des années 1960, Blythe avait fait partie de l’Underground Musicians and Artists Association (UGMAA), qui avait été fondée par Horace Tapscott. C’est d’ailleurs avec Tapscott que Blythe avait enregistré un premier disque en 1969 intitulé ‘’The Giant Is Awakened.’’ UN ESPRIT SANS COMPROMIS Blythe était dans la trentaine lorsqu’il avait déménagé à New York au milieu des années 1970, car il se sentait frustré par les limites de la scène musicale de Los Angeles. Connu pour son indépendance et son esprit sans compromis, Arthur était d’ailleurs surnommé ‘’Black Arthur’’ à Los Angeles. Très engagé socialement, Blythe n’avait jamais mâché ses mots et détestait le racisme sous toutes ses formes.

Afin de gagner sa vie, Blythe avait travaillé comme gardien de sécurité avant d’être invité à accompagner en 1975 le batteur Chico Hamilton avec qui il était resté durant deux ans. De 1976 à 1979, Blythe, dont la sonorité était déjà facilement reconnaissable par son côté tranchant (qui s’apparentait davantage à un saxophone ténor qu’à saxophone alto), avait joué avec l’orchestre de Gil Evans, les trompettistes Lester Bowie et Woody Shaw, le batteur Jack DeJohnette et le pianiste McCoy Tyner. Parallèlement, Blythe avait formé son propre groupe avec le pianiste John Hicks, le conbassiste Fred Hopkins et le batteur Steve McCall, avec qui il avait joué à Carnegie Hall et au Village Vanguard en 1979.

Dès son arrivée à New York, Blythe avait adopté une instrumentation pour le moins inusitée, notamment sur l’album ‘’Lenox Avenue Breakdown’’ sur lequel figuraient le tuba de Bob Stewart, la guitare électrique de James Blood Ulmer, la basse électrique de Cecil McBee, la flûte de James Newton, les percussions de Guilhermo Franco et la batterie de Jack DeJohnette. En 1977, le critique du New York Times Robert Palmer avait décrit le style de Blythe de la façon suivante: “He is sly; he teases the beat, toys with polyrhythms and leaves gaping holes in the fabric of the music, only to come roaring back in with plangent held tones or crisp, punching riffs.”

Même après avoir signé avec Columbia en 1978, Blythe avait insisté pour conserver son autonomie musicale. Il faut dire que Blythe n’était plus un enfant de choeur, car il était dans la quarantaine au moment de la signature de son contrat. Blythe avait enregistré neuf albums aux styles diversifiés dans le cadre de son contrat avec Columbia. Même lorsque Columbia avait refusé de renouveler son contrat en 1987, Blythe avait continué de jouer et d’enregistrer régulièrement. En 1977, Blythe s’était joint au groupe du batteur Steve Reid, avec lequel il avait enregistré l’album ‘’Rhythmatism.’’ Dans sa revue des albums des années 1970, le critique Robert Christgau avait salué en 1981 la puissance du jeu de Blythe en déclarant que : "like so many of the new players Blythe isn't limited to modern methods by his modernism—he favors fluent, straight-ahead Coltrane modalities, but also demonstrates why he belongs on a tune for Cannonball."

En 1977, Blythe avait commencé à enregistrer comme leader de ses propres formations, d’abord sur l’étiquette India Navigation puis pour les disques Columbia de 1978 à 1987. Le tuba de Bob Stewart était mis particulièrement en valeur sur ces albums, et prenait la place habituellement réservée à la contrebasse. Des albums comme ‘’The Grip’’ et ‘’Metamorphosis’’ avaient contribué à démontrer la maturité de Blythe, tout autant que son habileté à jouer dans des contextes tant de free jazz que plus traditionnels avec un style tout aussi personnel. En 1982, le critique Francis Davis avait d’ailleurs reconnu la capacité de Blythe à réconcilier les styles musicaux en écrivant que le saxophoniste ‘’may well prove to be the magic figure of reconciliation, the force for consensus, that modern jazz has been looking for in vain since the death of John Coltrane in 1967.” Ouverte à plusieurs tendances, la musique de Blythe alternait entre le bebop, les balades, le blues, le boogie, le pop et le rock. Comme Blythe l’avait expliqué à l’historien Ben Sidran en 1986 : “The music that I deal with has elements of bebop to ballad, swing to sweet, blues to boogie, and pop to rock. If I have the ability to do that, I should be able to do whatever I want to do in those areas — because I am dealing with the tradition, and my culture, and my heritage.”

Dans son album ‘’In the Tradition’’, Blythe avait d’ailleurs démontré sa grande connaissance de l’histoire du jazz en interprétant des compositions de Duke Ellington, Fats Waller et John Coltrane.

Blythe avait également collaboré à plusieurs albums-phares des années 1980, notamment comme membre du groupe Special Edition de Jack DeJohnette. Blythe avait aussi été membre du groupe tout-étoile The Leaders. Après la mort de Julius Hemphill en 1995, Blythe avait pris sa relève au sein du World Saxophone Quartet. À compter de l’an 2000, Blythe avait enregistra plusieurs albums pour Savant Records. Parmi ceux-ci, citons l’album ‘’Exhale’’ avec le pianiste John Hicks, le tubiste Bob Stewart et le batteur Cecil Brooks. DERNIÈRES ANNÉES Après avoir divorcé de sa seconde femme, Blythe était retourné en Californie en 1998 pour prendre soin de ses enfants. Même s’il donnait beaucoup moins de concerts, Blythe avait continué d’enregistrer des albums pour les disques Savant au début des années 2000. Atteint de la maladie de Parkinson, Blythe avait dû mettre sa carrière musicale en veilleuse. Blythe avait déclaré en 2000 lors d’une entrevue accordée au San Diego Union Tribune: “I would love for everyone to accept my music, and I would love to make money, but only by keeping my music on the cutting edge”.

Arthur Blythe est mort à Lancaster, en Californie, le 27 mars 2017. Il était âgé de soixante-seize ans. Blythe laissait dans le deuil sa troisième femme, Odessa Blythe, ainsi que deux fils, Chalee et Arthur Jr., également issus de son second mariage. Il avait aussi deux demi-frères, Bernard Blythe et Aldrich Neal, ainsi qu’une demi-sœur nommée Daisy Neal. Ses deux premiers mariages s’étaient terminés sur un divorce.

Le saxophoniste ténor David Murray, dont Blythe était un des modèles, avait déclaré après sa mort : “It was pretty much undisputed that Arthur Blythe was the best alto saxophonist out there on the West Coast.” Même s’il avait commencé sa carrière à la fin des années 1960, Blythe avait produit ses œuvres les plus novatrices à la fin des années 1970 et au début des années 1980. c- 2022-2024, tous droits réservés, Les Productions de l’Imaginaire historique

SOURCES :

‘’Arthur Blythe.’’ Wikipedia 2022. ‘’Arthur Blythe, saxophonist.’’ RUSSONELLO, Giovanni. ‘’Arthur Blythe, Jazz Saxophonist Who Mixed Sultry and Strident, Dies at 76.’’ New York Times, 28 mars 2017. SCARUFFI, Piero. ‘’Arthur Blythe.’’ Internet, 2006.

[therecordchanger62279]

18 NEW PLAYLISTS

     I’ve been building more playlists for my iTunes file so that I can get more use out of my collection. It enables me to listen on the computer when I’m working, or at the exercise room when I’m working out. And it’s a great opportunity to mix and match artists, albums or styles so that all the music sounds fresh, and new. Context matters. And most music fits together far better than any radio programmer or Spotify algorithm would lead you to believe.

     Here’s the latest. The number of tracks is in parentheses.

1971 (283) 1972 (317) 1973 (377) An overview of each entire year in popular music. Most of it is Rock, Pop, and Soul but there's a sprinkling of Jazz, and Country as well.

Beg, Scream & Shout (144) The complete box set of the same name – a Rhino set of 144 great Soul singles of the 1960s.

Bill Evans (31) Sourced from The Complete Riverside Recordings box set, and The Best of Bill Evans on Verve. Three of Evans’ classic albums for Riverside along with an overview of his recordings for Verve.

Dexter Gordon (27) A collection of 70s recordings sourced from The Complete Prestige Recordings box (four of his best albums on the label), and closes with his Manhattan Symphonie album for Columbia.

James “Blood” Ulmer (50) A mix of 40 years of his recordings as a solo artist, and including the Music Revelation Ensemble, The Odyssey Band, and The Thing band recordings. His first album, Revealing, from 1977 kicks it off.

Jefferson Airplane (79) The first five albums complete, a selection of tracks from Bark, Early Flight, and the live Thirty Seconds Over Winterland, too. It closes with the 1989 self-titled reunion album.

John Wetton (80) Sourced from the excellent The Studio Recordings Anthology Vol. 1, along with his work with King Crimson, Uriah Heep, U.K., Asia, and the Steve Hackett Genesis Revisited project.

Laswell Mixes (18) Collects all three Bill Laswell remix albums of the works of Miles Davis, Panthalassa, and Panthalassa: The Remixes, and Carlos Santana, Divine Light - Reconstruction & Mix Translation.

Miles (Circle in The Round) (10) Straight recreation of the Miles Davis anthology Circle in The Round – a brilliant overview of Miles’ career with Columbia from 1955-1975.

Miles (Directions) (12) Another recreation of another Miles anthology from Columbia spanning his first 20 years with the label. This is not available on CD, nor is it available to stream, but all the tracks have been issued elsewhere since its 1981 release. I just brought them all together to recreate the album.

Miles Live (41) One of my better ideas, I think. This collects five editions of live recordings from The Miles Davis Quintet spanning the years 1960-1965. What makes it unique is that each of the quintets features a different saxophonist – none of whom is John Coltrane. Stockholm 1960 features Sonny Stitt, In Person Friday Night at The Blackhawk (1961) features Hank Mobley, Live at the 1963 Monterey Jazz Festival has George Coleman, Miles in Tokyo (1964) showcases Sam Rivers, and Highlights from The Plugged Nickel (1965) is with Wayne Shorter. Great opportunity to hear how the quintet evolved through the years, and how each of the saxophonists changed Miles’ sound.

Monk on Riverside (75) 12 Monk studio and live classic albums sourced from the massive 15 CD The Complete Riverside Recordings Box.

Northern Soul (124) Sourced from the Northern Soul box set, and The Decca Scene: Northern Soul CD. The best music from that uniquely British club scene.

Sonny Rollins (14) A trio of Rollins albums beginning with The Freedom Suite from 1958, The Bridge from 1962, and the Live in Graz, Austria November 12, 1966 trio set. Rollins in three different settings playing at his best.

Tacocat (25) Until a couple of weeks ago, I’d never heard this band. I picked up their first two CDs after hearing about them on a music podcast. Three girls and a guy with a girl group/pop/punk/alternative bent. Lots of hooks, and lots of fun. Reminded me of the 1980s indie scene before everything turned serious, and dark. NVM, and Lost Time are available direct from Sub Pop at very reasonable prices.

Virtuosos (132) Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Vangelis, John Paul Jones, Brand X, Steve Howe, Phil Manzanera, and Anthony Phillips – all great players collected in one place in a music clinic free for all. I wanted something different, so I brought great players together who really didn’t fit elsewhere.

I also split The Bangles playlist into a group list (89), and a side projects list (137). My two PJ Harvey lists are now three – the original albums (86), the demo albums (68), and a live only playlist (55). The 1969 (300) and 1970 (370) playlists were expanded by nearly double. The 1969-1973 playlists now total more than 1600 songs. Large playlists are best for genres, or year in music lists, and best heard on shuffle. Shorter playlists work better for artists, I find. The larger lists are films, the shorter ones work as snapshots.

[onetwofeb]

James Blood Ulmer & Ornette Coleman Theme From Captain Black

[burlveneer-music]

Franck Biyong - Moonwatching 2 - new album from Cameroonian guitarist

Franck moves the limitations of African music with Moonwatching II, extending the palette of newer sounds in creative guitar music. As Afropop and Nigeria's Afrobeats are recognized worldwide, African rock is almost missing, although it’s one of the fundaments of Western rock music. Is Franck Biyong the African Jimi Hendrix? Well ... Let’s say it this way: Moonwatching II combines the abrasive sonics of James Blood Ulmer with the melodic structures of early progressive and art-­‐rock. So yes, Franck (who by the way never intended to copy Jimi) naturally deals with similar topics and sounds in his music… Driven by eerie melancholy, surreal guitars, ghost voices and strong musicianship, the psychedelic music does not get transfigured through the gentle but clear melodic lines...With Moonwatching II, Franck Biyong swaggers from Funkadelic style rock before leading us to Frippertronics-­‐likesound scapes...  CREDITS Cello - Tess Crowther Vocals: Melissa James (2 & 7), Haylen Namvarazad (2 & 6) Drums: Emmanuel Yakobo (3), Gabriel Oladayo (All other tracks) Piano, Fender Rhodes (4), Hammond Organ (2) - Florian Pellissier Electric Bass - Asaph Uzele (1), Antonella Mazza (2, 5, 6 & 7) Ghost voices: Silayio, Emma, Owuor, Haylen, Prisca, Ernest, Tony, Sage, Linda, Brian & other helpful spirits & ghosts Tape Effects, Percussion, Bass (3 & 4), All Guitars - FB

[jt1674]

[jazzdailyblog]

The Sonic Exploration of James Blood Ulmer: A Deep Dive into "Odyssey"

Introduction: James Blood Ulmer, an avant-garde guitarist and vocalist, has long been celebrated for his ability to merge various musical genres into a cohesive and groundbreaking sound. His 1983 album Odyssey stands as a testament to this skill, often cited as his magnum opus. Released by Columbia Records, Odyssey captures Ulmer’s unique vision and remains a critical favorite in modern jazz…

[riseofthecommonwoodpile]

hot diggity dog, this might be the best round i've ever done with this whole thing. two 10's, five 9's or 9.5's, and less than 1/3rd below 8.0. Now That's What I Call Music™

Alien Vampires- Drag You to Hell (8.0/10)

AMM- The Crypt: 12th June 1968: The Complete Session (9.0/10)

Arnold Dreyblatt & The Orchestra of Excited Strings- Propellers in Love (8.0/10)

Bambee- Fairytales (6.5/10)

Ben Frost- By the Throat (8.5/10)

Black Flag- Family Man (8.5/10)

Britney Spears- Blackout (8.5/10)

Burial- Pre Dawn / Indoors (7.0/10)

Caroline K- Now Wait For Last Year (7.5/10)

Cave In- Until Your Heart Stops (8.5/10)

Current 93- I Have A Special Plan For This World (9.0/10)

Dag Nasty- Can I Say (7.5/10)

Damião Experiença- Planeta Lamma (3.0/10)

The Dead C- Eusa Kills (8.0/10)

Death Grips- The Powers That B (8.0/10)

Frank Zappa- Jazz from Hell (8.5/10)

Front Line Assembly- Tactical Neural Implant (8.0/10)

Handsome Family- Through the Trees (8.0/10)

Houndog- Houndog (8.5/10)

James Blood Ulmer- Are You Glad To Be In America? (8.5/10)

James Chance & the Contortions- Buy (9.0/10)

Jazmin Bean- Worldwide Torture (7.5/10)

Jeromes Dream- Completed 1997-2001 (10/10)

KOTO- プラトニック プラネット (Platonic Planet) (8.0/10)

Lambchop- How I Quit Smoking (8.0/10)

Lou Reed & Metallica- Lulu (9.5/10)

LIZ- Planet Y2K (8.5/10)

Mercury Rev- Yerself Is Steam (10/10)

Nicki Minaj- Pink Friday (Deluxe Edition) (5.0/10)

Phish- The Story of the Ghost (7.5/10)

Scene Queen- Bimbocore Vol. 2 (7.0/10)

Wednesday- Rat Saw God (9.0/10)

XTC- Skylarking (8.5/10)

YA-KYIM- STILL ONLY ONE (7.0/10)

[therivershit]

James Blood Ulmer and Charles Burnham at the Caravan of Dream 1985 by Craig Howell