James Blood Ulmer

James Blood Ulmer is a guitarist whose application of Ornette Coleman’s harmolodic theory to electric guitar created a fusion of free jazz, blues, and funk. The guitarist’s career demonstrates consistent exploration of this approach across more than 180 releases, from early soul jazz work in Pittsburgh and Columbus to his New York period beginning in 1971. Born Willie James Ulmer, he played with organ groups led by Hank Marr and John Patton before relocating to New York, where Ulmer worked briefly with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and studied extensively with Coleman from 1972 to 1977.

Work with Coleman established Ulmer’s harmolodic guitar vocabulary. “Tales of Captain Black” (1979) on Artists House featured Coleman, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, and Denardo Coleman, documenting Ulmer’s integration of blues phrasing with Coleman’s melodic concepts. The Columbia recordings showcased this synthesis: “Free Lancing” (1981), “Black Rock” (1982), and “Odyssey” (1983) incorporated funk rhythms and electric textures. The Odyssey band with violinist Charles Burnham and drummer Warren Benbow continued as Ulmer’s primary vehicle. Around 1980, he formed Music Revelation Ensemble, co-led with David Murray, and the quartet Phalanx with George Adams in the mid-1980s.

Beyond harmolodic jazz-funk, Ulmer explored blues contexts in later recordings produced by Vernon Reid, including “Memphis Blood: The Sun Sessions” (2001) and “No Escape from the Blues” (2003). The discography spans labels including Artists House, Columbia, Rough Trade, and Blue Note, documenting a progression from soul jazz through harmolodic experimentation into blues-oriented projects that maintained his distinctive guitar approach.