Applying his psychedelic guitar mastery to be-bop, blues, funk and gospel, James Ulmer's fusion of styles has blurred the lines between free-form jazz and acid rock and made him a revered figure in the world of experimental music. Born in St. Matthews, South Carolina, on February 8, 1940, he played in his father's gospel group with his brothers and friends and used to sneak away from his strict Christian household to watch a local blues musician. Leaving home at 14, he cut his teeth with soul and R&B groups in Pittsburgh and Ohio before landing in New York in 1970, where visionary saxophone player Ornette Coleman became a huge influence as he developed his wild, improvised style. One of the few electric guitarists to become a significant part of the experimental jazz scene, he recorded with the Rashied Ali Quintet and Arthur Blythe before his acclaimed debut solo album Tales of Captain Black was released in 1979. His raw, soulful tones mixed with funk swagger and meandering, avant-garde jazz licks created the albums Are You Glad to Be in America? (1980), Free Lancing (1981) and Black Rock (1982), which sounded like a mad collision of Miles Davis, George Clinton and Jimi Hendrix. With its nods to African music, raucous energy and a melting pot of ideas, his 1983 album Odyssey was seen as a landmark in sonic adventurism. During the '80s and '90s he was also part of the bands Music Revelation Ensemble, Phalanx and Third Rail and later collaborated with Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid on Memphis Blood: The Sun Sessions (2001), Birthright (2005) and Bad Blood in the City (2007) and though his music became more steeped in the blues it remained psychedelic and experimental. James Blood Ulmer last studio album, In and Out, was released in 2009. James Blood Ulmer in Manhattan on June 3, 2026, at the age of 86.
