Listening: James "Blood" Ulmer

Odyssey (Columbia) Hadn't heard this in a long time and put it on the CD rotation. I'm reminded just what a beautiful, rocking, open-sounding record it is, how amazingly and unselfconsciously Blood transfromed his sharded, bluesy style into something more like dulcimer music played on an electric guitar, while the violin uses wah-wah for texture. People admire Blood's old boss, Ornette Coleman, for his unique, structured-but-unstructured way of composing and improvising with others. But what they love is that his music is playful and direct and very beautiful, and that's the happy lesson Blood and his crew absorb here. Mark's review ****