Departures of note

James Blood Ulmer was born Willie James Ulmer on February 8, 1940, in St. Matthews, South Carolina. He began his musical career in the late 1950s, playing in soul‑jazz and funk groups across Pittsburgh, Columbus and Detroit before relocating to New York in the early 1970s.\n\nIn New York he joined Ornette Coleman’s pioneering ensembles, becoming the first electric guitarist to record and tour extensively with Coleman and absorbing the avant‑garde “harmolodic” approach that would define his style. His debut album, Tales of Captain Black, was co‑produced by Coleman, and his follow‑up, Are You Glad to Be in America?, earned him a reputation for socially charged songwriting and a cult following among punk and rock audiences.\n\nDuring the early 1980s Ulmer signed with Columbia Records, releasing a string of groundbreaking albums—Free Lacing, Black Rock and Odyssey—that blended virtuosic blues guitar with tight funk arrangements and experimental jazz improvisation. Critics praised his fearless playing, with Rolling Stone calling him the most original electric guitarist since Jimi Hendrix. He also formed the Music Revelation Ensemble and the Phalanx collective, collaborating with artists such as David Murray, Arthur Blythe, and Ronald Shannon Jackson.\n\nUlmer continued to record and perform into the 2000s, exploring deeper blues territory while maintaining his avant‑garde edge, and he founded the American Revelation label to support independent music. He died on June 3, 2026, at the age of 86, leaving a legacy as a pioneering figure who reshaped the boundaries of jazz, funk and blues.