James Blood Ulmer, avant-garde electric guitarist and singer, has died at 86
His blues-rooted guitar style helped define free-funk and avant-garde jazz, and he released more than two dozen albums after his Columbia years.
- On June 3, James Blood Ulmer, a singular force in free-funk and avant-garde jazz, died at the Upper Eastside Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in New York City.
- Born in St. Matthews, South Carolina, in 1940, Ulmer sang with the Southern Sons Quartette before leaving the ministry to pursue rock and blues, eventually becoming a devoted acolyte of Ornette Coleman's Harmolodics concept.
- Critic Robert Palmer praised him as "the most original electric guitarist to emerge since the late Jimi Hendrix," while Ulmer's style blended drones with dissonance alongside vanguardists like saxophonist David Murray.
- His prolific career included three major label albums in the early 1980s, followed by blues projects like Memphis Blood: The Sun Sessions , produced by guitarist Vernon Reid.
- After playing his final concert at the 2024 Detroit Jazz Festival, Ulmer retired due to declining health; his family confirmed his death, stating "his music was fearless, and so was his spirit.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Renowned American guitarist, singer and composer James "Blood" Ulmer has died. He combined various musical genres with an avant-garde approach. Rolling Stone magazine called him the most original electric guitarist since Jimi Hendrix.
Appreciation: Guitar great James ‘Blood’ Ulmer, dead at 86, was a sonic trailblazer
SAN DIEGO — Many up-and-coming musicians would be flattered to be hailed by both The New York Times and Rolling Stone as “the most original electric guitarist to emerge since the late Jimi Hendrix.” But not six-string innovator James “Blood”…
Pioneering Jazz And Free Funk Guitarist James Blood Ulmer Dead At 86
James Blood Ulmer, the guitarist and singer who redefined what an electric guitar could do in jazz, has died at the age of 86. He passed away on June 3, 2026. Born Willie James Ulmer in St. Matthews, South Carolina on February 8, 1940, he built a sound critics described as jagged and stinging, paired […] The post Pioneering Jazz And Free Funk Guitarist James Blood Ulmer Dead At 86 appeared first on That Eric Alper.
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