James Blood Ulmer’s Odyssey

Odyssey, which features James “Blood” Ulmer (Guitar), Warren Benbow (drums) and Charles Burnham (Violin), was first recorded in 1983. This self-titled recording, often considered Ulmer’s seminal work, was described as “avant-gutbucket,” leading writer Bill Milkowski to describe the music as “conjuring images of Skip James and Albert Ayler jamming on the Mississippi Delta.”

Odyssey performs diatonic harmolodic music based on Ornette Colemans musical system in which harmony is free from the dictates of chord changes. Blood’s signature use of unison tuning on his guitar and his unusual rhythmic sense makes him one of the few instrumentalists with his own instantly identifiable sound. Because there is no bass player in the band, Blood’s guitar must occupy everything from the upper to the lower registers while at the same time acting as both a solo and rhythmic voice. Odyssey’s Back in Time is their first studio release since 1983.

This is a fearless band with superb chemistry.
-Paul Olsen, All About Jazz