Ulmer, James Blood - Odyssey 2 x vinyl lps (due to size and weight, this price for the USA only. Outside of the USA, the price will be adjusted as needed)
SKU
28-OGMC409200.1
"Odyssey stands as Ulmer's signature masterpiece, the purest and most accessible showcase for his bold, genre-clashing guitar vision. With minimal accompaniment, Ulmer's guitar is always the meat of the ensemble, especially since his unique tuning (developed for this album) allows him to cover bass parts as well as guitar leads. It's not only Ulmer's finest album, but a certified classic of the modern jazz avant-garde. Now it finally gets the audiophile treatment it deserves, mastered at 45RPM from original analog tapes by, pressed on two 180g LPs, and housed in a case-wrapped gatefold jacket."
For my money, in the very late 70s and early to mid 70s, the best stuff that was happening in the USA was the punk/jazz scene which later metamorphosed and became known as the "downtown sound" or "The Knitting Factory" sound.
But before that happened, there were early explorers of the intersections between jazz and noise and sound and beats. Folks like Curlew, Material, Bill Laswell, Ronald Shannon and the Decoding Society. And James Blood Ulmer, who managed to land a major label deal with Columbia in 1981, making him and Material (who landed a major label deal with Elektra/Musician the same year) the earliest very visible proponents of that sound.
This was Blood's fifth album and the final of three for CBS. For my money, other than the Ornette Coleman-featured "Tales Of Captain Black", is his best album and definitely the best band he ever had, with Charles Burnham on violin, Warren Benbow on drums and Blood on guitar and vocals. This has been unavailable for at least a decade and comes hugely recommended.