I should have known better than that; this conversation is not complete without Blood's input.
Like many other musicians affected by tragedy of seeing a great city and many of its residents left festering underwater for days, Ulmer put pencil to paper and immediately penned several songs to express his sadness, anger, and frustration at the calamity. But it wasn't until December, 2006 when he laid down these tracks in a marathon, three-day session.
As explained by second guitarist and producer Vernon Reid (of Living Colour fame), waiting almost two years after the hurricane ravaged New Orleans made more sense because as media and government attention subside over time, this record could serve to keep people from forgetting about the victims.
Backed by Reid and other members of his band from his watershed Memphis Blood, The Sun Sessions blues recordings of 2001 and recorded in the Crescent City itself, the stage was perfectly set for raw, undiluted, and passionate performances. And since Blood is raw, undiluted, and passionate himself, he was clearly in his element for these recordings. And man, it shows.
"Survivors Of The Hurricane" is a groove that sounds like a tamer descendant of the free funk Ulmer was playing in his post-Prime Time days. Tame, that is, until Reid cuts loose with an unhinged solo that harkens back to his own Living Colour days.
"Katrina" is a elegy of sorts, which like "Survivors" is Ulmer's blunt account of the catastrophe. The simple blues verses rise up to climatic choruses while Blood's disgust over the handling of the event culminates in a "talk to the president!" rallying cry.
"Let's Talk About Jesus" is about Ulmer going back to his gospel roots to find redemption though the Son of Man (and a well played, B-3 organ). Irene Datcher supplies reaffirming supporting vocals in one of the more lively, upbeat tracks of the record. Meanwhile, the feisty, post-modern blues "Old Slave Master" mocks the belated help provided by the government.
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
Ulmer is a wonder, eh? i mean, i bought Are You Glad To Be In America? all those years ago and would have never thought he would be playing music like this.
2 - Michael J. West
Mark's right - Ulmer is dizzyingly unique. I know a modern-classical guitarist who says Morton Feldman, Derek Bailey, and Ulmer are his major influences...wouldn't have dreamed he'd be doing a blues record.
3 - Pico
Ulmer has actually been making blues records on and off since around 1990. But it wasn't until Memphis Blood that he got a lot of recognition for his blues side, which is why I call that record a "watershed" for him. Since then, blues seems to be all he does lately. As long as he makes them this good, that's alright by me.
4 - Michael J. West
Guess that tells you I haven't paid the attention to Ulmer that I should have since the late '80s records. *blush*
5 - Pico
No need to blush, Michael.
Everytime I think I know a few things about jazz I read one of your columns and come back down to earth again. The education is always fun, though.
6 - Michael J. West
And since you've got me prowling Amazon for Ulmer records, Pico, I can safely say that the feeling is more than mutual!