NakedSunfish ~ Issue 8
Two
Big Ass Jazz Guitarists:
James Blood Ulmer and Sonny Sharrock 
Since
this is the Big Ass Guitar Issue of Naked Sunfish, I thought it would be
appropriate to do a piece on jazz guitarists. The history of jazz guitar
seemed much too big a topic for a Pot Luck column, though, so I decided
to write about a couple of relatively obscure players that I both enjoy
and also think would be of particular interest to the Naked Sunfish community.
Each mini-bio is followed by a selected discography linked, when possible,
to purchase information on amazon.com, designed to save you the backstrain
of trying to find these
less than common discs in the stores.
1.)James
Blood Ulmer: Blood was born in Pittsburgh sixty years ago and has resided
in New York since 1971. From 1964 to 1967, though, he was
a Buckeye, living in Columbus and giging with organist Hank Marr. Grounded,
then, in the blues and groove based jazz, Ulmer added the missing piece
to his style during an apprenticeship with the great free jazz saxophonist
Ornette Coleman in the 1970s, coming into his own as an adventurous and
daring free-jazz improviser. 1977's Tales
of Captain Black, featuring Coleman & son Denardo on drums, plus
the great Philly-based bassist Jamaldeen Tacuma is a funky, freaky and essential
document of this period in James Blood Ulmer's career. Subsequent releases
like 1983's Odyssey
and his 1980s recordings with the underrated alto saxophonist Arthur Blythe
are somewhat less manic, but no less challenging.
Since
the late '80s, Ulmer has released two different types of records. Alongside
his more "traditional" experimental releases (most notably
those featuring the Music Revelation Ensemble, whose fluid lineup has included
the great saxophonists Pharoah Sanders, David Murray and John Zorn) Blood
has put out several solid, blues-based records featuring his soulful (if
untrained) vocals alongside his angular guitar work. Given the experimental
nature of the music that first brought him recognition, it is probably inevitable--though
no less unfair--that some cynics have seen this return to his blues roots
as something of a sellout rather than a revealing of a different aspect
of his musical personality.
Suggested Discography:
Tales of Captain
Black
Click Here
Blues Preacher
Click
Here
Illusions, w/Arthur
Blythe
Click Here
Cross Fire w/Music Revelation Ensemble
Click Here
2.) The late Sonny Sharrock was another innovative guitarist who thrived in the edgier realms of jazz. Sonny was something of a contradiction; an important influence on generations of rock players (Carlos Santana, the Stooges, Doors and Sonic Youth all cite his influence), Sonny claimed to pay little attention to rock. In an article I read several years ago in the Detroit rock fanzine Motorbooty, Sonny told his interviewer that after seeing Little Richard at the Apollo in the late fifties, he didn't have to bother with the genre--what could he ever hear that would be more rock and roll than that? (I should probably add here that when I saw him play at Stache's a couple months before his death, one of the highlights was an improvisation based on "Bo Diddley") Sonny was interested in great jazz, particularly horn players--specifically Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Moreover, he didn't even view himself as a guitar player, but rather as a horn player with a "fucked-up horn."
All that said, Sonny was a great guitar player, with a unique approach to slide guitar that started with "Blind Lemon" Jefferon and went into the uncharted territory of indetermanent sounds. Sonny first gained recognition in the mid-sixties as a sideman with Coltrane alum Pharoah Sanders, and it is appropriate that the sax legend performs with him on his powerful final recording, 1991's Ask the Ages. Other notable recordings from Sonny include an uncredited, but essential, performance with Miles Davis and John McLaughlin on the 1970 fusion landmark A Tribute to Jack Johnson and the records he made as a member of the post-fusion supergroup Last Exit with Bill Laswell, Peter Brotzman and Ronald Shannon Jackson.
Suggested Discography:
Ask the Ages
Click Here
Tauhid w/Pharoah Sanders
Click Here
A Tribute to Jack Johnson w/Miles Davis
Click Here
Iron Path w/Last Exit
Click Here
Iron Path, the group's magnum opus, is apparently out of print; the link
takes you to what's still available. They're all pretty good--Last Exit
is the furthest out there of the bunch. Cassette Recordings is probably
the best performance, but with the worst sound. The Noise of Trouble is
the safest choice, and is highlighted by a guest appearance by Herbie Hancock
on one track
(Editors note: Click Here to go to Downtown Music Gallery, 11 E. 5th St. N.Y., N.Y. 10003 - a good shop that happens to be featuring several Last Exit CDs - for $10 - $14. Although they list Iron Path - they currently do not have a copy.)