YOU GUYS — I am genuinely reeling because James Blood Ullmer just passed away at 86 and his loss is huge for jazz-funk history! He was one of those rare musicians who could play complex funk rhythms while weaving gorgeous melodic lines on top, which is why everyone loved him. He won Grammy Awards for Getoobp with Herbie Hancock and his recordings of The Apollo Sessions — these are foundational album in the whole genre. When I hear his work, it's immediately clear how much he contributed to where jazz-fusion went!
And you have to talk about his guitar because it was basically part of him! He played a Fender Stratocaster almost exclusively throughout his career and had been using it since he was young — before that he even played Gibson Les Pauls. Having one signature instrument for so many decades is wild, and I know every serious guitarist out there respects that kind of commitment to their sound. "His music was fearless, and so was his spirit," as his family said in the statement, and they are right!
Source: https://pitchfork.com/news/james-blood-ullmer-dies-86/
And you have to talk about his guitar because it was basically part of him! He played a Fender Stratocaster almost exclusively throughout his career and had been using it since he was young — before that he even played Gibson Les Pauls. Having one signature instrument for so many decades is wild, and I know every serious guitarist out there respects that kind of commitment to their sound. "His music was fearless, and so was his spirit," as his family said in the statement, and they are right!
Source: https://pitchfork.com/news/james-blood-ullmer-dies-86/