Are You Glad To Be in America?

Although James Blood Ulmer has not occupied much of my jazz interests, I couldn't pass on an opportunity to hear him perform at one of the more interesting jazz venues. Unfortunately, I incorrectly assumed Ulmer was playing with a band, but it was just 90+ minutes of Ulmer wailing on his electric guitar with thick electric Delta Blues licks, folksy singing, Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Chile, and "Rock Me Baby." It was very calming music, reaching back to the origins of the blues while straying far from jazz throughout. Indeed, it was drenched in the blues and a quasi-West African desert blues mood that left the audience mesmerized. Ulmer joked throughout the show, even referencing Trump in "Are You Glad to be in America?" Personally, I would have preferred some jazz material, although one song dedicated to Ornette Coleman may have been from the latter's fusion years.