James Blood Ulmer – Free Lancing (Vinyl LP | EU Original | 1981)

James Blood Ulmer – Free Lancing is guitarist James Blood Ulmer's first album for CBS/Columbia, released in 1981. Ulmer had played with Ornette Coleman in the 1970s and carried Coleman's harmolodic concept over to the electric guitar. On Free Lancing he combines that approach with funk, rock and soul: the core band with Amin Ali on bass and G. Calvin Weston on drums is joined on some tracks by horn players Oliver Lake, David Murray and Olu Dara, on others by vocals and a second guitar. Ulmer produced it himself. This copy is the 1981 European CBS edition (cat. no. 85224).

Pressing details

• Label / Cat. no.: CBS 85224
• Format: Vinyl LP, Album
• Pressing: EU original
• Country: Europe
• Year of this pressing: 1981
• Genre: Jazz, Soul & Funk, Jazz-Funk

Condition

• Condition: Second hand
• Media: NM-
• Cover: VG+

Graded to Goldmine standard (see Vinyl Grading). The images are our own scans of the actual copy for sale.

Tracklist

All tracks composed and arranged by James Blood Ulmer.

Side A

1. Timeless
2. Pleasure Control
3. Night Lover
4. Where Did All The Girls Come From?
5. High Time

Side B

1. Hijack
2. Free Lancing
3. Stand Up To Yourself
4. Rush Hour
5. Happy Time

Personnel

James Blood Ulmer (guitar, vocals), Amin Ali (electric bass), G. Calvin Weston (drums).

Horns (High Time, Hijack, Rush Hour): Oliver Lake (alto saxophone), David Murray (tenor saxophone), Olu Dara (trumpet).

Vocal tracks (Pleasure Control, Where Did All The Girls Come From?, Stand Up To Yourself): Ronnie Drayton (second guitar); Diane Wilson, Irene Datcher, Zenobia Conkerite (backing vocals).

Production: James Blood Ulmer; associate producers: Roger Trilling, Jim Fishel; engineer: Tim Geelan.

FAQ

What is harmolodics?
Harmolodics is the musical concept developed by Ornette Coleman in which harmony, melody and rhythm are treated as equals and each musician responds freely to the others. Ulmer is regarded as one of the first guitarists to put it into practice.

Is this the original pressing?
It is the 1981 first European edition on CBS (85224), pressed in Haarlem. In the US the album came out at the same time on Columbia.

What does Media NM- / Cover VG+ mean?
NM- (Near Mint minus) means the record is close to new with at most minimal signs of play. VG+ (Very Good Plus) means the sleeve shows light wear. All grades are explained on our Vinyl Grading page.

Do you have more James Blood Ulmer records?
Yes, for example the follow-up James Blood Ulmer – Black Rock from 1982. More titles are in our Jazz collection.