Free Lancing

Free Lancing
Studio album by
James Blood Ulmer
Released1981
Recorded1981
GenreJazz
Length47:31
LabelColumbia
ProducerJim Fishel, Roger Trilling, James "Blood" Ulmer
James Blood Ulmer chronology
No Wave
(1980) 		Free Lancing
(1981) 		Black Rock
(1982)

Free Lancing is an album by American guitarist James Blood Ulmer, recorded in 1981 and released on the Columbia label.[1] It was Ulmer's first of three albums recorded for a major label.

Reception

The AllMusic review by Brian Olewnick stated that "it's Ulmer's stinging guitar lines — rough-hewn, corrosive, and scrabbling — throughout this recording that make it one of his finest".[2]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide[3]

Trouser Press described both Free Lancing and the subsequent Black Rock as "technical masterpieces, making up in precision what they lack in emotion (as compared to Are You Glad to Be in America?). Working to expand his audience, Ulmer concentrates more on electric guitar flash, and actual melodies can be discerned from the improvised song structures (improvisation being one of the keys to harmolodics)."[4]

Track listing

All compositions by James Blood Ulmer

  1. "Timeless" – 4:22
  2. "Pleasure Control" – 5:00
  3. "Night Lover" – 5:22
  4. "Where Did All the Girls Come From?" – 4:38
  5. "High Time" – 4:00
  6. "Hijack" –
  7. "Free Lancing" – 4:42
  8. "Stand Up to Yourself" – 4:37
  9. "Rush Hour" – 5:32
  10. "Happy Time" – 5:11

Personnel

References

  1. ^ James Blood Ulmer discography accessed January 12, 2018
  2. ^ a b Olewnick, B. AllMusic Review accessed July 9, 2010
  3. ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 197. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
  4. ^ Margasak, Peter; Graham Flashner (2007). "James Blood Ulmer". Trouser Press. Trouser Press LLC. Retrieved July 28, 2010.