CONWAY, Ark. (Jan. 24, 08) – James “Blood” Ulmer’s Memphis Blood featuring Vernon Reid will appear in concert at Hendrix College Saturday, Feb. 2 at 7:30 p.m. in Staples Auditorium. Admission is free and open to the public; doors open at 7 p.m. For more information, call (501) 450-4545.
Singer. Songwriter. Guitarist. James “Blood” Ulmer has many titles. His sound has been described as both jagged and stinging.
The songs on Ulmer’s most recent CD, Bad Blood in the City, were written in the days after Hurricane Katrina. The songs included “Survivors of the Hurricane," "Katrina" and "Let's Talk About Jesus." Ulmer recorded the songs with the Memphis Blood Blues Band in December 2006 at Piety Street Studios in New Orleans.
Village Voice music critic Greg Tate described Blood as "the missing link between Jimi Hendrix and Wes Montgomery on one hand, between P-Funk and Mississippi Fred McDowell on the other."
Raised during segregation in South Carolina, Ulmer’s roots are planted in gospel music. He began playing professionally in Pittsburgh in his early 20s with R&B and jazz bands. Ulmer found his voice in New York in the early 1970s as his guitar work flourished and he began recording blues albums still hailed as classics.
Ulmer has worked on more than 45 recordings including Tales of Captain Black, Black Rock, Odyssey, and Birthright
The Memphis Blood Blues Band is a seven-piece unit named after the Grammy Award-nominated album Memphis Blood: The Sun Sessions which they recorded in 2001. The group features Vernon Reid on guitar, Charlie Burnham on fiddle, David Barnes on harmonica, Leon Gruenbaum on various keyboards, Mark Peterson on bass and Aubrey Dayle on drums.
The concert is sponsored by Hendrix Special Events. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu/specialevents.
Hendrix, founded in 1876, is a selective, residential, undergraduate liberal arts college emphasizing experiential learning in a demanding yet supportive environment. The college is among 165 colleges featured in the 2008 edition of the Princeton Review America’s Best Value Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.