Skip to content

James ‘Blood’ Ulmer – Are You Glad To Be In America? (1980) (Rough Trade – ROUGH 16)

James ‘Blood’ Ulmer – Are You Glad To Be In America?
Vinyl transfer in  24-bit 192 khz |FLAC | Artwork at 300 dpi
889 MB (24/96) 1.56 GB (24/192)| FileFactory | Free jazz, Funk
1980 Rough Trade (UK) | ‘Porky Prime Cut’

Well, greetings for the “new” year of 2025.  That’s all I will say about that.  This is the second record from guitarist James ‘Blood’ Ulmer, who had once been in Ornette Coleman’s band.  While his debut featured Ornette and was produced by him, this one shows how comfortable he was doing his own thing, while being produced by Mayo Thompson of Red Krayola fame.
James ‘Blood’ Ulmer – Are You Glad To Be In America? (1980) (Rough Trade – ROUGH 16)

Don “Sugarcane” Harris – Sugar Cane’s Got The Blues (1972) (MPS 1977)

Don “Sugarcane” Harris – Sugar Cane’s Got The Blues
Vinyl rip in 24-bit/192 kHz | FLAC |  300 dpi scans | Jazz, Rock
1.74 GB (24/192) + 934 MB (24/96)
1977 MPS Records  ||  Orig. rel. 1972

Is the stunning cover art the best thing about this record? The album documents when fiddle wizard* Don “Sugarcane” Harris played the Berlin Jazz Festival with a lineup that featured Robert Wyatt on drums and Volker Krieger on guitar.  Terje Rypdal also guests on one odd song choice here, Song For My Father.

Don “Sugarcane” Harris – Sugar Cane’s Got The Blues (1972) (MPS 1977)

Raulzinho – À Vontade Mesmo (1965) (1980 RCA Japan)

 

Raulzinho – À Vontage Mesmo
1980 RCA Japan RCA – PG-143 ||  Orig. rel. 1965 RCA Victor (Brasil)

Do you like trombone? Do you like JAZZ trombone? Do you like trombone as the lead instrument on every track of a jazz record? If you answered “no” to any of those questions, well I still encourage you to give this album a shot. Because although trombonist Raul de Souza is the leader, it’s the band itself who is the star here. As a unit they’re just unreal. In the 1970s, Raul de Souza would have a comfortable career in the U.S. making jazz-funk / fusion records.Raulzinho – À Vontade Mesmo (1965) (1980 RCA Japan)

Azymuth – Telecommunication (1982) (2023 Jazz Dispensary Top Shelf)

Azymuth – Telecommunications
Vinyl rip in 24-bit/192 kHz | Brazilian Jazz
Distributed as FLAC (24/192, 24/96) and mp3 (320kbs)
1982 Milestone || 2022 Jazz Dispensary (Craft) || Ltd. ed

Hey, remember when this blog featured Brazilian music?  Me neither!  Well, the relative inutility of music blogs in 2023 notwithstanding, I’m going to make a New Year’s resolution to start visiting Brazil more often, sonically at least, in 2024.  Why not start early with this classic recording from Brazilian jazz outfit Azymuth, recorded in Brazil but not released there, this was originally issued by Milestone. It is presented as part of the Jazz Dispensary Top Shelf series by Craft Records in a limited run.Azymuth – Telecommunication (1982) (2023 Jazz Dispensary Top Shelf)