Odyssey is an album by American guitarist James Blood Ulmer recorded in 1983 and released on the Columbia

Columbia Records

Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...

 label. It was Ulmer's final of three albums recorded for a major label.

Reception

The Allmusic review by Steve Huey awarded the album 5 stars and states "Odyssey stands as James Blood Ulmer's signature masterpiece, the purest and most accessible showcase for his bold, genre-clashing guitar vision... All the pieces come together to produce not only Ulmer's finest album, but a certified classic of the modern jazz avant-garde". The album has been listed as part of a suggested "core collection" by the Penguin Guide to Jazz.

Track listing

All compositions by James "Blood" Ulmer

1. "Church" - 4:54
2. "Little Red House" - 4:45
3. "Love Dance" - 5:05
4. "Are You Glad to Be in America?" - 3:40
5. "Election" - 3:26
6. "Odyssey" - 5:01
7. "Please Tell Her" - 4:10
8. "Swing & Things" - 4:32
   • Recorded at the Power Station
     Avatar Studios
     Avatar Studios, formerly known as The Power Station, is a recording studio at 441 West 53rd Street in Manhattan, New York City.The building was originally a Consolidated Edison power plant; but after a period of vacancy, it was used as a sound stage for the television game show Let's Make a Deal...
     
     , New York in March-May 1983

Personnel

• James "Blood" Ulmer - guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  , vocals
• Charles Burnham - violin
  Violin
  The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
  
  
• Warren Benbow
  Warren Benbow
  Warren Benbow is a jazz drummer who has worked with Nina Simone, Larry Willis, Eddie Gomez, Olu Dara, Walter Bishop, Jr., and was an original member of James Blood Ulmer's band Odyssey....
  
   - drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....