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.

Free Lancing
Studio album by James Blood Ulmer
Released	1981
Recorded	1981
Genre	Jazz
Length	47:31
Label	Columbia
Producer	Jim Fishel, Roger Trilling & James "Blood" Ulmer
James Blood Ulmer chronology
No Wave (1980) Free Lancing (1981) Black Rock (1982)

Reception

The Allmusic review by Brian Olewnick awarded the album 4 stars, and states, "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
Source	Rating
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

• James Blood Ulmer - electric guitar; vocals (tracks 2, 4 & 8)
• Amin Ali - electric bass
• G. Calvin Weston - drums
• Ronnie Drayton - second guitar (2, 4 & 8)
• Diane Wilson, Irene Datcher, Zenobia Konkerite - background vocals (2, 4 & 8)
• David Murray - tenor saxophone (5, 6 & 9)
• Oliver Lake – alto saxophone (5, 6 & 9)
• Olu Dara - trumpet (5, 6 & 9)

References