Cross Fire (Music Revelation Ensemble album)

Cross Fire is an album by James Blood Ulmer's Music Revelation Ensemble, with guest saxophonists Pharoah Sanders and John Zorn, recorded in 1996 and released on the Japanese DIW label.[1][2]

Cross Fire
Studio album by
Released1997
RecordedDecember 17 & 18, 1996
StudioAvatar, New York City
GenreJazz
Length53:03
LabelDIW
DIW 927
ProducerJames Blood Ulmer & Kazunori Sugiyama
Music Revelation Ensemble chronology
Knights of Power
(1996)
Cross Fire
(1997)
James Blood Ulmer chronology
Forbidden Blues
(1996)
Cross Fire
(1997)
Reunion
(1998)

Reception edit

The Allmusic review by Don Snowden awarded the album 4 stars, stating, "Music Revelation Ensemble seems to be the context that Blood Ulmer reserves his strongest melodies for, and he plays with the kind of fire and invention that made him a major figure. Cross Fire probably isn't the best place to plunge in and explore the music, but it's a very worthy addition to the catalog".[3]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic     [3]

Track listing edit

All compositions by James Blood Ulmer

  1. "Law" – 5:36
  2. "Suspect" – 7:10
  3. "Devotion" – 4:30
  4. "Sweet" – 5:18
  5. "Proof" – 6:36
  6. "My Prayer" – 9:14
  7. "Evidence" – 7:59
  8. "Backbeat" – 6:40

Personnel edit

  • James Blood Ulmer – guitar
  • Calvin "Hassan Truth" Jones – acoustic bass
  • Cornell Rochester – drums
  • John Zorn – alto saxophone (tracks 1, 3, 5 & 8)
  • Pharoah Sanders – tenor saxophone (tracks 2, 4, 6 & 7)

References edit

  1. ^ James Blood Ulmer discography, accessed January 15, 2018
  2. ^ Jazzlists: DIW Records: CDs 900 to 947, accessed January 15, 2018
  3. ^ a b Snowden, D., Allmusic Review accessed July 11, 2014