Odyssey the Band - Back in Time (Pi)

It’s great news whenever guitarist/vocalist JAMES “BLOOD” ULMER, electric violinist CHARLES BURNHAM, and drummer WARREN BENBOW reunite. This is ODYSSEY THE BAND’s third album, one per decade so far (after 1983’s eponymous effort on Columbia, under Ulmer’s name, and 1998’s live Reunion on Knitting Factory—at least the pace is picking up a bit).

Ulmer is the mastermind who combines blues, rock, funk, and harmolodic jazz (ORNETTE COLEMAN’s system in which HARmony, rhythm [MOtion], and meLODy are equal and anything can happen), and his unique guitar tone and style (and, in this band, his ability to simultaneously play the bassline) and his piquantly drawled vocals (on about half the tracks) are crucial, but so are Burnham’s soulfully slippery fiddling (whether soloing or counterpointing Ulmer’s singing), complete with plenty of wah-wah pedal, and Benbow’s precisely pointed amalgam of fife-and-drum rhythms and funk grooves.

The only misstep is a lyrically leaden ode to prenuptial agreements that’s apparently serious (“Let’s Get Married,” which has to be the least enthusiastic song to ever have this title). Everything else is positive: Ulmer faves “Little Red House,” “Love Nest,” “Happy Time,” and “Woman Coming” are reprised, one of Ulmer’s favorite riffs is recycled on the scorching “Open Doors,” some new Ulmer tunes are worthy additions to his canon, and Benbow’s instrumental “Free for Three” ends the album on a haunting free-improv note.