Third Rail

The jazz-funk supergroup Third Rail assembled an extraordinary roster drawn from the downtown New York art scene. Its roster featured guitarist James Blood Ulmer, whose résumé included the Music Revelation Ensemble, Ornette Coleman’s group, and multiple solo albums; drummer Joseph “Ziggy” Modeliste, previously a member of New Orleans’ definitive band the Meters; vocalist, keyboardist, and composer Amina Claudine Myers from the avant-jazz collective Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians; the extraordinary keyboardist Bernie Worrell, renowned for his work with Talking Heads and the Parliament/Funkadelic collective; and bassist/producer Bill Laswell, whose ubiquitous presence on New York recordings since 1981 became almost statutory.

In 1993 Ulmer joined forces with Laswell and Modeliste to launch Third Rail as an avant-jazz counterpart to the Cream-style power trio. Worrell and Myers soon augmented the lineup, establishing the ensemble as a regular attraction at the Knitting Factory and additional New York venues. For several years the group also performed within the P-Funk Revue. Its debut album, South Delta Space Age, appeared in 1995. A 1997 successor recorded with Jerome “Bigfoot” Brailey replacing Modeliste on drums was initially slated for release as As It Is by Third Rail, yet ultimately surfaced as James Blood Ulmer’s Blue Blood, preserving the original personnel and compositions.