James Blood Ulmer, the innovative guitarist who fused avant-garde jazz with funk and the blues, died on June 3, according to a statement his family published via DownBeat . A cause of death was not immediately available, but his family said Ulmer died “peacefully.” He was 86. Known for a unique approach to improvisation and his warm, husky voice, Ulmer settled into a niche of his own in the late Seventies and early Eighties. Before releasing his own albums, Ulmer played electric guitar in free-