The musical genius of Skip James

It's hot and I have been cooling off with loads of country blues.
One celebrated artist stands somewhat outside the norm -- the excellent Skip James.
I have barely listened to anything but "The Complete Early Recordings of Skip James" during the past two days.
Here is how Robert Palmer described James' music, in a 1984 edition of the New York Times:
"Skip James was perhaps the most fluent and quick-fingered of all country blues guitarists. His arcane minor-modal tunings and eerie high-pitched singing create a strange, hushed atmosphere that is by turns mystically enraptured and profoundly unsettling. His piano playing is even more angular and unpredictable."
That last sentence says so much.
James was an anomaly in the country blues era because he was a virtuoso on both the guitar and the piano. In fact, I hear hints of avant-garde jazz in James' work.
Maybe that's just the heat making me hear that, but I think I'm correct.
Skip James is a musical genius.