An Ayler Xmas, Volume 2 (Soul What/ESP-Disk)
Mars Williams
Released in 2018
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About:
Saxophonist Mars Williams is most famous as a member of The Psychedelic Furs, but has proven his jazz bona fides with Peter Brötzmann and Ken Vandermark, and while guiding Liquid Soul and Hal Russell’s NRG Ensemble, to name just a few. (His rock CV is also varied, including Akron New Wave band The Waitresses and work with Billy Idol, Ministry, Massacre, and many more.) He also leads the Albert Ayler tribute band Witches & Devils, and out of their holiday concerts grew a unique tradition. One look at this album’s track titles and you’ll understand the concept here. One listen and you’ll hear that, as odd as that concept may seem, it’s brilliantly effective, with the disparate melodies working together in their common projection of joy and celebration. And it’s worth noting that Williams’s worlds collide on track 3 here, featuring The Waitresses’ biggest hit, “Christmas Wrapping”, on which Williams played on the original recording.
After enjoying “An Ayler Xmas” Vol. 1 last year, ESP invited him to make vol. 2 a co-release of Williams’s Soul What label and ESP-Disk’, the top Ayler label. Mars will be supporting the release with both Witches & Devils’ annual Xmas show and tours in the U.S. and Europe using renowned local musicians.
Track Listing:
1. Xmas Medley (Albert Ayler) 15:15
2. O Tannenbaum – Spirits – 12 days of Christmas (Albert Ayler) 11:35
3. Love Cry – Christmas Wrapping (Albert Ayler / Chris Butler) 04:41
4. Carol of the Drum – Bells – O Come Emmanuel – Joy to the World (Albert Ayler / Katherine K. Davis) 17:24
5. Universal Indians – We Wish You a Merry Xmas (Albert Ayler) 04:49
Personnel:
Mars Williams: saxophones, toy instruments (all tracks)
Jeb Bishop: trombone (track 1)
Kent Kessler: bass (tracks 1, 3 and 4)
Brian Sandstrom: bass, guitar, trumpet (tracks 1, 3 and 4)
Fred Lonberg-Holm: cello (tracks 1, 3 and 4)
Josh Berman: cornet (tracks 1, 3 and 4)
Steve Hunt: drums, percussion (tracks 1, 3 and 4)
Jim Baker: piano, arp synth, viola (tracks 1, 3 and 4)
Hermann Stangassinger: bass (tracks 2 and 5)
Didi Kern: drums, percussion (tracks 2 and 5)
Christof Kurzmann: electronics, vocals (tracks 2 and 5)
Thomas Berghammer: trumpet (tracks 2 and 5)
Recorded live at The Hungry Brain, Chicago (tracks 1, 3 and 4) by David Zuchowski, and at Porgy & Bess, Vienna, Austria (tracks 2 and 5), by Porgy & Bess
Mixed and Mastered by David Zuchowski
Design: Rich Good
Review:
It wouldn’t be a jazz Christmas without saxophonist Mars Williams hosting concerts of boldly reimagined Christmas songs in praise of both the special season and free-jazz titan Albert Ayler (1936–’70). It’s a tradition that began on Chicago’s improv scene in 2008 and has since spread, with performances throughout the States and Europe; two Xmas volumes document parts of a few recent concerts. (Williams got the idea for Ayler-Xmas mashups when he heard the saxophonist inject a quote from “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” into “Heavenly Home,” found on Live In Greenwich Village: The Complete Impulse Recordings.) On Volume 2, Williams not only displays a distinct personality with his expressive playing in the questing spirit of Ayler but also in the manner he arranges and rabidly stokes bonfires kindled with his fine Witches & Devils band. The program includes three tracks recorded with that band at The Hungry Brain in Chicago, and two tracks recorded with Austrian musicians at the venue Porgy & Bess in Vienna. “Christmas Wrapping,” grafted onto Ayler’s “Love Cry,” is a tune Williams has played while touring with rock band The Waitresses. For a change of pace, Christof Kurzmann sings the lyrics to “O Tannenbaum” in a medley that also includes Ayler’s “Spirits” and “The Twelve Days Of Christmas.”
Frank-John Hadley (DownBeat)
