Mars Williams presents:
An Ayler Xmas
Tour 2022
The Psychedelic Furs Saxophonist & Longtime Leading Figure Of Chicago’s Avant-Garde Jazz Scene Released Volume 5 Of His Critically-Praised Holiday Music Series
“I'm here to tell you that jazz, in the form of a man from Mars, has come to save Christmas…Even if you haven't heard the name Mars Williams before, if you've rocked out to the Waitresses' holiday fave ‘Christmas Wrapping’ you undoubtedly know the sound of his saxophone… In what has become a twisted tradition… the brass man for The Psychedelic Furs rings in the season…with his unique variations on mashed up holiday music and free jazz ala Albert Ayler… that will melt the brain of any fan with their love for pop and skronk cross-wired… These ain’t Christmas carols for traditionalists, but Mars Williams has started a new tradition that seems so right in line with a year that has broken all semblance of normalcy. Regardless, An Ayler Xmas Vol. 4 is wild and unpredictable fun, no matter the times we’re in…. Like the previous three volumes, this edition of the Ayler Xmas recordings is a mind-bending romp and comes very highly recommended”
– Combined Sample Press Quotes (See Below)
For many years Witches & Devils, the long-running Albert Ayler tribute band led by saxophonist Mars Williams, have existed mostly as an excuse to get together and perform an annual Chicago holiday concert.
For these memorable concerts, Williams merges a variety of Christmas songs with the indelible repertoire of free-jazz titan Ayler, who brought a scalding intensity to tunes rooted in gospel and spirituals. It may sound silly, but the performances are no joke, and they produce a seriously joyful noise. The band tackles warhorses like “O Tannenbaum” and “12 Days of Christmas” in the same smoldering fashion as their take on Ayler: the rhythm section bubbles and generates a kind of levitating intensity during the wonderfully expressive, multilinear theme statements, while the horns state familiar melodies in loose cries and the embellished lines of each player pull apart and coalesce in a naturalistic frenzy. Williams designs clever medleys that appropriate the pulse and feel of particular Ayler tunes as the band rips through a greatest-hits lineup of holiday tracks.
- Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader
TOUR 2022
For the last 8 years, along with the annual Chicago performances, Williams brought "An Ayler Xmas", to select cities in the US & Europe, featuring local improvisers from each host city. These concerts highlight the unique personalities of the individual players Williams convenes, using some of the same material as jumping off points, each group creates an entirely unique sound that pays tribute to Ayler, the spirit of Xmas and joyous improvisation.
This December 2022, Williams will bring “An Ayler Xmas” to select cities in Scandinavia and the EU, featuring local improvisers from each region. The Tour concludes at Constellation, Chicago, with the only US show for 2022.
Dec. 07 - Trondheim, Stillverk1 (NO)
Dec. 08 - Trondheim, Dokkhuset (NO
Dec. 15 - Oslo, Victoria, Nasjonal Jazzscene (NO)
Dec. 16 - Dortmund, Domicil (DE)
Dec. 17 - Dachau, Kultur-Schranne (DE)
Dec. 18 - Chemnitz, Neue Sächsische Galerie im Tietz (DE)
Dec. 19 - Magdeburg, Forum Gestaltung (DE)
Dec. 20- Bonn, Kreuzung an Sankt Helena (DE)
Dec. 21 - Vienna, Martinschlössl (AT)
Dec. 23 - Chicago, Constellation (US)
AYLER XMAS MUSICIANS 2022
DEC. 07 - TRONDHEIM, Stillverk1 (NO)
Mars Williams - saxophones
Mette Rasmussen - saxophones
Emil Bø - trombone
Oscar Grönberg - piano
Nicolas Leirtrø - double bass
Tollef Østvang - drums
DEC. 08 - TRONDHEIM, Dokkhuset (NO
Mars Williams - saxophones
Mette Rasmussen - saxophones
Emil Bø - trombone
Guro Kvåle - trombone
Peder Overvik Stuberg - guitar
Oscar Grönberg - piano
Nicolas Leirtrø - double bass
Tollef Østvang - drums
DEC. 15 - 21 (OSLO/EU)
Mars Williams - Sax, Suona, Toy Instruments
Thomas Berghammer - Trumpet
Knox Chandler - Guitar, Electronics
Christiam Meaas Svendsen - Bass
Klaus Kugel - Drums, Percussion
DEC. 23 - CONSTELLATION, CHICAGO
Featuring Witches & Devils:
Mars Williams - Sax, Suona,Toy Instruments
Josh Berman – Cornet
Jim Baker – Piano, Viola, Arp Synth
Kent Kessler – Bass (Dec.11, 12, 17)
Krzysztof Pabian – Bass (Dec.18)
Brian Sandstrom – Bass, Guitar, Trumpet
Steve Hunt – Drums
Peter Maunu - Guitar, Violin
LP’s & CD’s Available at:
MarsWilliams.bandcamp
AstralSpirits.bandcamp
An Ayler Xmas Vol. 5
Featuring: WITCHES & DEVILS
Mars Williams-Sax, Suona, Toy Instruments
Josh Berman - Cornet
Jim Baker - Piano, Viola, Arp Synth
Brian Sandstrom - Bass, Guitar, Trumpet
Steve Hunt - Drums
Maunu - Violin
Kent Kessler – Bass (Track 1, 2)
Krzysztof Pabian – Bass (Track 3)
Release: December 3, 2021
Label: Astral Spirits & Soul What Records
CD & digital download.
An Ayler Xmas - Sample Reviews
“In what has become a twisted tradition, saxophonist Mars Williams puts together groups in various cities late each year to perform his unique variations on mashed up holiday music and free jazz ala Albert Ayler. ..One would think that a combination of Ayler and Xmas music would be a disaster of global proportions. But it is not. In fact, Ayler’s outside-oriented tunefulness can be directly applied to traditional melodies… Williams also arranges medleys of these pieces, reinterpreted with free jazz interludes and blowouts. Thus, on these recordings, the holiday spirit pokes its head out from time to time but gets immediately smashed by Williams’ hammer of musical blasphemy. You hear twinges of the Xmas music, a lot of Ayler, all put together in an irreverent – and yet joyous – fashion…. as the decorations start going up and socially-distanced gatherings take place, don’t hesitate to have your own atypical holiday celebration with Williams and company. Like the previous three volumes, this edition of the Ayler Xmas recordings is a mind-bending romp and comes very highly recommended. -Avant Music News
“This year, the album that ‘got me’ is from the Psychedelic Furs’ saxophonist. Mars Williams put together not one, but two completely difference ensembles — one in Chicago and one in New York — to present not merely jazz versions of Yuletide songs, but Yuletide songs as how they might had been interpreted by wack jazz great Albert Ayler. This is not a new revelation, either, because An Ayler Xmas Vol. 4: Chicago vs. NYC is Williams’ fourth annual set of live recordings from concerts the year before that he’s made based on this fantastic idea… These ain’t Christmas carols for traditionalists, but Mars Williams has started a new tradition that seems so right in line with a year that has broken all semblance of normalcy. Regardless, An Ayler Xmas Vol. 4: Chicago vs. NYC is wild and unpredictable fun, no matter the times we’re in.” – Something Else Reviews
A few years ago, saxophonist Mars Williams released An Ayler Xmas, a raucous convergence of holiday music and the visionary free jazz of Albert Ayler. The concept has been a gift that keeps on giving; Williams is now on his fourth edition in this series, Mars Williams Presents An Ayler Xmas Vol. 4: Chicago vs. NYC, As its name implies, the album features personnel from two locales. Disc 1 involves heavy hitters on the Chicago scene, like cornetist Josh Berman and bassist Kent Kessler. On Disc 2 — which includes the medley “Noel Omega - Change Has Come For The Three Kings Who Lit The Tiny Candles in NYC,” premiering here — Williams enlists Steve Swell on trombone, Nels Cline on guitar, Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello, Hilliard Greene on bass and Chris Corsano on drums. The interplay is supercharged, especially during an free-improv stretch around the midpoint of the track. And needless to say, Ayler’s “Change Has Come” is a theme that has some cultural resonance this holiday season.-WBGO-FM
“Even if you haven't heard the name Mars Williams before, if you've rocked out to the Waitresses' new wave holiday fave "Christmas Wrapping" you undoubtedly know the sound of his saxophone…, the brass man for The Psychedelic Furs rings in the season with the Ayler Xmas series -- an exploratory extension of his acclaimed tribute outfit Witches & Devils honoring the late New York City free jazz icon Albert Ayler. [that] will melt the brain of any fan with their love for pop and skronk cross-wired.” - Billboard
“FOUR Stars: I'm here to tell you that jazz, in the form of a man from Mars, has come to save Christmas. Mars Williams’ Ayler Xmas is back… The mash-up works, just like cranberry sauce and turkey. The music sizzles with nostalgia for the innocence of youth, both the lost naiveté of holidays past and the origins of free jazz” – All About Jazz
“Some people can't get enough Christmas music, but others can't run away from it fast enough. For years, Chicago free-jazz veteran Mars Williams has been refining a concept that can bring the two camps together under the same roof. Bringing things together is what he does: a prodigal multi-instrumentalist), he's played rock with the Psychedelic Furs and the Waitresses, free jazz with the likes of Hal Russell, Peter Brötzmann, and Paal Nilssen-Love, and a bit of everything in the long-running Liquid Soul, whose freewheeling fusion combines jazz, funk, dance music, hip-hop, and more….he got the idea to combine Ayler's music—which often subjects simple, folk-derived themes to extremes of timbre and emotion—with traditional Christmas . The resulting music is intense enough to vaporize typical holiday treacle, but it's still recognizably seasonal”- Chicago Reader
“Jazz and Christmas have gone together like egg and nog for decades… saxophonist Mars Williams adds a welcome twist to the yuletide season with Mars Williams Presents An Ayler Xmas, The band’s performance style—which favors high-energy horn solos, spacy keyboard flourishes and rhythms that shift between march time, swing time and no time—nods toward the sound that Ayler projected with the ensembles he toured with during the last five years of his career.” - Downbeat