What The Critics Say:
MARS WILLIAMS - Chicago Reader, by Neil Tesser
NYC JAZZ RECORD Magazine - BEST OF 2021
CINGHIALE “Exit… Stage Left!” - Album of the Year
NYC JAZZ RECORD Magazine - BEST OF 2018
Mars Williams Presents: An Ayler Xmas - NYC Concert of the Year
NYC JAZZ RECORD Magazine - BEST OF 2017
Mars Williams Presents: An Ayler Xmas - Album of the Year
Mars Williams Presents: An Ayler Xmas - Tribute Album of the Year
“Extraordinary Popular Delusions Play Free Jazz Two Centuries Deep,”
Chicago Reader, by Howard Mandel
AN AYLER XMAS
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
BONESHAKER
Boneshaker - Fake Music (Soul What Music, 2019) ****
Boneshaker, the free jazz trio of Chicagoan reeds player Mars Williams, double bass player Kent Kessler, and Nilssen-Love, was established eight years ago, after the three musicians who all played in the Peter Brötzmann´s Chicago Tentet since 2002, wished to do something together.
Fake Music is a live recording from Elastic Arts, Chicago, captured in January 2017 and is the fourth album from Boneshaker. The sarcastic title suggests that this trio joins the fight against global stupidity - as close comrade of Nilssen-Love, Mats Gustafsson, always emphasizes (and even led a trio called Fake the Facts), but it also holds some truth about Boneshaker aesthetics. Boneshaker was never the typical power-free-jazz trio aiming to crunch your bones and explode in your ears. Sure, this trio can give any listener a deep sonic massage that would remind her or him to the most elastic qualities of the bones structure, but it will also seduce this kind of listener with soulful and delicate grooves. Boneshaker is a more than that. A tight unit that likes to investigate the outer fringes of music, explore ancient traditions and best of all, works perfectly when all influences are let loose.
The three pieces highlight the elastic, open-minded spirit of Boneshaker. The first one, ”Miakoda”, begins rooted deeply in the fiery free jazz legacy, propelled by Nilssen-Love merciless drive, but mid-piece Williams transforms it into a lyrical and touching ballad. Then Nilssen-Love and Kessler introduce a ceremonial pulse that morphs into a gentle and quiet, African, kalimba-based song. The following “Lovin' The Buzz” toys with playful bird calls from Williams, answered by the hard-rolling rhythm section, but also visits, in its fast ride, colorful Ethio-jazz and funky territories. Here, a bass solo from Kessler changes the spirit of this piece into a soulful one, but a potent soul mixed with free jazz. The last piece, “Echo Clang”, morphs from a mysterious and exotic ritual, possibly intended to exorcise fake facts and fake music from our world, into a cathartic celebration of real, bone-shaking music, totally free from any fake bones, music or facts.
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BONESHAKER - “Thinking Out Loud”
Salt Peanuts by: Eyal Hareuveni
Boneshaker – Thinking Out Loud (Trost Records, 2017) ****½
Free Jazz Collective By: Gustav Lindqvist
Boneshaker - Boneshaker (Trost Records, 2012) ****
By Martin Schray
MISCELLANEOUS FREE JAZZ PROJECTS
Rafael Toral, Mars Williams, Tim Daisy - Elevation (Relay Records, 2019) ****½
Rafael Toral, Mars Williams, Tim Daisy - Elevation
Rafael Toral, Mars Williams, Tim Daisy – “Elevation” (Relay Recordings, 2019)
Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet: Ultraman vs. Alien Metron / Mars Williams
(Corbett vs. Dempsey, 2022)
CHICAGO REED QUARTET - Western Automatic
Williams, Haker Flaten, Daisy - Moments Form (Idyllic Noise, 2013) ****
Chicago Reader review of the Harrison Bankhead Quartet CD "Velvet Blue" by Peter Margasak
Mars Williams / Tollef Østvang: “Painted Pillars”,
All About Jazz by Mark Corroto
Mars Williams / Tollef Østvang “PAINTED PILLARS”
Translated excerpt:
”Before giving it a spin, there was no doubt this record was going to be superb knowing it's a duo of a drummer with a master sax player.
Indeed, it was. No matter if it's a tenor, alto or soprano, Mars, a player who devotes himself to the essence of free jazz, delivers a multitude of sounds in rapid successions from brilliant, wild and stormy blows to meditative sequences to rich, soulful sounds. His playing is out of this world. You'll hear (of course)? some bells among the toys played in between.”
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CINGHIALE CD Review
by: John Sharpe/ NYC Jazz Record Sept. 22
Exit...Stage Left reunites Ken Vandermark with fellow reed maven Mars Williams under the moniker Cinghiale, a banner resurrected from a partnership that last recorded in 1996. By that time they had worked together in a variety of groups, including the NRG Ensemble and not least the Vandermark Five. They wrote new material for a couple of festival shows in early 2019, which were so successful that they took it on tour, where this album was captured. Even though only a duo, Cinghiale comes on like a saxophone quartet (think World as much as ROVA). On seven pieces (four by Vandermark, three from Williams) they combine adventurous tonal control with foot-stomping drive in carefully crafted arrangements slipping in and out of punchy unisons and contrapuntal lines, spiced by sassy asides, solo breaks and spontaneous fills, all woven into an intricate thread. There is humor too, as Williams’ instrumental command stretches to an evocation of a wailing infant during his part-dreamy, part-fractious “The Baby Barks”. It is a high-octane set of full-on engagement.
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LIQUID SOUL
NEW CITY Music Top 5: June 2021 - Liquid Soul “Lost Soul Vol.1” at #3
Liquid Soul is well known for its no-holds-barred jazz-funk jams, and the Chicago-based band's fourth album, Evolution (Shanachie), is packed with irresistibly grooving tunes that will have you up and dancing from the first track. The band kicks things off with the high-spirited jam "Action Jackson" and spices its funk with dance-floor rhythms, techno flavors and chanted vocals on "La La." On "Nina's In Jail," rapper Nikki Lynette tells a gritty tale about a teenager who meets with catastrophe after leaving a party with a man who turns out to be a drug dealer; while the vibe of the song is upbeat, the high-energy horns reflect the intensity of the lyrics. DJ Eddie Mills contributes scratches to the infectious hip-hop tune "Soul," on which rapper Gravity performs some tongue-twisting lyrics, and Liquid Soul's funky yet atmospheric remake of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass' 1962 classic "The Lonely Bull" concludes this ebullient, thoroughly fun-to-listen to album.
--Lucy Tauss, JAZZTIMES, Feb. 2003
Liquid Soul is among the many '90s/2000s outfits who brings an obsession with '70s African-American culture to the table; on Evolution, the Chicago residents make no secret of their passion of '70s soul, '70s funk, and '70s jazz-funk. Thankfully, Liquid Soul does it better than most of the competition. The songs (some instrumental, some with vocals) are generally memorable, and the punchy, well-oiled horn section is as tight as a black leather corset.... For die-hard fans of '70s black music, this lively CD is well worth obtaining..
--Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
Poised to rattle your headspace, Chicago's premier funk-jazz ensemble Liquid Soul have been combining bebop with hip-hop since 1994 with muscular horns, tongue-cutting rappers, and turntable-infested rhythms. Sporting a revamped lineup and a new disc, they're sure to get the Village Underground on their feet.
--The Village Voice, Critic's Pick, December 11-17, 2002
Grooves to Make Your Booty Move: Slap any label you like on Chicago's Liquid Soul, but the most important thing to know about this (eight)-piece is that you will dance at its show. You say you don't dance? You will when you get a listen of the funk-soul hybrid, with a dash of hip-hop, that Liquid Soul delivers in its live shows. The group's latest, "Evolution," is smooth and cool at some points, white-hot in others, and all good. The horns alone are enough to get your feet shuffling, sort of like Earth, Wind & Fire without Phillip Bailey.
--Salt Lake Tribune, Oct. 25, 2002
Chicago's Liquid Soul has developed their chops the old-fashioned way--through relentless touring that has honed their tightly syncopated, live retro-funk sound. The (eight)-piece group has earned a Grammy nomination and a substantial following with an amalgamation of styles: hard bop, Latin jazz and hip-hop are all included. The results veer toward Tower of Power at times and accessible downtempo at others, with a scratch DJ added for kick.
--Jesse Terry, XLR8R
This (eight)-piece Chicago group combines the horn power and drum lines of 1970s funk with recent hip-hop. The results make for a jazzy dance feel that will slam you around the room.... The heat of saxophonist Mars Williams and trumpeter Ron Haynes is undeniable. The two like to go off on high-pitched solos that encourage physical pyrotechnics. "Bossa Interlude" mines a gentler, south-of-the-border groove, and "Mercedes" is a metronomic number that applies motion to the skeleton.
--K.S., The Philadelphia Inquirer, Dec. 8, 2002
Evolution is the follow up to their Grammy nominated CD, Hereâs The Deal. Mixed with up tempo funk, rap, big band jazz, contemporary jazz, a little rock and plenty of energy. From the very first note of the first song "Action Jackson" sets the table for the ride that Liquid Soul takes us on. Brassy, up and energized.
--Jeff Charney, ContemporaryJazz.com, Oct. 2002
On its fourth studio effort, Evolution, Liquid Soul delivers about what youâd expect: unbelievably tight arrangements, wizardry in soloing, and funky beats to boot. What you might not expect are the newest influences launched into the ever-changing stylistic universe of the Chicago-based (oc)tet, including a welcome infusion of world music, R&B-heavy grooves, and a surprising venture into the world of techno. These also happen to be the things that make the album interesting, and they should definitely spice up the bandâs live performances. The band has thankfully continued to embrace a wide variety of genres in its music, and this time that open-mindedness really creates some waves.
--Tom Swanson, River Cities' Reader, October 2002
Liquid Soul is a brass-driven, acid-jazz band from Chicago, whose funky live performances are electrically charged. Their inventive melodies snake around a wide assortment of free-flowing loops, rhythms and beats. Headed by the impressive sax-playing of Mars Williams, whose background was in new wave, the fierce outfit also boasts another interesting personality--Simone, the daughter of Nina Simone. Unfortunately, she will not be performing at Maxwell's show, but she will join the danceable Liquid Soul when the group opens for Sting in Central Park Tuesday.
--New York Times (New Jersey Edition), Sept. 2000
While Chaka Khan was the star attraction, Liquid Soul stole the show. The eight-man, brassy, DJ scratchin', acid-jazz outfit from Chicago energized the midafternoon crowd. Liquid Soul has finally answered a decades-old question: Yes, a band that sneaks in [Ozzy Osbourne] riffs can survive with a white [man] wearing a backward baseball cap while rapping to [Dizzy Gillespie's] "Salt Peanuts."
--Jeff Spevak, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, July 22, 2001 (Rochester MusicFest review)
Too much talent for one band.
--Bass Frontiers magazine
("Here's the Deal" is) the best and most invigorating release yet by saxist Mars Williams' standard-bearing acid jazzers, whose stick-to-it-iveness in the face of weak promotional support was rewarded this week with a Grammy nomination. Part live and part studio-produced, "Here's the Deal" is chock-full of digable grooves, infectious horn charts and bursting melodies.
--Lloyd Sachs, Chicago Sun-Times, "10 best of the year: Chicago's jazz greats," Jan. 5, 2001
Jazz-funk combo Liquid Soul stepped into history when the Recording Academy announced the nominations for the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards last week (allstar, Jan. 3) -- it became the first such act to be nominated in the Best Contemporary Jazz Album category.... It was 2000's "Here's the Deal," released on Shanachie Records, that got Grammy all excited, and capped off an impressive year for the band.
--Kevin Raub, allstar, CDNOW's Daily News, Jan. 12, 2001
On Here's The Deal, Liquid Soul lays it all out for everyone to hear and feel. Whether in the studio or performing the intensely energetic live shows for which they are famous, Liquid Soul always delivers maximum quality with maximum style.
--Joann D. Ball, Westnet.com
A good album to throw in your stereo the next time you have a crowded, freaky houseparty.
--Chip Schramm, JamBands.com ("Here's the Deal" review)
Will smooth jazz radio play Liquid Soul? Hell No! Too uptempo, too improvisational, too good! Will I play it on my jazz radio show? Hell Yes!
--Jeff Charney, ContemporaryJazz.com and DJ for KPRS 103.3FM in Kansas City
Hitting the audience with everything from funk, soul, jazz, blues, freestyling hip-hop and rock, this is a band that worships in the wake of James Brown and his funk-soul brothers' spirit. Watching a Liquid Soul show, preferably in a small club, inevitably churns the audience into a sweaty, writhing mass. It's an awakening of sorts, making the people sway and dance in beat and injecting rhythm into those who never had it before.
--Molly Brown, Las Vegas Weekly, Sept. 2000
The energy emitted by this disc ("Here's the Deal") is contagious, and it doesn't let up. The last of the twelve songs, "Spam Sucker," brings the house down in a sonic typhoon of crazed horns and rocketing drums, the bass kicking you right in the heart like good funk bass should. Makes ya dance. I'm talking 'bout out of control, full speed ahead, sweatin' like a pig and huffing like a demon dancing. Scarf it up. Ain't much of this kind of funk around anymore.
--DJ Johnson, Cosmik.com
The out-of-towners, as usual, turned in especially inspired performances. Chicago funk crunchers Liquid Soul made plenty of converts, with exhilarating work-outs on material from the band's new "Here's The Deal," livened by the belting of singer Simone, daughter of Nina Simone.
--Billboard magazine, New Orleans Jazz Fest review, May 9, 2000
The rabid enthusiasm clearly projected by the jamming musicians is infectious. Alone or at a club your feet will move.
--Sammy Younan, All Music Guide (Allmusic.com)
You would think that Chicago's acid jazz kings would have lost some of their steam by now. But having changed labels without changing their spitfire approach, Liquid Soul defies the statute of stylistic limitations by turning out their best and most invigorating album yet. Showing off the rewards of constant performing, the partly live, partly studio-based "Here's the Deal" consolidates all the hook-happy strengths--the chesty horn charts and digable grooves, the hip-hop savvy and sultry strength. Led by that man of all saxophones, Mars Williams, the band has gone from skillfully raiding jazz classics to originating its own slicing and dicing delights. The one cover version here, Miles Davis' "All Blues," has been done to death, but Williams and company make it fresh by pouring on the funk and bursting from its melodic seams. Party on, Soulsters. (Three and a half stars out of four)
--Lloyd Sachs, Chicago Sun-Times
"Here's the Deal" succeeds on all levels, from its charged performances and challenging, twisting melodies down to its bustling rhythms. That's the deal. (Four stars out of five)
--Jon Andrews, Down Beat
This is one deal worth accepting.
--People Magazine
Frequently identified as an acid-jazz ensemble, the Chicago-rooted collective known as Liquid Soul might be more accurately viewed as a pure funk band. They're energized by a wonderfully wayward, freewheeling spirit again on "Here's the Deal," the group's third release. Deal follows 1998's "Make Some Noise" and their eponymous 1996 debut with another swinging assortment of house-party grooves anchored by Liquid Soul's horn-based frontline--including saxophonist Mars Williams (whose far-flung associations run from Anthony Braxton to Ministry to the Sun Ra Project, which Williams leads with Ken Vandermark), trumpeter Ron Haynes, and trombonist John Janowiak. The 12 selections on "Deal" (five recorded live) range from funk-heavy rap ("Sure Fire One," "Show Me") to nearly conventional R&B with jazzed-up, Liquid Soul twists ("Sex Tablet," "Rocket Scientist") to a flavorful, Latin-tinged ode to Dizzy Gillespie ("The Diz"). Simone, daughter of Nina Simone, sets two tracks aglow with soulful vocals ("Stop by Monie's," "Dysfunction"). Yet the recording's most involving tracks (along with drummer Dan Leali's Jeff Beck-flavored "Everybody's Got One") are the melded "Sweet Pea" and "Donkey Punch," a reeling, freestyle exercise that cross-pollinates bop, hip-hop, rock and an Asian netherworld before flinging you into a swirl of horn-driven industrial fusion. Definitely worth a listen.
--Terry Wood, Amazon.com
Labeling Liquid Soul a jazz band is like saying George Clinton traffics in R&B: It misses the point entirely. Actually, his funkadelic highness may be the only element missing from this Chicago bomb squad's assault. Last February, crammed into the Mercury's former closet on Sixth Street, the big-shouldered groove collective backed their rapping frontman and turntable chemist with a frontline of horns who blasted like twin engines on a Boeing. They blew out the m*****f***ing walls. If you think Maceo Parker at Antone's is a riot, better bring tear gas to this grand (re)opening of the Mercury, 'cause Liquid Soul is gonna leave bodies in the street.
--Raoul Hernandez, The Austin Chronicle, "Recommended Events," March 2000
If you're looking for good funk, and that's something that's hard to come by right now, you're in luck, and it's Liquid Soul to the rescue. This 12-song disc will have you thanking the gods of funk again and again, and with good reason. "Sure Fire One" kicks it off laying down a thick groove, with rapper MCB dishing out the vocals. "Stop by Monie's" features Simone (daughter of Nina Simone), and if your foot ain't jiggling by now, call 911 while you're still conscious. The funky sound of Liquid Soul may remind some of Tower of Power. Their horn section is tighter than spandex on a runway model, there are machine-gun drum riffs, bass lines that pop and walk, and guitar solos from clean and compressed to dirty and distorted. And as proof that this isn't just studio hijiinks, several live cuts pepper the album, making it clear that seeing the band up close and personal would be worth twice the price.
--NYROCK.COM
When the far-out and funky are correctly aligned, both sides win. Led by audacious saxophonist Mars Williams, Chicago's Liquid Soul usually gets the blend just right. The ensemble has pushed around plenty of great ideas over the last few years -- like organizing abstract grooves so that they're digestible by a largely mainstream crowd. The new "Here's the Deal" is a notch above the band's debut disc. To me that means Williams and company are refining their notions at every juncture.
--Jim Macnie, The Providence Phoenix
Some bands push the envelope, some shred it, these guys just ignore it. Some bands can blend two or three differing musical styles, but with Liquid Soul, from hip-hop to bop, from smooth to groove, from funk to fusion, it's all going on, sometimes all at once. In a word, powerful stuff!
--The Rt. Rev. J. "Muggles" Freebourne, River Cities Reader
Eight hours after the music began, the crowd at the WJCT Jacksonville Jazz Festival found its favorite act in Liquid Soul, which pumped some funk into the final day of the fest's 20th anniversary. Making its first appearance at the festival, the 10-piece Chicago band was a far cry from traditional jazz. It brought funk to jazz with a slapping bass and powerful horn riffs ... and a disc jockey furiously working the turntables..... Liquid Soul didn't miss a beat, setting off a wave of dancing across the park. . . Eccentric frontman Mars Williams, wearing wraparound sunglasses, led the attack with his earthy alto sax and down-and-dirty Peter Gunn delivery, supported by a powerful trumpet/trombone wall of sound and the most slap-happy bass, courtesy of Ricky Showalter, that the fest has ever heard.· By this time, Metropolitan Park was full, with an estimated 10,000 or more patrons who'd bought $8 tickets. Quite a bargain.
--John Carter, Jacksonville Times-Union, Nov. 1999
Those cool chords in "All Blues" have rarely sounded this upbeat and Sly Stone wicked; of course, they've rarely been thumped out by such a fat bassline, too, thanks to bassist Ricky Showalter's express train to Graham Central Station. "The Diz" detonates an explosion of flaming horns and peppery percussion, a tribute worthy of its subject. "Here's The Deal" sure drops that funk b-o-m-b, too. If you're familiar with the jazz, funk, soul, hip-hop and Caribbean stylings of Groove Collective, imagine that sound - but not as soft and rounded, with more of a hard, Chicago urban edge. [The] opener, "Sure Fire One," sets the blistering standard for the rest of this set. You've almost gotta love a song that arrives just in time for summer when it includes a lyric about mixing up suicides at the 7-11 and nods to LL Cool J's "Jingling Baby," mixed in a whipcrack horn-stoked groove that sounds like Maceo Parker bustin' up the joint with a wolfpack of 20-year-olds on spring break.
--Chris M. Slawecki, AllAboutJazz.com
As fluid as its name suggests, the music of Chicago's Liquid Soul is a melange of brass-driven, booty-shakin' styles.... The crew leaps between styles faster than a bullet train zipping through neighborhoods, jumping from a James Brown vamp to gutbucket blues to Latin groove to Parliament-ary acrobatics with nary a blink.· When it hits its mark, "Here's The Deal" is a funky brass fanatic's wet dream.
--Deborah Orr, CMJ New Music Report
Taut, articulate and grownup, the performance was that of a group that had excelled beyond scenemaking and into its own sublime jazz realm.... Liquid Soul's performance was proof that long after the hype had moved on, the group was still refining its edge.
--Chicago Tribune, May 8, 1998 ("Make Some Noise" CD release show at House of Blues, Chicago)
It's not often that the sheer exuberance of a band makes you forget about figuring out what genre they belong in and just get up and dance. But that's what Chicago's Liquid Soul does with a bubbling brew of funk, jazz and rap and smartly used samples.... Each song by this 10-track aggregation pulsates with the high energy of a live session. If you had to, you could call this acid jazz. But it would be better if you just listened -- and jammed.
--USA Today, May 19, 1998
"Blistering" and "explosive" are two of the most common adjectives used to describe this Chicago-based 10-piece outfit. And rightfully so. Out of the gate, the disc smokes with the punch and power that only a well-tuned horn band can deliver. The rhythm section is skin-tight, the staccato horn parts super-sharp, and there's expert blowing all around.... There ain't nothin' like the real thing and, from beginning to end, this is tough, meat 'n' potatoes playing that doesn't let up.
--Michael Lipton, L.A. Weekly, Sept. 4, 1998
Four stars (out of five) Liquid Soul is the tightest and funkiest outfit in America, with a fresh sensibility that weaves the familiar with the inventive so seamlessly that all you want to do is dance, not think.... All told, this is "Noise" of the very best kind.
--San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner, May 10, 1998
Madly stuffing ideas into these concise songs, most under five minutes, Williams and company suggest thrill-crazed crusaders caught up in a game of beat the clock, desperate to share their passions before the buzzer.
--Musician magazine, August 1998
Chicago's big and brassy Liquid Soul flows all over the musical spectrum, boldly blasting out steamy dance rhythms, scintillating jazz segments and rapid-fire rap with equal ease and expertise. Its infectiously energetic music is funk, soul, jazz, swing, hip-hop -- and that's just in one song.
--Austin American-Statesman, November 22, 1998
Anyone who pines for the era when the funk was played by live bands -- the kind that could really play -- might be ready to Make Some Noise with Liquid Soul.
--Rick Mitchell, Houston Chronicle, June 7, 1998
Liquid Soul's second album is a mesmerizing collection of songs that will move you, groove you and funkify your soul. The wicked rhythm section and blazing hot horns combine to make this a nonstop dance-athon. "Make Some Noise" holds together even better than Liquid Soul's debut album, and doesn't so much mix jazz, old-style funk and hip-hop as render the differences among them meaningless. This is irresistible.
--Eric Fiedler, Associated Press, August 1, 1998
They have been dubbed everything from the generic "acid-jazz" to the superlative "funkiest outfit in America," but the common practice is to drop these phrases while alluding to the inadequacy of a title to define this band. Perhaps it's not so much that Liquid Soul has a sound we've never heard before, it's just that their sound hasn't yet been given a proper name.
--Jason Kriveloff, Cleveland Free Times, Sept. 2, 1998
Whether they call it acid jazz or whatever, Liquid Soul is the future of funk. With unrelenting rhythms, white hot horn work and enlightened vocals, the band overwhelms the listener with sheer body-shaking, mind grabbing musicality. Saxist Mars Williams leads the group's fluid funk attack with fire and finesse. There's no spacey noodling nor pointless riffing in the music; every note seems designed to maximize the impact of the music.
--Austin American-Statesman, March 22, 1998
Liquid Soul rules. The thunderous groove this band lays down, topped with the smoking horns, makes it pretty much impossible to sit still while this disc is playing...a mix of jazz, funk, Latin, and world music that has to be heard to be believed.
--Eric Fiedler, Associated Press
Pioneering acid-jazz ensemble...(Liquid Soul), led by renowned saxophonist Mars Williams, is a worthy find, combining technical precision and jazz discipline with improvisational zest and hip-hop urgency.
--Edna Gunderson, USA Today
Hot liquid refreshment... Liquid Soul is getting critical and political raves.
--Good Morning America - "What's Hot at the Inaugural"
A fiery, danceable mix of jazz, hip-hop, and hard-core funk ... tight hornwork, high energy, deep grooves and abounding musicianship.
--Nancy Lee, Jazz Times
Combining manic energy with polished technique and split-second precision, [Liquid Soul] sweeps the mold and mildew out of jazz-funk and breathes it back to glorious life.
--Down Beat
Chicago's best kept secret is out: Liquid Soul... Get Liquid. Get Funky.
--Playboy
"Winner's of the Week"
--Entertainment Weekly
Liquid Soul invigorates the hip-hop/jazz genre.... While melding slamming backbeats, wah-wah guitar lines and turntable skronks to well known jazz themes ... they also delve into some deep grooves on danceable originals.
--Bill Milkowski, Tower Pulse
Up in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood, Sunday nights at the Double Door have become something of a local institution. [Liquid Soul builds] a hearty groove that soon has hundreds of sweaty bodies grinding 'til the wee hours. ... [Liquid Soul's] freeform jam sessions have coagulated into one wicked band blending funk, jazz, soul and hip-hop, ending up with a vibe all their own.
--Toph, Urb Magazine
A textbook study in merging sharp technical chops with loose freestyling... we advise you to simply let Liquid Soul take you through its 15-cut journey into pure bliss. It will be time well spent.
--Larry Flick, Billboard
[Liquid Soul's] L.A. debut... suggested another genre: old-school funk ... razor-sharp ensemble horn work and stop-on-a-dime arrangements that recalled the era when funk was played by live bands.
--Don Snowden, The Los Angeles Times
Liquid Soul proved irresistible ... provided solid funk that kept the house dancing from midnight till past two in the morning ... Liquid Soul kicked of its set with an improv jam that squelched any doubts that the group might be over-hyped.
--Mike Joyce, The Washington Post
Hot out of Chicago with a blistering but good-natured mix of funk and hip-hop with improvisation... [Liquid Soul] does it with verve and charm and real chops.
--Gene Santoro, New York Daily News
[Liquid Soul delivers] high-voltage Chi-town jazz with funk, rock, heavy metal, hip-hop, avant garde, and world music energy... [a] rolling mix of brilliant musicianship and galloping beats.
--Dan Ouellette, San Francisco Chronicle
Liquid Soul makes jazz dance again -- and the music business has taken notice.... In Mars Williams, Liquid Soul has a fiercely inventive soloist ... he has earned the right to wear his sunglasses indoors.
--Greg Kot, Chicago Tribune
Chicago's Liquid Soul blazed a more danceable path, funneling bebop, hip-hop, and R&B into a glorious funk groove. Call it acid jazz. Call it neo-funk. Call it whatever. This is the sort of cutting-edge band SXSW should be calling on more often.
--Thor Christiansen, Dallas Morning News
Led by the best horn section this side of, oh, the '70s, the 10-piece collective with the serious chops cut loose with an impossibly danceable blast of liquid jazz-funk grooves.
--Josh du Lac, Sacramento Bee
The music of Chicago's big and brassy trip hop aggregation Liquid Soul flows in so many different directions it's pointless to attempt an accurate definition. The best thing to do is just let its hard-edged, acid-jazz torrents just wash over you, funkifying your total being in the process.
--Austin American-Statesman
[Liquid Soul's] jazz credentials are in order -- they cover Miles, Trane, and Shorter.· I wouldn't put it past [Liquid Soul] to write a "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" for the '90s.
--Jeff Saloman, The Villiage Voice
Liquid Soul makes good on all the promise that acid-jazz holds: grooves, great jazz licks and a funky feel throughout.... The music's composition and execution [is] impeccable.... With its debut, Liquid Soul proves that the manifestation of acid-jazz is as good as the concept, at which very few artists have succeeded.
--Meagen Frampton, CMJ: On The Cover
Liquid Soul's jazz roots grow deep but the fruit on its tree is full of funky percussions, rocking guitar licks, scratched dance beats and hip-hop vocals, making it one of the groovin'est bands to emerge out of the jazz genre.
--Suzanne Kayian, Pollstar
Liquid Soul is about to hit like a torrential storm on both coasts.... This album is a revelation to the masses who thought that the tightest of grooves, mixed with DJ's scratching their asses off, with guitars screeching you all the way home to the next day was a thing of the past, Liquid Soul's musicianship is t-i-g-h-t.... Make no mistakes about it, the music on this release is out to grab your ears and rip you a new definition of acid-jazz.
--Gary Clarke, Album Network
Chicago's Liquid Soul is the funkiest band in the world.... [Make Some Noise] is another wonderful work of tough grooves, samples, loops and a punchy, three-piece horn attack that's the core of Liquid Soul's style. ****1/2"
--Reuters
"Steady-grooving funk."
--The New York Times
An irresistible second album from this exuberant Chicago collective, which cheerfully blends funk, big-band jazz, salsa, hip-hop, pop and rock without missing a beat...succeeds gloriously.... The solos often dazzle.... "Make Some Noise" sizzles.
--Musician
A lively, vibrant portrait of urban jazz and hip-hop.
--Billboard
[Make Some Noise is] a mixture of jazzy horns, soothing drums and saucy vocals fused in soulful perfection. ***1/2
--BET Weekend
There's a speedy joy to the jazz-funk sound of Liquid Soul. The Chicago-born 10-piece band combines the most exuberant scratching of hip-hop, the brightest horns of jazz, the most sizzling percussion of Latin music and the most upbeat figures of funk.
--New York Daily News
In recent times, there have been few success stories as winning as that of Chicago's Liquid Soul.... That rarity on the music scene, a self-invented band, it created a buzz in a vacuum with its hard-hitting blend of jazz, funk and hip-hop soul. With "Make Some Noise," Liquid Soul stakes a claim as the country's foremost proponents of acid jazz.
--Chicago Sun-Times
Sizzling, genre-busting joy from one of Chicago's best-kept secrets. Liquid Soul's "Make Some Noise" [mixes] clarion horn lines, tight sampling and cocksure rhymes. Call it acid jazz? Sure, why not? But they're happy to blow away any conventional label you stick 'em with.
--Dallas Morning News
[Liquid Soul] tore up the place with what was possibly the single hottest showcase of the festival. ...Liquid Soul is the future of funk.
--Austin American Statesman
Just call [Liquid Soul] brilliant.... The group gave the concept of dance music a much-needed kick in the posterior.
--Dallas Morning News
[An] eye-opener was the hero's welcome accorded Chicago's Liquid Soul. A crowd of several hundred packed into [the club] and worked itself into a frenzy worthy of a hard-core punk concert.
--Chicago Tribune (SXSW review)