Mars Williams presents
AN AYLER XMAS
The Music of Albert Ayler & Songs of Christmas
AN AYLER XMAS
The Music of Albert Ayler & Songs of Christmas
Mars Williams - saxophones, flutes, toys
Thomas Berghammer - trumpet
Knox Chandler - guitar, electronics
Christian Meaas Svendsen - double bass
Klaus Kugel - drums, percussions
! DECEMBER TOUR 2022 !
Booking: Constanze Schliebs, +49 30 61285671
constanze.schliebs[ad]asianetwork.de
December 15, Oslo, Victoria - Nasjonal Jazzscene (NO)
December 16, Dortmund, Domicil (DE)
December 17, Dachau, Kultur-Schranne (DE)
December-18, Chemnitz, Neue Sächsische Galerie im Tietz (DE)
December 19, Magdeburg, Forum Gestaltung (DE)
December-20, Bonn, Kreuzung an Sankt Helena (DE)
December-21, Vienna, Martinschlössl (AT)
>>> more to come !!!
CD on NotTwo Records
AN AYLER XMAS
VOLUME 3: LIVE IN KRAKOW
Listen to the cd on bandcamp or here
Thomas Berghammer - trumpet
Knox Chandler - guitar, electronics
Christian Meaas Svendsen - double bass
Klaus Kugel - drums, percussions
! DECEMBER TOUR 2022 !
Booking: Constanze Schliebs, +49 30 61285671
constanze.schliebs[ad]asianetwork.de
December 15, Oslo, Victoria - Nasjonal Jazzscene (NO)
December 16, Dortmund, Domicil (DE)
December 17, Dachau, Kultur-Schranne (DE)
December-18, Chemnitz, Neue Sächsische Galerie im Tietz (DE)
December 19, Magdeburg, Forum Gestaltung (DE)
December-20, Bonn, Kreuzung an Sankt Helena (DE)
December-21, Vienna, Martinschlössl (AT)
>>> more to come !!!
CD on NotTwo Records
AN AYLER XMAS
VOLUME 3: LIVE IN KRAKOW
Listen to the cd on bandcamp or here
„The performances attest to how well the Ayler Xmas concept travels: The rhythm section brings a particularly muscular energy, and Chandler's effects-drenched guitar lights the music up like a Christmas tree. Williams and Branch tangle ferociously, but she also keeps him on track during a giddy recitation of "The Night Before Christmas.“ by Bill Meyer, December 2019, Chicago Reader
Past concerts
2019
December-2/3, Zaporizhia, Metallurgov House Of Culture (UA)
December-4, Warsaw, Pardon To Tu (PL)
December-5, Villach, Kulturhof:keller (AT)
December-6, St. Johann, Alte Gerberei (AT)
December-7, Vienna, Blue Tomato (AT)
2018
December-7, Berlin, Jazzkeller69 @ Aufsturz (DE)
December-8, Weikersheim, Klub W71 (DE)
December-9, Krakow, Alchemia (PL) (cd recording)
Mars Williams presents: An Ayler Xmas
The Music of Albert Ayler & Songs of Christmas
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
Press contact xxmarsx@gmail.com or mail@klauskugel.com
2019
December-2/3, Zaporizhia, Metallurgov House Of Culture (UA)
December-4, Warsaw, Pardon To Tu (PL)
December-5, Villach, Kulturhof:keller (AT)
December-6, St. Johann, Alte Gerberei (AT)
December-7, Vienna, Blue Tomato (AT)
2018
December-7, Berlin, Jazzkeller69 @ Aufsturz (DE)
December-8, Weikersheim, Klub W71 (DE)
December-9, Krakow, Alchemia (PL) (cd recording)
Mars Williams presents: An Ayler Xmas
The Music of Albert Ayler & Songs of Christmas
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
Press contact xxmarsx@gmail.com or mail@klauskugel.com
Mars Williams, Klaus Kugel, Mark Tokar, Jaimie Branch, Knox Chandler
in Zaporizhia, Ukraine
[photos by Bernd Scholkemper and Дмитрий Краснокутский]