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2024 Holiday Show with Mars Williams and Norah Jones
by Jerome Wilson
This is a show of holiday-oriented jazz music for the season, mostly Christmas songs but also including a set of Hanukkah tunes. Musicians featured on the show include Mars Williams. Norah Jones, Fats Waller, Doug Munro, and Benny Benack III. Playlist Matt Wilson's Christmas Tree-O “Christmas Time Is Here" from Matt Wilson's Christmas Tree-O (Palmetto) 00:00 Host Speaks 4:21 Dave Stryker “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" from Eight Track Christmas (StrikeZone) 4:58 3D Jazz Trio “I Wonder As ...
Continue ReadingMars Williams, Bro / Danielsson / Mazur & Andreas Willers
by Maurice Hogue
There's a noticeable tilt towards new European releases in this episode, highlighted by Danish guitarist Jakob Bro with two of his idols, trumpeter Palle Danielsson & percussionist Marilyn Mazur for a new album, Strands; German guitarist Andreas Willers and his trio Derek Plays Eric, ratchet up the heat on their latest; Aut Records sent along new releases by Norwegian bassist Dan Peter Sundland, German pianist Max Arsava& Piergiorgio Pirro, a pianist from Italy. From South America, Argentina's saxophonist Matias Formica ...
Continue ReadingMars Williams: An Ayler Xmas Vol. 4: Chicago vs. NYC
by Mark Corroto
For more than a decade, Mars Williams has been making (to borrow a phrase) Christmas music great again. He does so by exchanging the saccharine for the sublime, intersecting holiday classics with the music of Albert Ayler. Born out of his Chicago Ayler repertory band which can be heard on Witches And Devils At The Empty Bottle</em> (Knitting Factory Records, 2000), Williams applied the Gospel and spiritual nature of Ayler's methodology to Xmas music. While the eponymously titled first volume ...
Continue ReadingMars Williams / Vasco Trilla: Spiracle
by John Sharpe
Both American reedman Mars Williams and Spanish percussionist Vasco Trilla show themselves well grounded in the duet configuration, although this appears to be only Williams' second documented encounter in the sole company of a drummer. For Trilla, the situation is more normal. His track record embraces pairings with a wide array of wind instrumentalists (as well as brass and strings), including Mikolaj Trzaska, Martin Kūchen and Yedo Gibson. Although they hail from different backgrounds as well as ...
Continue ReadingBoneshaker: Fake Music
by Mark Corroto
The trio of saxophonist Mars Williams, bassist Kent Kessler and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love have taken the fitting name Boneshaker--a word coined to describe the early velocipede, what we today the bicycle. The moniker was appropriate because the bike's wheels (before the use of rubber tires) were made of wood, making the ride extremely uncomfortable. So why ride this instrument of torture? Because the pain always generated pleasure when you hit a smooth piece of tarmac and felt the sun on ...
Continue ReadingMars Williams: An Ayler Xmas Volume 2
by Mark Corroto
Recently, a major motion picture studio remade the 1967 animation classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, starring the voice of Boris Karloff. You might remember the animated cartoon was based on the book of the same name by Dr. Seuss. The 21st century's computer-animation is an abomination, an insult to our childhood innocence, just as the Jim Carrey film from 2000 was. Now, before you take up arms or plan an Occupy Wall Street demonstration, I'm here to tell you ...
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