Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Mars Williams: An Ayler Xmas Volume 2

Mars Williams: An Ayler Xmas Volume 2

By Mark Corroto
December 13, 2018
View read count

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 that jazz, in the form of a man from Mars, has come to save Christmas. Actually, a man named Mars.

Saxophonist

Mars Williams

saxophone
b.1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Mars Williams released An Ayler Xmas (Soul What Records, 2017) and is back with Volume 2 this year.

Albert Ayler

saxophone, tenor
1936 - 1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Albert Ayler and Christmas music. The mash-up works, just like cranberry sauce and turkey. Recorded live in Chicago with his Ayler tribute band Witches And Devils and in Vienna with an Austrian band that includes

Christof Kurzmann

multi-instrumentalist

" data-original-title="" title="">Christof Kurzmann (Orchestra 33 1/3, Made To Break) and Didi Kern (

Mats Gustafsson

woodwinds
b.1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Mats Gustafsson and DEK Trio). The music sizzles with nostalgia for the innocence of youth, both the lost naivet�� of holidays past and the origins of free jazz.

Just as Albert Ayler could resurrect "La Marseillaise" sans irony, Williams performs "Carol Of The Drum," or as you might know it, "The Little Drummer Boy." Both musicians never met a march they didn't like.

Josh Berman

cornet

" data-original-title="" title="">Josh Berman's cornet sits in for Donald Ayler and

Fred Lonberg-Holm

cello
b.1962

" data-original-title="" title="">Fred Lonberg-Holm's cello for Michel Sampson's violin. And yes, there are Ayler flights of sound as the performance explodes in "Bells" or "Love Cry," which encircles "Christmas Wrapping," a song Williams recorded with the post-punk/new wave band The Waitresses in 1981. The entire recording shouts (metaphorically) "Joy To The World."

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Xmas Medley; O Tannenbaum/Spirits/12 Days Of Christmas; Love Cry/Christmas Wrapping; Carol Of The Drum/Bells/O Come Emmanuel/Joy To The World; Universal Indians/We Wish You A Merry Xmas.

Personnel

Mars Williams

saxophone

Chicago band Witches & Devils: Mars Williams: saxophones, toy instruments; Josh Berman: cornet; Fred Lonberg- Holm: cello; Jim Baker: piano, viola, arp synth; Kent Kessler: bass; Brian Sandstrom: bass, guitar, trumpet; Steve Hunt: drums; Vienna band: Mars Williams: saxophones, toy instruments; Thomas Berghammer: trumpet; Hermann Stangassinger: bass; Didi Kern: drums, percussion; Christof Kurzmann: Lloopp, vocals.

Album information

Title: An Ayler Xmas Volume 2 | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: Soul What Records/ESP Disk

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Night
< Previous

I Always Knew
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.