One of the wildest discs to come my way lately is led by the versatile and excitable Chicago saxophonist Mars Williams, who Presents An Ayler Xmas, Volume 2 to grace the holiday season. I’m not at all interested in Christmas music, but than again, except for Volume 1 (2017), Xmas albums don’t usually sound anything like this. In one sense, the combination is a no-brainer, given Ayler’s folk-song tendencies, but it does take a rather special sensibility to come up with the concept and make it work. Three of the tracks were recorded live in Chicago with Williams’ Witches & Devils ensemble, featuring a cohort of the Windy City’s premier improvisers. The other two pieces are taken from a gig with local musicians at Porgy & Bess, a nightspot in Vienna. Every track is a medley with Ayler’s pieces embedded in Christmas standards. If you’ve ever wanted to hear O Tannenbaum, sung here in a quivering voice by Christof Kurzmann, combined with Spirits, one of Ayler’s best-known tunes, then this CD is what you’ve been waiting for. Williams makes it all work surprisingly well, so if this concept intrigues you, you’ve got some new and radically different sounds to enjoy on Christmas eve.
ESP-Disk’ ESP5030/ Soul What SWR 0004; Mars Williams (sax, toy instruments) on 1, 3 & 4 with Josh Berman (cnt) Jeb Bishop (tbn on 1) Fred Lonberg-Holm (clo) Jim Baker (p, Arp synth, vla) Kent Kessler (b) Brian Sandstrom (b, g, tp) Steve Hunt (d, perc); on 2 & 5 with Thomas Berghammer (tp) Hermann Stangassinger (b) Didi Kern (d, perc) Christof Kurzmann (lloopp, vcl); 1,3,4: Chicago, IL, no date specified; 2 &5, Vienna, Austria, no date specified; 1. Xmas Medley/ 2. O Tannenbaum/ Spirits/ 12 Days of Christmas/ 3. Love Cry/ Christmas Wrapping/ 4. Carol of the Drum/ Bells/ O Come Emmanuel/ Joy to the World/ 5.Universal Soldiers/We Wish You a Merry Xmas; 53:45. espdisk.com
No comments:
Post a Comment