Mars Williams
Williams performing in 2011
Williams performing in 2011
Background information
Birth nameMarc Charles Williams[1]
Born(1955-05-29)May 29, 1955
Elmhurst, Illinois, U.S.
DiedNovember 20, 2023(2023-11-20) (aged 68)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
Instrument(s)
  • Saxophone
  • clarinet
Member of
Websitemarswilliams.com

Marc Charles "Mars" Williams (May 29, 1955 – November 20, 2023) was an American jazz and rock saxophonist. He was a member of the American new wave band The Waitresses from 1980 to 1983, and a member of the British post-punk band The Psychedelic Furs from 1983 to 1989 and again from 2005 until his death in 2023. Williams also was a founding member of the acid jazz group Liquid Soul, and a member of the free jazz-oriented NRG Ensemble.

Career

Exposed to swing music and Dixieland jazz by his trumpeter father, Williams played classical clarinet for ten years before migrating to saxophone in his last year of high school, citing the influence of Eric Dolphy, John Coltrane and Charlie Parker.[2][3] After attending DePaul University for a period of time, he took courses from the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, where he studied under founders Anthony Braxton and Roscoe Mitchell. In 2004, he was selected by the Moers Festival as their featured artist.[4]

As a musician, orchestrator and arranger, Williams was best known for his 1980-1983 tenure with The Waitresses and his ensuing career with The Psychedelic Furs. He was only to tour with The Furs in Australia for a month in 1983 as a temporary replacement for touring saxophonist Gary Windo, who was unable to make the trip. Following a successful tour with The Furs and the concomitant breakup of The Waitresses, he stayed on as a permanent member of the former group until 1989, ultimately rejoining in 2005. He also performed with Billy Idol, the Power Station, Billy Squier, Massacre, Ministry, Die Warzau, and the Ike Reilly Assassination. According to longtime Grateful Dead manager Rock Scully, Williams occasionally performed in ad-hoc ensembles at the Blues Bar (a private TriBeCa afterhours club operated by Saturday Night Live cast members Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, throughout their tenure on the show in the late 1970s) with such 1960s rock luminaries as Rick Danko and Bill Kreutzmann.[5][6]

Williams toured and recorded with the Peter Brötzmann Tentet, the Vandermark 5, Cinghiale, Our Daughter's Wedding, and Mark Freeland's Electroman, and was the bandleader of several spin-off jazz groups: Grammy Award nominated, acid jazz pioneer Liquid Soul, Hal Russell's NRG Ensemble, Witches & Devils, Slam, and XmarsX. He was active in the Chicago improvisational jazz underground scene both individually and as a member of the quartet Extraordinary Popular Delusions.

Death

Williams died in Chicago of periampullary cancer on November 20, 2023, at the age of 68.[1][7] He had been diagnosed with cancer in 2022.[8] Williams had played his final concerts with the Psychedelic Furs in October 2023.[9]

Discography

As leader/co-leader

With Boneshaker (Mars Williams, Paal Nilssen-Love, Kent Kessler)

  • Boneshaker (Trost, 2012)
  • Unusual Words (Soul What, 2014)
  • Thinking Out Loud (Trost, 2017)
  • Fake Music (Soul What, 2019)

With the NRG Ensemble

With Liquid Soul

With Switchback (Mars Williams / Wacław Zimpel / Hilliard Greene / Klaus Kugel)

  • Switchback (Multikulti, 2015)
  • Live in Ukraine (Multikulti, 2016)

As sideman

With Harrison Bankhead

With Peter Brötzmann

With Hal Russell / NRG Ensemble

With Ken Vandermark

With The Swollen Monkeys

  • Afterbirth of the Cool (Cachalot, 1981) produced by Hal Willner

With The Luck of Eden Hall

  • Ten Meters Over The Ground

(Alligators Eat Gumdrops, ltd edition 200, 2012)

With Custard Flux

  • Oxygen/Gelatinous Mass (Oxygen CFX002, 2020)
  • Phosphorus, The Gardener, Strawberry Squid, Orbital Transport (Phosphorus CF003, 2022)

References

  1. 1 2 Williams, Alex (December 19, 2023). "Mars Williams, 68, Saxophonist Who Straddled New Wave and Jazz, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  2. ↑ Torem, Lisa (27 August 2009). "Mars Williams/Psychedelic Furs : Interview". Pennyblackmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  3. ↑ "Liquid Soul". Vermontreview.tripod.com. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
  4. ↑ "Chicago Calling : Mars Williams". 2007.chicagocalling.org. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
  5. ↑ Scully, Rock (2001). Living With the Dead. Cooper Square Press. p. 322. ISBN 9781461661139.
  6. ↑ "Nosy Neighbor: Where Was the Original Blues Bar?". Tribecacitizen.com. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  7. ↑ "Mars Williams, saxophonist for Psychedelic Furs, is dead at 68". Chicago Tribune. 20 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  8. ↑ Corcoran, Nina (21 November 2023). "Mars Williams, Saxophonist in the Psychedelic Furs and the Waitresses, Dies at 68". Pitchfork. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  9. ↑ Willman, Chris (21 November 2023). "Mars Williams, Sax Player for Psychedelic Furs and Waitresses, Dies at 68". Variety. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
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