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Josh Berman

Josh Berman


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Josh Berman is an internationally recognized cornetist and composer. He has led the acclaimed Old Idea, Josh Berman and his Gang, and his own trio. In addition to being an indispensable contributor to Chicago’s jazz and improvised music scene, Berman has been a concert presenter with fellow Chicagoan Mike Reed, producing hundreds of shows over the past 20 years. Berman’s work has been critically acclaimed in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, JazzTimes, and DownBeat, among others. His recordings can be found on the Chicago’s legendary Delmark Records and more recently on Austin’s Astral Spirits Records

Mars Williams
 Mars Williams presents: An Ayler Xmas
(The Music of Albert Ayler & Songs of Chrismas)


Mars Williams – Saxes, Toy Instruments
Josh Berman – Cornet
Fred Lonberg-holm - Cello
Jim Baker – Piano, Arp Synth, Viola
Kent Kessler - Bass
Brian Sandstrom – Bass, Guitar, Trumpet
Steve Hunt – Drums, Percussion


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


released October 29, 2017

RECORDED LIVE AT HUNGRY BRAIN, CHICAGO 12/18/16
Featuring: WITCHES & DEVILS

ALL TRACKS CONTAIN MUSIC WRITTEN BY:
ALBERT AYLER (Syndicore/BMI)
HOLIDAY SONGS: PUBLIC DOMAIN
ARRANGED BY: MARS WILLIAMS (Music From Mars /BMI)
RECORDED, MIXED & MASTERED BY: DAVE ZUKOWSKI
DESIGN BY: RICH GOOD

SOUL WHAT RECORDS SWR 0003