Mars Williams


Marc Charles "Mars" Williams 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. 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.
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 with such 1960s rock luminaries as Rick Danko and Bill Kreutzmann.
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 from periampullary cancer on November 20, 2023, at the age of 68. He had been diagnosed with cancer in 2022. Williams had played his final concerts with the Psychedelic Furs in October 2023.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

With Boneshaker Boneshaker Unusual Words Thinking Out Loud Fake Music
With the NRG EnsembleCalling All Mothers This Is My House Bejazzo Gets a Facelift
With Liquid SoulLiquid Soul Make Some Noise Here's the Deal Evolution One-Two Punch
With

As sideman

With Harrison BankheadMorning Sun/Harvest Moon Velvet Blue
With Peter BrötzmannThe Chicago Octet/Tentet
With Hal Russell / NRG EnsembleElixir Hal on Earth The Finnish/Swiss Tour The Hal Russell Story
With Ken VandermarkStandards
With The Swollen MonkeysAfterbirth of the Cool produced by Hal Willner
With The Luck of Eden HallTen Meters Over The Ground
With Custard FluxOxygen/Gelatinous Mass