MUSIC FROM MARS : A celebration of Mars Williams’ 70th birthday & the launch of the Mars Williams Archive

The Devil’s Whistle

Ben LaMar Gay- cornet

Jeff Albert – trombone

Ken Vandermark – reeds

Dave Rempis – saxophones

Dan Oestreicher – saxophones

Macie Stewart – violin

Steve Marquette – guitar

Lia Kohl – cello

Fred Lonberg-Holm – cello

Anton Hatwich – bass

Tim Daisy – drums

Michael Zerang – drums

Mars Williams was a legend of the Chicago music world for decades, a musician and bandleader whose impact stretched across the globe. To celebrate what would have been Mars’ 70th birthday this month, and to launch the Mars Williams Archive now being hosted at Experimental Sound Studio, we’re planning a series of events on May 24th and 25th at Constellation, The May Chapel, Experimental Sound Studio, and The Hungry Brain.

Tonight’s concert features The Devil’s Whistle – the incredibly ambitious project that Mars staged in New Orleans in the spring of 2022 with dozens of musicians and dancers. For tonight’s set, we’ll focus on the music, featuring an all-star cast of Chicagoans augmented by a few of our NOLA friends. We’ll also hear from Mars in his own words as he describes the creation of the piece in excerpts from a forthcoming documentary by Chicago filmmaker Kim Alpert.

All proceeds from this concert will go to benefit the Mars Williams Archive at Experimental Sound Studio in Chicago