Mars Williams presents a great installment in this surprisingly long-running series – a really unusual mix of Christmas songs with the avant jazz inspiration of Albert Ayler – served up here in two different performances – one recorded in Chicago, the other in New York! As with the previous volumes, there's a stunning mix of sounds going
on – some of the sentiment you might get in a Holiday tune, which seems to open up the more human corners of Ayler
music – which includes snippets of "Spirits", "The Truth Is Marching In", "Omega", and "Change Has Come" – folded together with Christmas themes
on these beautiful long improvisations! The Chicago group features Williams
on saxes and toy instruments – plus Josh Berman
on cornet, Jim Baker
on piano and viola, Kent Kessler
on bass, Brian Sandstrom
on bass and guitar, and Steve Hunt
on drums – and the New York group features Steve Swell
on trombone, Hilliard Greene
on bass, Chris Corsano
on drums, Nels Cline
on guitar, and Fred Lonberg Holm
on cello.
Vinyl version features two side-long tracks – two versions of "Noel Omega Change Has Come For The Three Kings Who Lit The Tiny Candles" – one by each group!