Boneshaker: Mars Williams, Kent Kessler, Paal Nilssen-Love | Arts + Literature Laboratory | Madison Contemporary Arts Center

Boneshaker: Mars Williams, Kent Kessler, Paal Nilssen-Love

On Saturday, March 23, 2019 at 8pm, ALL presents Boneshaker featuring Mars Williams (reeds), Kent Kessler (double bass) and Paal Nilssen-Love (drums). Tickets are $20 in advance at https://boneshaker.bpt.me and $25 at the door. Student tickets are $5 off with valid school ID. Advance tickets are available online until 1 hour before the show. Doors open at 7:30pm.

Boneshaker was established some 7 years ago when the three met for a handful of concerts and recording sessions around the Chicago area in early January 2011. The three musicians knew each well through various bands like Hal Russel´s NRG ensemble, Peter Brötzmann´s Chicago tentet, Territory band and had since 2002 wanted to do something together.

The trio's two albums are released on the Austrian label Trost and received brilliant reviews in international press such as The Wire, Downbeat and more.

The trio toured North America in spring 2014, winter of 2016 and also Europe in 2016. The trio has done sporadic concerts in the Chicago area from time to time but this is the first longer tour of the US; March-April 2019. They will also have a brand new CD out by then.

The trio’s music remains free improvised, but with clear roots to the American tradition of free jazz. Although all three members are influenced by European improvised music as defined by the English, Dutch and German players of the mid sixties, the three share broad interests in music traditions from all over the world and appreciate when influences are let loose.

A few words about the musicians: Mars Williams, quite an open-minded musician, composer and educator who commutes easily between styles like free jazz, funk, hip hop and rock. Mars has recorded and toured with a broad array of bands and musicians; such as Billy Idol, The Psychedelic Furs, Peter Brötzmann Chicago tentet, and Hal Russel´s NRG Ensemble to name a few. Kent Kessler was also part of the NRG Ensemble and in the early 1990s, he became a frequent member of Ken Vandermark’s many ensembles and also a member of the Chicago tentet. Kessler is a strong bass player who is one of the few who continue in the style of Fred Hopkins, Harry Miller and Johnny Dyani. Paal Nilssen-Love has established himself over the last decade as one of the most important voices in improvised music from his generation. A powerful drummer of unbounded energy, he shows an ongoing ability to break physical and musical boundaries on his continual hunt for new collaborations and experiences.

This is a very exciting and much welcome blast of old school free jazz energy from a collective group featuring Mars Williams on saxophones, Kent Kessler on bass and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums. Each has deep experience on the outer fringes of the jazz scene and they make for a very cohesive and potent unit.

The ALL Jazz Series is sponsored in part by Alchemy, Dobhan, and Tex Tubbs Restaurants, WORT 89.9FM, Heid Music, and HotelRED. Student ticket discount made possible by Grant Samuelsen Real Estate.

Mars Williams

Mars Williams is an open-minded musician, composer and educator who commutes easily between free jazz, funk, hip-hop and rock, Mars has played and recorded with The Psychedelic Furs, Billy Idol, Massacre, Fred Frith, Bill Laswell, Ministry, Power Station, Die Warzau, The Waitresses, Kiki Dee, Pete Cosey, Billy Squier, DJ Logic, Wayne Kramer, John Scoffield, Charlie Hunter, Kurt Elling, Swollen Monkeys, Mike Clark, Jerry Garcia, Naked Raygun, Friendly Fires, The Untouchables, Blow Monkeys and virtually every leading figure of Chicago’s and New York City's "downtown" scene.

John Zorn credits Mars as "one of the true saxophone players--someone who takes pleasure in the sheer act of blowing the horn. This tremendous enthusiasm is an essential part of his sound, and it comes through each note every time he plays. Whatever the situation, Mars plays exciting music. In many ways he has succeeded in redefining what versatility means to the modern saxophone player.”

Kent Kessler

Jazz bassist Kent Kessler is best known for his part in numerous Chicago bands, usually in line-ups with reedsman Ken Vandermark. He first began appearing on recordings in the early '90s as a member of Hal Russell's NRG Ensemble. The band continued after Russell's death in 1992 with the addition of clarinetist and saxophonist Ken Vandermark. Kessler and Vandermark went on to play together in a number of bands that have revitalized Chicago's jazz scene, putting it back on the map of current avant-garde and free jazz.

The Vandermark 5, DKV Trio and Steelwool Trio are just some of the many groups that feature Kent Kessler's wide and gritty sound. He has performed and recorded with a number of leading European improvisers, such as German powerhouse Peter Br Ãtzmann (in his Chicago Tentet), Swedish avant-garde saxophonist Mats Gustafsson (in FJF), acclaimed Dutch pianist Misha Mengelberg, and Dutch avant- garde saxophonist Luc Houtkamp. Kessler has also worked with legends that... Read More

Paal Nilssen-Love

Paal was born in Molde, Norway, Dec 24. 1974. From 1990 on he took an active part in the jazz milieu in Stavanger and joined bands with established musicians such as trumpeter Didrik Ingvaldsen and saxophonist Frode Gjerstad. During his studies at the Jazz department at the University in Trondheim, where the first self initiated bands were established, things developed really fast – and Paal was nationally acknowledged at the age of 20. Paal moved to Oslo in 1996, where he joined and/or took part in the forming of bands like Vindaloo, SAN, Håkon Kornstad Tio, The Quintet and Frode Gjerstad Trio. He later on got more into self initiated projects and collaborations with Swedish musicians, such as pianist Sten Sandell and saxophonist Mats Gustafsson.

Being active in several bands at the same time has always been Paal’s deliberate working method. Today Paal’s portfolio includes The Thing, the Large Unit, Frode Gjerstad Trio, Sten Sandell Trio, Scorch Trio, various duo projects... Read More

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