YOUR AD HERE »

Liquid Soul: more than just jazz

Kimberly Nicoletti

COPPER MOUNTAIN -Liquid Soul outgrew the term “acid jazz” long ago with its fusion of genres ranging from hip-hop to hard bop.”I like playing all types of music,” sax player and band leader Mars Williams said. “Music should not have all these boundaries. I fuse all these different sounds together.”Williams has played and recorded with The Psychedelic Furs, Ministry, Billy Idol, Power Station and Billy Squier. He began Liquid Soul in 1994 as a Sunday night freestyle jam in Chicago, fusing hip-hop beats with jazz standards. The band’s trademark mixture of jazz and urban dance music caught on, and Liquid Soul grew from a five-piece band to a 10-piece collective.”I think what makes the band fresh too is everybody’s a well-seasoned musician and schooled, but we all come from different backgrounds,” Williams said. “I just returned from Europe doing avant-garde jazz, our bass player is more of a rocker, our trumpet player brings in a real swing feel and our guitarist is a rock, R&B and surf guitarist. Everybody’s brought in (his) forte and contributed to the sound of the band because of (his) individual personalities and musical personalities.”The band established its ability to fuse different genres in its first three records, and now the members are digging deeper into each style in “Evolution,” set for a September release.Liquid Soul’s unique sound creates a kinetic energy that remains true its philosophy of bringing jazz back to the dance floor.”We’re not shy when we play,” he said. “We just belt it out. You’ve got to see the band live. It’s like a big party. It’s a gig, but it’s also a vibe. The audience starts vibing off of us, and we start vibing off the audience. It’s interactive.”Liquid Soul performs at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, at the Burning Stones Plaza, as part of Copper Mountain Resort’s The Beat Goes On concert series. Little Hercules opens for Liquid Soul at 1 p.m.The Beat Goes On concert series continues at 1 p.m. Sunday, July 28, with roots-rock band The Radiators and ends on Sunday, Aug. 11, with Cajun and zydeco band C.J. Chinear and The Red Hot Louisiana Band. All concerts are free. For information, call (800) 458-8386, ext. 4INFO.Liquid Soul-When: 2:30 p.m.Sunday, July 14-Where: Burning Stones Plaza, Copper Mountain Resort


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

As a Summit Daily News reader, you make our work possible.

Summit Daily is embarking on a multiyear project to digitize its archives going back to 1989 and make them available to the public in partnership with the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. The full project is expected to cost about $165,000. All donations made in 2023 will go directly toward this project.

Every contribution, no matter the size, will make a difference.