story by Josh Zanger
photo by Paul Natkin
Whether you call them acid-jazz, urban dance music, soul, or even
hip-hop induced jazz-funk, you'll first have to recognize this seminal
Chicago band known as Liquid Soul. Despite everyone else's problem
with classifying them, the seven-man outfit has no trouble in categorizing
their own sound at all - because they don't. They only adhere to the
groove.
"As long as the groove is there, we can layer anything on top
of it," said Liquid Soul's saxophone player and main songwriter,
Mars Williams. "There is a groove and cycle in any style, whether
it's jazz, Latin, hip-hop, whatever…it's always there."
The "groove" to which Williams speaks is more of an epiphanic
musical feeling of connectedness between band members than an actual
audible rhythmic beat. After all, the groove is what defines this
group most of all. Even more so, it is what has tied together Liquid
Soul over the past 10 years throughout four full-length albums, a
handful of different band members, and a year-and-a-half long hiatus.
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WILLIAMS' INNER VIEW
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"As long as the groove is there,
we can layer anything on top of it."
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Back in 1993 when the group first came together, the pop music scene
across the United States was being purged and reborn. Radio across
the nation was burgeoning with a new stock of alternative rockers,
gangster rappers, and club-friendly techno knob-twisters. However,
the members of Liquid Soul weren't biting on any of these trendy styles.
A collective of current LS guitarist Tommy Klein, former member DJ
Jesse De La Peña, and Williams came together along with the
ideas of the East Coast/New York acid-jazz sound and helped formulate
a more regionally personalized blend of hip-hop, soul, and jazz -
a style for which they became most emphatically known for: Midwestern
acid-jazz.
The creation of Liquid Soul's cultivated sound was as natural for
the group as was their dedication to extensive touring and jamming.
Around 1994, the two facets first met when the band played regular
freestyle jazz/hip-hop jams at the Elbo Room in Chicago. During weekly
shows the group would invite guest musicians to join them, many of
these individuals being local DJs and MCs. Soon enough the improvisational
open jams led into a debut album (the eponymous Liquid Soul, on Ark
21 Records) and Sunday concerts across town at the Double Door, where
they ran from 1996 until 1999.
Throughout this time Liquid Soul continued to push the gig circuit
aggressively with nearly 200 shows per year, including performances
overseas in Europe and Asia, and across customs borders in Canada
and Mexico. Regional affection for the band soon spread to the national
scene by means of a performance at former President Clinton's second
inauguration, numerous festival appearances (including South by Southwest),
an opening slot for Sting at both Madison Square Garden and Central
Park, and a Grammy nomination for "Best Contemporary Jazz Album"
in 2000 (for their third album, Here's the Deal).
In 2002, though, the mounting tensions behind hard work and haughty
expectations led to internal grievances between the band members and
Liquid Soul broke up. As some of the individuals caught their breath
from years of writing and performing, Williams pushed on to arrange
such side projects as XMARSX, "Mushroom Massive," and the
"Soul Sonic Circus" (a combination of circus performers
and improvising musicians, including Wayne Kramer and DJ Logic). But
the vision behind Liquid Soul was not dead. In fact, as Williams was
selected as the featured artist at The Moers Festival in Germany in
May 2004, the timing was perfect for the Midwestern acid-jazzers to
take their place on the stage once again.
"When we reformed, we didn't know if people would get the band,"
Williams admitted. "It's tougher because there is a whole different
audience. But people love the new material."
New unreleased music should be available sometime in the next year
in two possible forms. An album is reportedly recorded and only the
corporate/legal aspect lies in the way of its release (the band is
no longer on Shanachie Records, the label of their last two albums).
There will also be two new Liquid Soul Web sites launched, one of
which will feature both sound clips of older, rare material (with
guest musicians such as Common) and recent live performances of the
new lineup.
Liquid Soul :: at Martyrs' on January 9, 16, 23 and 30 :: and with
Buddy Guy at Buddy Guy's Legends on January 14.