American music ensemble
Liquid Soul horn section during their 20th anniversary show at theDouble Door , January 2013 Mars Williams, with Liquid Soul at the Double Door January 2011 Liquid Soul is an Americanjazz ,hip-hop ,funk ,freestyle fusion ensemble, formed in 1993 fromChicago , Illinois, which helped pioneer theacid jazz movement in the United States in the 1990s. Coined "Beyond Acid Jazz"[ 1] Mars Williams who played withThe Psychedelic Furs and previously withThe Waitresses andBilly Idol , the group was co-founded by guitarist Tommy Klein, from theSpies Who Surf , and Chicago DJ Jesse De La Peña. The band's 2000 albumHere's the Deal Grammy in theBest Contemporary Jazz Album category.
Tom Klein Liquid Soul during their 20th Anniversary Show at the Double Door, January 2013 Their first regular venue was at Chicago's Elbo Room, where their quickly-growing popularity led to the release of their self-titled, debut albumLiquid Soul Ark 21 Records . A well-popularized appearance atDennis Rodman 's birthday party added to their notoriety. They were the main feature atDouble Door in Wicker Park for almost four years (Feb. 1996 to Dec. 1999). Subsequent tours took them across the United States and Canada, plus performances in Germany, Turkey and Japan. They have opened forSting andIsaac Hayes , played atBill Clinton 's second Inaugural Parade and 21st Century Ball, and were the first acid jazz band to play at theNewport Jazz Festival .[ 1] South By Southwest Music Festival where theAustin American-Statesman referred to them as "the single hottest showcase of the festival."[ 2] Make Some Noise (produced byArk 21 Records in 1998), Grammy-nominatedHere's the Deal (produced byShanachie Records in 2000),Evolution (produced by Shanachie in 2002) and most recentlyOne-Two Punch (produced by major labelTelarc in 2006).
Notable performances and venues [ edit ] Metro Chicago Music for Mars Tribute, Chicago, Nov 25 2023[ 3] [ 4] [ 5] [ 6] [ 7] Double Door Liquid Soul 20th Anniversary Show, Chicago, Jan 20 2013Niwot Jazz on 2nd Avenue, Niwot, CO Aug 19 2012 Double Door Liquid Soul 15th Anniversary Show, Chicago, Jan 18 2009 Sting opening shows (Central Park , New York City; Blockbuster Pavilion, Charlotte, NC; Alltel Pavilion, Raleigh, NC), Sept. 2000Chicago Jazz Festival , Sept. 2000Jazz Wind 2000 Festival in Furano, Japan, Aug. 2000Newport Jazz Festival in Madarao, Japan, Aug. 2000Sioux Falls Jazz and Blues Festival , July 2000Ravinia Festival withIsaac Hayes , July 2000Cancun Jazz Festival , Mexico (May 2000)Music Midtown Festival , Atlanta, Ga. (May 2000)New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (May 2000)Babylon Club , Istanbul, Turkey (January 2000)Jacksonville Jazz Festival , Jacksonville, Fla. (November 1999)Aspen Jazz Festival , Snowmass Village, Colo. (September 1999)Sweet Pea Festival , Bozeman, Mont. (August 1999)Kansas City Blues & Jazz Festival , Kansas City, Mo. (July 1999)Lodo Music Festival , Denver, Colo. (July 1999)Black & White Ball, San Francisco (June 1999) Indianapolis Jazz Festival (June 1999)Canadian Jazz Festival Tour: Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Vancouver, Victoria, Edmonton, Calgary (June–July 1999) Moers Festival , Moers, Germany (May 1997, May 1999 and May 2004)Festival International de Jazz de Montreal (July 1998)Montreux-Detroit Jazz Festival , Detroit (September 1998)The Cubby Bear , Chicago (February 1998)U.S. PresidentBill Clinton 's Inaugural Parade and 21st Century Ball, Washington, D.C. (January 1997) The Theater atMadison Square Garden , New York City (opened for two Sting concerts, March 1997) A Taste of Chicago,Petrillo Music Shell , Grant Park, Chicago (July 4, 1997) JVC Jazz Festival , Newport, R.I. (August 1997)Dennis Rodman 's birthday party, Crobar, Chicago (May 1996)Nationwide club and festival touring (fall 1996 to present) with well over 100 performances per year. Ricky Showalter –Bass Brian "MCB" Quarles –MC Dirty MF – MC Tommy Klein –Guitar My Boy Elroy –Beatbox /DJ Ron Haynes – original Trumpet John Janowiak –Trombone Devin Staples -Drums Liquid Soul 20th Anniversary Band at the Double Door January 2013 Past members include...
Mars Williams –Saxophone Simone –Vocals Race – MC Mr. Greenweedz – MC Dan Leali – Drums Jonathan Marks – Drums Bret Zwier – Drums Hugh Ragin – Trumpet Doug Corcoran –Trumpet /Keyboards Andrew Distel - Trumpet Omega (Vikki Stokes) - Vocals Andy Baker – Trombone Tony Taylor – Drums Tom Sanchez – Guitar Eddie Mills – DJ DJ Logic – DJ Ajax – DJ Jesse De La Pena – original DJ Josh Ramos – Bass Phil Ajjarapu – Bass Newt Cole –Percussion Frankie Hill – Keyboards ^a b "Liquid Soul" .Vermontreview.tripod.com . RetrievedNovember 21, 2023 .^ "Liquid Soul - Here's The Deal CD Album" .www.cduniverse.com . Archived fromthe original on May 7, 2011. RetrievedSeptember 10, 2025 .^ "An all-star bill gathers at Metro to support saxophonist Mars Williams" .setlist.fm . November 14, 2023. RetrievedNovember 28, 2023 .^ "Mars Williams, Psychedelic Furs and the Liquid Soul sax player from Chicago, dies at 68" .setlist.fm . November 21, 2023. RetrievedNovember 28, 2023 .^ "Mars Williams, saxophonist of the Psychedelic Furs and Liquid Soul, dies at 68 from cancer" .setlist.fm . RetrievedNovember 28, 2023 .^ "Mars Williams benefit at Metro on Nov 25th" .setlist.fm . November 21, 2023. RetrievedNovember 28, 2023 .^ "Liquid Soul to play show for late Mars Williams" .setlist.fm . November 21, 2023. RetrievedNovember 28, 2023 .^ "Lost Soul, Vol. 1" .Open.spotify.com . RetrievedApril 3, 2021 .
International National Artists
