Name: NRG Ensemble plays the music of Mars Williams
Start: 2025-05-25T21:00:00-05:00
Location: 2319 W Belmont Ave Chicago IL 60618

21+. 9pm.

NRG Ensemble plays the music of Mars Williams

Ken Vandermark - reeds
Dave Rempis - saxophones
Fred Lonberg-Holm - cello
Brian Sandstrom - guitar, bass
Kent Kessler - bass
Steve Hunt - percussion

Mars Williams was a legend of the Chicago music world for decades, a musician and bandleader whose impact stretched across the globe. To celebrate what would have been Mars’ 70th birthday this month, and to launch the Mars Williams Archive now being hosted at Experimental Sound Studio, we’re planning a series of events on May 24th and 25th at Constellation, The May Chapel, Experimental Sound Studio, and The Hungry Brain.

For tonight’s concert, the longstanding NRG Ensemble founded by Hal Russell in the 1970’s gears up for its first concert in several years, featuring the tunes that Mars Williams wrote for the band, as well as some other old chestnuts. A staple of the Chicago improvised scene for decades, NRG was key to forming Mars’ identity and approach to improvised music. From the time he joined Russell in the late 1970’s, up through the 90’s era when Ken Vandermark took over the other saxophone chair after Russell’s passing, the band was a key part of Mars’ work and compositional output. For tonight’s concert, original band members Brian Sandstrom, Kent Kessler and Steve Hunt return alongside Vandermark and two other later members/substitutes in the band - cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm and saxophonist Dave Rempis.

All proceeds from this concert will go to benefit the Mars Williams Archive at Experimental Sound Studio in Chicago