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Mary Lou Williams (born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs; May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
pianist, arranger, and composer. She wrote hundreds of compositions and
arrangements In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing Composition (music), composition. Differences from the original composition may include Harmony (music), reharmonization, Musical phrasing, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or M ...
and recorded more than one hundred records (in 78, 45, and LP versions). Williams wrote and arranged for
Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...
and
Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...
, and she was friend, mentor, and teacher to
Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the Jazz standard, standard jazz repertoire, includ ...
,
Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...
,
Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...
,
Tadd Dameron Tadley Ewing Peake Dameron (February 21, 1917 – March 8, 1965) was an American jazz composer, arranger, and pianist. Biography Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Dameron was the most influential arranger of the bebop era, but also wrote charts for swi ...
,
Bud Powell Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966) was an American jazz pianist and composer. A pioneer in the development of bebop and its associated contributions to jazz theory,Grove Powell's application of complex phrasing to ...
, and
Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...
. She has been noted for her 1954 conversion to
Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, which led to a musical hiatus and a later transformation in the nature of her music. She continued to perform and work as a
philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
, educator, and youth mentor until her death from
bladder cancer Bladder cancer is the abnormal growth of cells in the bladder. These cells can grow to form a tumor, which eventually spreads, damaging the bladder and other organs. Most people with bladder cancer are diagnosed after noticing blood in thei ...
in 1981.


Early years

The second of eleven children, Williams was born in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, Georgia, and grew up in the East Liberty neighborhood of
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
, Pennsylvania. A
child prodigy A child prodigy is, technically, a child under the age of 10 who produces meaningful work in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to describe young people who are extraordinarily talented in some f ...
, at the age of two she was able to pick out simple tunes and by the age of three, she was taught piano by her mother. Mary Lou Williams played piano out of necessity at a very young age; her white neighbors were throwing bricks into her house until Williams began playing the piano in their homes. At the age of six, she supported her ten half-brothers and sisters by playing at parties. She began performing publicly at the age of seven when she became known admiringly in Pittsburgh as "The Little Piano Girl". She became a professional musician at the age of 15, citing Lovie Austin as her greatest influence. She married jazz saxophonist John Overton Williams in November 1926.


Career

In 1922, at the age of 12, Williams went on the
Orpheum Circuit The Orpheum Circuit was a chain of vaudeville and movie theaters. It was founded in 1886, and operated through 1927 when it was merged into the Keith-Albee-Orpheum corporation, ultimately becoming part of the Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO) corporatio ...
of theaters. During the following year she played with
Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...
and his early small band, the Washingtonians. One morning at three o'clock, she was playing with
McKinney's Cotton Pickers McKinney's Cotton Pickers were an American jazz band, founded in Detroit, Michigan, United States in 1926, and led by Bill McKinney (drummer), Bill McKinney, who expanded his Synco Septet to ten players. Cuba Austin took over for McKinney on drum ...
at Harlem's Rhythm Club.
Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...
entered the room and paused to listen to her. In 1927, Williams married saxophonist John Overton Williams. She met him at a performance in Cleveland where he was leading his group, the Syncopators, and moved with him to Memphis, Tennessee. He assembled a band in Memphis, which included Williams on piano. In 1929, 19-year-old Williams assumed leadership of the Memphis band when her husband accepted an invitation to join Andy Kirk's band in Oklahoma City. Williams joined her husband in Oklahoma City but did not play with the band. The group, Andy Kirk's Twelve Clouds of Joy, moved to
Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...
, Oklahoma, where Williams, when she wasn't working as a musician, was employed transporting bodies for an
undertaker A funeral director, also known as an undertaker or mortician (American English), is a professional who has licenses in funeral arranging and embalming (or preparation of the deceased) involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks o ...
. When the Clouds of Joy accepted a longstanding engagement in
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
, Williams joined her husband and began sitting in with the band, as well as serving as its arranger and composer. She provided Kirk with such songs as "Froggy Bottom", "Walkin' and Swingin, "Little Joe from Chicago", "Roll 'Em", and "Mary's Idea". Williams was the arranger and pianist for recordings in Kansas City (1929) Chicago (1930), and New York City (1930). During a trip to Chicago, she recorded "Drag 'Em" and "Night Life" as piano solos. She used the name "Mary Lou" at the suggestion of Jack Kapp at
Brunswick Records Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History 1916–1929 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing ...
. The records sold quickly, raising Williams to national prominence. Soon after the recording session she became Kirk's permanent second pianist, playing solo gigs and working as a freelance arranger for
Earl Hines Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...
,
Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...
, and
Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombone, trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-to ...
. In 1937, she produced ''In the Groove'' (Brunswick), a collaboration with
Dick Wilson Dick Wilson (July 30, 1916 – November 18, 2007) was a British-American actor. He was best known as grocery store manager Mr. George Whipple in more than 500 Charmin bathroom tissue television commercials (1965–89, 1999–2000). Biograp ...
, and Benny Goodman asked her to write a
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
song for his band. The result was "Roll 'Em", a boogie-woogie piece based on the blues, which followed her successful "Camel Hop", named for Goodman's radio show sponsor,
Camel cigarettes Camel is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in the United States and by Japan Tobacco outside the U.S. Most recently Camel cigarettes contain a blend of Turkish tobacco and Vi ...
. Goodman tried to put Williams under contract to write for him exclusively, but she refused, preferring to freelance instead. In 1942, Williams, who had divorced her husband, left the Twelve Clouds of Joy, returning again to Pittsburgh. She was joined there by bandmate Harold "Shorty" Baker, with whom she formed a six-piece ensemble that included
Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...
on drums. After an engagement in Cleveland, Baker left to join
Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...
's orchestra. Williams joined the band in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, then traveled to Baltimore, where she and Baker were married. She traveled with Ellington and arranged several tunes for him, including "Trumpet No End" (1946), her version of " Blue Skies" by
Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...
. She also sold Ellington on performing "Walkin' and Swingin'". Within a year she had left Baker and the group and returned to New York. Williams accepted a job at the Café Society Downtown, started a weekly radio show called ''Mary Lou Williams's Piano Workshop'' on WNEW and began mentoring and collaborating with younger
bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early to mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...
musicians such as
Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...
and
Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the Jazz standard, standard jazz repertoire, includ ...
. In 1945, she composed the bebop hit "In the Land of Oo-Bla-Dee" for Gillespie. "During this period Monk and the kids would come to my apartment every morning around four or pick me up at the Café after I'd finished my last show, and we'd play and swap ideas until noon or later", Williams recalled in ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
''. In 1945, Williams composed the classically-influenced '' Zodiac Suite'', in which each of the twelve parts corresponded to a sign of the zodiac, and were accordingly dedicated to several of her musical colleagues, including
Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...
, and
Art Tatum Arthur Tatum Jr. (, October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever. From early in his career, fellow musicians acclaimed Tatum's technical ability as extraordinary. Tatum a ...
. She recorded the suite with Jack Parker and Al Lucas and performed it December 31, 1945, at The Town Hall in New York City with an orchestra and tenor saxophonist
Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor Saxophone, saxophonist. He performed in the United States and Europe and made many recordings with Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Johnny Hodges, a ...
. In 1952, Williams accepted an offer to perform in England and ended up staying in Europe for two years. By this time, her musical career had left Williams mentally and physically drained.


Conversion to Catholicism and hiatus

A three-year hiatus from performing began when she suddenly backed away from the piano during a performance in Paris in 1954. She returned to the United States, converting to
Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
in 1954 alongside
Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...
's wife Lorraine. In addition to spending several hours at
Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
, her energies were then devoted mainly to the Bel Canto Foundation, an effort she initiated using her savings as well as help from friends to turn her apartment in Hamilton Heights into a halfway house for the poor as well as musicians who were grappling with addiction; she also made money over a longer period of time for the halfway house by way of a thrift store in Harlem. Her hiatus may have been triggered by the death of her long-time friend and student
Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...
in 1955 who also struggled with addiction for the majority of his life. Father John Crowley and Father Anthony aided in persuading Williams to return to playing music. They told her that she could continue to serve God and the Catholic Church by utilizing her exceptional gift of creating music. Moreover, Gillespie convinced her to return to playing, which she did at the 1957
Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...
with Gillespie's band. In 1958, she appeared as one of only three women in the famous photograph of jazz greats, '' A Great Day in Harlem''. Father Peter O'Brien, a
Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' refe ...
, became her close friend and manager in the 1960s. Gillespie also introduced her to Pittsburgh's Bishop John Wright. O'Brien helped her establish new venues for jazz performance at a time when no more than two clubs in Manhattan offered jazz full-time. In addition to club work, she played at colleges, formed her own record label and publishing companies, founded the Pittsburgh Jazz Festival (with the bishop's help), and made television appearances.
Bishop Wright let her teach at Seton High School on the city's North Side. It was there that she wrote her first Mass, called ''The Pittsburgh Mass''. Williams eventually became the first jazz composer commissioned by the church to compose liturgical music in the jazz idiom.


Return to music

Following her hiatus, Willams' wrote and performed '' Black Christ of the Andes'', based around a
hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...
in honor of the Peruvian saint Martin de Porres, and two other short works, '' Anima Christi'' and ''Praise the Lord''. It was first performed in November 1962 at St. Francis Xavier Church in Manhattan. She recorded it in October of the next year. Throughout the 1960s, Williams' composing concentrated on sacred music, hymns, and Masses. One of the Masses, ''Music for Peace,'' was choreographed by Alvin Ailey and performed by the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater as ''Mary Lou's Mass'' in 1971''.'' About the work, Ailey commented, "If there can be a Bernstein Mass, a Mozart Mass, a Bach Mass, why can't there be ''Mary Lou's Mass''?" Williams performed the revision of ''Mary Lou's Mass,'' her most acclaimed work, on ''
The Dick Cavett Show ''The Dick Cavett Show'' is the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks, including: * ABC daytime, (March 4, 1968 – January 24, 1969) originally titled ''This Morning'' * ABC prime time, Tuesday ...
'' in 1971. She also made a guest appearance on ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...
'' in 1975. Williams put much effort into working with youth choirs to perform her works, including "Mary Lou's Mass" at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City in April 1975 before a gathering of over three thousand. It marked the first time a jazz musician had played at the church. She opened a charitable organization and opened thrift stores in
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...
, directing the proceeds, along with ten percent of her own earnings, to musicians in need. As a 1964 ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' article explained, "Mary Lou thinks of herself as a '
soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
' player — a way of saying that she never strays far from melody and the blues, but deals sparingly in gospel harmony and rhythm. 'I am praying through my fingers when I play,' she says. 'I get that good "soul sound", and I try to touch people's spirits.'" She performed at the
Monterey Jazz Festival The Monterey Jazz Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Monterey, California, United States. It debuted on October 3, 1958, championed by Dave Brubeck and co-founded by jazz and popular music critic Ralph J. Gleason and jazz ...
in 1965, with a jazz festival group. Throughout the 1970s, Williams' career flourished. She released numerous albums, including as solo pianist and commentator on the recorded ''The History of Jazz''. She returned to the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1971. She could also be seen playing nightly in
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...
at The Cookery, a new club run by her former boss from the Café Society, Barney Josephson. That engagement too, was recorded. Williams had a two-piano performance with
avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
pianist
Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in comple ...
at Carnegie Hall on April 17, 1977. Despite onstage tensions between Williams and Taylor, their performance was released on a live album titled ''Embraced''. Williams instructed school children on jazz. She then accepted an appointment at
Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
as artist-in-residence (from 1977 to 1981), teaching the History of Jazz with Father O'Brien and directing the Duke Jazz Ensemble. With a light teaching schedule, she also made many concert and festival appearances, conducted clinics with youth, and in 1978 performed at the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
for President
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
and his guests. She participated in Benny Goodman's 40th-anniversary
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
concert in 1978.


Later years

Williams' final recording, ''Solo Recital'' (Montreux Jazz Festival, 1978), three years before her death, had a medley encompassing
spirituals Spirituals (also known as Negro spirituals, African American spirituals, Black spirituals, or spiritual music) is a genre of Christian music that is associated with African Americans, which merged varied African cultural influences with the exp ...
,
ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...
, blues and swing. Other highlights include Williams's reworkings of " Tea for Two", " Honeysuckle Rose", and her two compositions "Little Joe from Chicago", and "What's Your Story Morning Glory". Other tracks include "Medley: The Lord Is Heavy", "Old Fashion Blues", "
Over the Rainbow "Over the Rainbow", also known as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", is a ballad by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Yip Harburg. It was written for the 1939 film '' The Wizard of Oz'', in which it was sung by actress Judy Garland in her starring role ...
", "Offertory Meditation", "Concerto Alone at Montreux", and " The Man I Love". In 1980, she founded the Mary Lou Williams Foundation. In 1981, Mary Lou Williams died of
bladder cancer Bladder cancer is the abnormal growth of cells in the bladder. These cells can grow to form a tumor, which eventually spreads, damaging the bladder and other organs. Most people with bladder cancer are diagnosed after noticing blood in thei ...
in Durham, North Carolina at the age of 71. Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, and Andy Kirk attended her funeral at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola. She was buried in the Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Pittsburgh. Looking back at the end of her life, Mary Lou Williams said: "I did it, didn't I? Through muck and mud." She was known as "the first lady of the jazz keyboard". Williams was one of the first women to be successful in jazz. Her final work for wind symphony, ''History...'', reconstructed and recomposed by Duke faculty member Anthony Kelley, was premiered in 2024.


Awards and honors

* Guggenheim Fellowships, 1972 and 1977. * Nominee 1971
Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
, Best Jazz Performance – Group, for the album ''Giants'', Dizzy Gillespie, Bobby Hackett, Mary Lou Williams * Honorary degree from
Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...
in New York in 1973 * Honorary degree from Rockhurst College in Kansas City in 1980. * Received the 1981 Duke University's Trinity Award for service to the university, an award voted on by Duke University students.


Legacy

*In 1983, Duke University established the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture * Since 1996, The
Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...
in Washington, D.C. has an annual Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival. * Since 2000, her archives are preserved at
Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
's Institute of Jazz Studies in Newark. * A Pennsylvania State Historic Marker is placed at 328 Lincoln Avenue, Lincoln Elementary School, Pittsburgh, PA, noting her accomplishments and the location of the school she attended. *In 2000, trumpeter Dave Douglas released the album '' Soul on Soul'' as a tribute to her, featuring original arrangements of her music and new pieces inspired by her work. * The 2000 album '' Impressions of Mary Lou'' by pianist
John Hicks Sir John Richard Hicks (8 April 1904 – 20 May 1989) was a British economist. He is considered one of the most important and influential economists of the twentieth century. The most familiar of his many contributions in the field of economics ...
featured eight of her compositions. * The Dutch Jazz Orchestra researched and played rediscovered works of Williams on their 2005 album ''Lady Who Swings the Band''."Mary Lou Williams, 1910-1981"
, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.
* In 2006, Geri Allen's Mary Lou Williams Collective released their album ''Zodiac Suite: Revisited''. * A YA historical novel based on Mary Lou Williams and her early life, entitled ''Jazz Girl,'' by Sarah Bruce Kelly, was published in 2010. * A children's book based on Mary Lou Williams, entitled ''The Little Piano Girl,'' by Ann Ingalls and Maryann MacDonald with illustrations by Giselle Potter, was published in 2010. * A poetry book by Yona Harvey entitled ''Hemming the Water'' was published in 2013, inspired by Williams and featuring the poem "Communion with Mary Lou Williams". * In 2013, the
American Musicological Society The American Musicological Society (AMS) is a musicological organization which researches, promotes and produces publications on music. Founded in 1934, the AMS was begun by leading American musicologists of the time, and was crucial in legiti ...
published Mary Lou Williams' ''Selected Works for Big Band,'' a compilation of 11 of her big band scores. * In 2015, an award-winning documentary film entitled, ''Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band,'' produced and directed by Carol Bash, premiered on
American Public Television American Public Television (APT) is an American nonprofit organization and syndicator of programming for public television stations in the United States. It distributes public television programs nationwide for PBS member stations and indepen ...
and was screened at various domestic and international film festivals.The Mary Lou Williams Project
Paradox Films, 2014.
''Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band''
Independent Television Service (ITVS). Retrieved February 2, 2018.
''Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band'' Premieres on Public Television in April 2015
Independent Television Service (ITVS). March 17, 2015.
* In 2018 What'sHerName women's history podcast aired the episode "THE MUSICIAN Mary Lou Williams", with guest expert 'Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band,' producer and director Carol Bash. *In 2021, the Umlaut Big Band released ''Mary's Ideas'' (Umlaut Records), a double-cd featuring rare and newly discovered works by Mary Lou Williams, based on research from her manuscripts. It includes arrangements and compositions for Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, excerpts from the ''Zodiac Suite'' in its 1945 orchestral arrangement, and excerpts from ''History of Jazz for Wind Symphony'', Mary Lou Williams' ultimate and unfinished composition. * Mary Lou Williams Lane, a street near 10th and Paseo in
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...
, Missouri, was named after the renowned jazz artist.


Discography


As leader


As featured artist

; With
Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...
* '' Dizzy Gillespie at Newport'' (Verve, 1957) * ''
Giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) * Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'g ...
'' (Perception, 1971) with
Bobby Hackett Robert Leo Hackett (January 31, 1915 – June 7, 1976) was a versatile American jazz musician who played swing music, Dixieland jazz and mood music, now called easy listening, on trumpet, cornet, and guitar. He played Swing with the bands ...
; With
Buddy Tate George Holmes "Buddy" Tate (February 22, 1913 – February 10, 2001) was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist. Biography Tate was born in Sherman, Texas, United States, and first played the alto saxophone. According to the website All Ab ...
* '' Buddy Tate and His Buddies'' (Chiaroscuro, 1973)


References


Further reading

* Buehrer, Theodore E., ed. (2013). ''Mary's Ideas: Mary Lou Williams's Development as a Big Band Leader''. Music of the United States of America (MUSA) vol. 25. Madison, Wisconsin: A-R Editions. * * Kernodle, Tammy L. (2020) 004 ''Soul on Soul: The Life and Music of Mary Lou Williams''. Urbana:
University of Illinois Press The University of Illinois Press (UIP) is an American university press and is part of the University of Illinois System. Founded in 1918, the press publishes some 120 new books each year, thirty-three scholarly journals, and several electroni ...
.
OCLC OCLC, Inc. See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was founded in 1967 as the ...
1142759993. * Daphne A. Brooks
Drag 'Em': How Movement Shaped The Music of Mary Lou Williams"
NPR, September 14, 2019. * Lara Pellegrinelli
"Soul on Soul: Allison Miller and Derrick Hodge on Honoring Mary Lou Williams"
NPR, September 13, 2019. * Natalie Weiner
"How Mary Lou Williams Shaped the Sound of the Big-Band Era"
NPR, September 10, 2019.
"The World of Mary Lou Williams: A Turning the Tables Playlist"
NPR, September 9, 2019. * Grant Jackson
"Mary Lou Williams on ''Piano Jazz''"
NPR, March 7, 2010. * A. B. Spellman, Murray Horwitz
"Mary Lou Williams: 'Mary Lou Williams: 1927–1940
NPR, August 1, 2001.
"Mary Lou Williams, 'Perpetually Contemporary
NPR's "Jazz Profiles", July 25, 2007.


External links



Institute of Jazz Studies, Dana Library, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ.

* ttps://itvs.org/films/mary-lou-williams ''Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band''(2015 film). *
The Legacy of Mary Lou Williams
' (2010 video presentation by Tammy Kernodle, Associate Professor of Musicology,
Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...
, Ohio)
Jazz at Lincoln Center: Family Concert: Who is Mary Lou Williams?

"Nice & Rough": Unapologetically Black, Beautiful, and Bold: A Conversation with Sheila Jackson on Black Women's Participation in Cultural Production in the 1970s" Jstor

Mary Lou Williams recordings
at the
Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...
.
KC Black History Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Mary Lou 1910 births 1981 deaths 20th-century African-American women 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American women composers 20th-century American women pianists 20th-century American jazz composers African-American Catholics African-American jazz pianists African-American pianists African-American women musicians American jazz pianists American women jazz pianists Atlantic Records artists Converts to Roman Catholicism Deaths from bladder cancer in the United States Deaths from cancer in North Carolina Decca Records artists DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame members HighNote Records artists Jazz musicians from Pittsburgh King Records artists Mainstream jazz pianists Musicians from Atlanta Stride pianists Sue Records artists Swing pianists