Mary Lou Williams(1910-1981)
Mary Williams was a renowned pianist, composer, and arranger with a fifty-six year career. As a pianist, she blended the entire history of jazz piano into a personal style of her own.
As a composer and arranger, Williams contributed to the repertoires of Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Dizzy Gillespie,
and had a significant impact on the success of Andy Kirk & His Clouds of Joy swing band. Some of Williams works
included on Kirk's albums are "Froggy Bottom," "Mary's Idea," and "Walkin' And Swingin'."
Mary Lou Williams' master
work as a composer is Zodiac Suite, a twelve-part interpretation of the zodiac scored for
an eighteen-piece orchestra. The Asch Recordings are from the same period and show Williams' work in a variety of
settings on original material and standards.
Williams was long regarded as the only significant female musician in
jazz, both as an instrumentalist and as a composer, but her achievement is remarkable by any standards.
