Mary Lou Williams had a unique career. For much of her life she was called “jazz’s greatest female musician” but in reality she was simply one of jazz’s finest pianists in addition to being a skilled arranger and an inventive composer. But most unusual was that, although she held onto her musical roots and even late in life could play masterful stride piano, she consistently evolved with the times and stayed quite modern. Of all of the stride pianists of the 1920s (or 1930s and ’40s), only Williams and Duke Ellington still sounded contemporary and forward-looking in the early 1970s. In fact, during that era she could pass musically for an up-and-coming modern jazz pianist one-third her age. By then, Williams could perform a history of jazz set, not just playing in historic styles but in styles that she had lived through and helped form.
Mary Elfrieda Scruggs was born on May 8, 1910, in Atlanta, Georgia, the second of 11 children. She moved with her family to Pittsburgh when she was four. Largely self-taught as a pianist (other than some lessons from her mother), she gained quite a bit of attention as a child prodigy and was performing at gigs by the time she was six, helping to support her large family. When she was seven, she was billed as “The Little Piano Girl.” As a teenager she worked as Mary Lou Burley (using her stepfather’s surname). She always said that she was inspired by Lovie Austin, an older pianist who played and wrote for shows.
She worked throughout her teenage years, touring throughout the Midwest. Along the way she impressed Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, and Duke Ellington, sitting in with the latter’s Washingtonians when she was 13. In November 1926, the 16-year old married the alto and baritone-saxophonist John Williams. Being married at that age made life on the road a bit safer for her.
Mary Lou Williams made her recording debut in 1927, appearing on eight selections by John Williams’ Synco Jazzers over a two-month period. While the group recorded in Chicago, the sextet mostly worked in Memphis and Oklahoma City. When her husband joined Terence Holder’s Dark Clouds Of Joy in 1928, Williams took over the Synco Jazzers for a period, becoming a pioneer female bandleader.
By 1929, the Dark Clouds had evolved into Andy Kirk’s Twelve Clouds Of Joy. Mary Lou Williams joined her husband in Oklahoma City where the band worked in addition to Tulsa before settling in Kansas City later in the year. Although she was not part of the band, she subbed on the orchestra’s first recording session (November 7, 1929) and so impressed the recording executives at Brunswick that, over Kirk’s objections, they insisted that she be used for all of the group’s record dates. Williams, who had begun contributing arrangements (including her original “Froggy Bottom”), was not the band’s regular pianist until 1931 but her playing on Kirk’s early records (including one called “Mary’s Idea”) was a major asset in making the territory band sound world class.
Proof of Mary Lou Williams’ brilliance as a stride pianist can be heard on her first two solo piano records (“Night Life” and “Drag ‘Em”) from April 24, 1930. She showed that, even as a 19-year old, she was close to the level of James P. Johnson and Fats Waller.
Mary Lou Williams spent nearly 13 years playing and writing for the Andy Kirk Orchestra. The band struggled for a time and was almost taken over by Blanche Calloway in 1931, making no recordings at all during 1932-35. But in 1936, Kirk’s big band began a series of excellent recordings for the Decca label. Their recording of “Until The Real Thing Comes Along” (featuring the high-pitched vocal of Pha Terrell) was a big hit.
Williams was the band’s top soloist, she contributed some originals including “Walkin’ and Swingin’,” “Little Joe From Chicago,” and “What’s Your Story, Morning Glory,” and arranged the band’s hotter titles including “Lotta Sax Appeal,” “Steppin’ Pretty,” “Keep It In The Groove,” “A Mellow Bit Of Rhythm,” and “Mess-a-Stomp,” She also worked as a freelance arranger for other bands including those of Earl Hines, Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman, writing the classic “Roll ‘Em” in 1937 for the King of Swing. Goodman tried to sign her up to write exclusively for him but she turned him down.
In addition to her solos with Kirk (including being saluted on “The Lady Who Swings The Band”), Williams recorded ten selections with a trio in 1936 and 1938, in 1939 she cut two piano solos (“Little Joe From Chicago” and “Margie”), and she co-led two sessions with tenor-saxophonist Dick Wilson as “Six Men and a Girl” (including her “Zonky”). In 1940 she recorded “Baby Dear” at the head of a septet that included trumpeter Harold “Shorty” Baker.
By then, Williams was becoming frustrated with her role with Andy Kirk. John Williams (who she divorced) had left the band in 1939, the group’s music was veering more towards the sweet side with a larger emphasis on singers and commercial music, and she was getting tired of being taken for granted by Kirk. In 1942 she left Andy Kirk’s group and in Pittsburgh briefly led a group with Shorty Baker. When Baker received an offer to join Duke Ellington’s orchestra, she traveled with him and they were married. Williams had an opportunity to write a few arrangements for Ellington of which “Blue Skies” (which eventually became “Trumpets No End” by the time of Duke’s 1946 recording) is best known.
Mary Lou Williams gradually modernized her style in the early-to-mid 1940s and encouraged the young bebop musicians, including Thelonious Monk, Tadd Dameron, and Dizzy Gillespie, who would come to her apartment and exchange ideas. In 1944 she recorded quite a bit for the Asch and Folkways labels including as a piano soloist, heading her “Chosen Five” which included trumpeter Frankie Newton, trombonist Vic Dickenson, and clarinetist Edmond Hall, with a septet that featured tenor-saxophonist Don Byas, a trio with trumpeter Bill Coleman and bassist Al Hall, in a group with folk singer Josh White, and in another combo with Coleman Hawkins. In addition the pianist recorded a series of radio transcriptions with her trio, had a weekly radio show (Mary Lou Williams’ Piano Workshop), and was a regular on Mildred Bailey’s Music ’Til Midnight radio series.
In 1945 she wrote the bebop fable “In The Land of Oo-Bla-Dee” which was later recorded by Dizzy Gillespie. She also composed the moody 12-part “Zodiac Suite” which she recorded with her trio for Asch and performed with a large jazz group that included tenor-saxophonist Ben Webster plus strings at Town Hall. By 1946, Williams had largely mastered bebop while also occasionally playing swing and stride pieces. Her haunting “Lonely Moments” (which Benny Goodman recorded in 1947) was a new addition to her repertoire. With an all-female jazz group she recorded such originals as “Fifth Dimension,” “Boogie Misterioso,” and “Rhumba Re-Bop.”
Benny Goodman was a lifelong admirer of Mary Lou Williams’ work and in 1948 he had her join his bop-oriented septet. Due to that year’s recording strike, they did not make any records but surviving radio shows have been released that feature her fitting right in with the swing-to-bop unit. Displaying her versatility, she also guested on one of Eddie Condon’s television shows.
With the end of her association with the Asch and Folkways labels, Williams only appeared on two record dates during 1949-50. While she was a little more active the following year, she felt frustrated with her career and her personal life, fearing that she had reached her peak. Worn out by the constant racism and sexism that she faced in the U.S. in addition to the daily struggles of the jazz life, she moved to Europe in 1952, performing in London and Paris. But despite getting to work and record more often, the pressures and frustrations of her life resulted in her spontaneous decision to stop playing during an engagement in Paris. She moved back to the United States, converted to Catholicism and, with the exception of recording an album called A Keyboard History in March 1955 which found her exploring a variety of styles (from gospel and swing to bop) in a trio, she stopped playing for three years.
At that point in time, Mary Lou Williams had decided to give up music in favor of devoting herself to religion and doing charity work including running a thrift store in Harlem. However in 1957 she was convinced by a couple of trusted priests that she should not waste the musical gift that she was given. In addition, her friend Dizzy Gillespie convinced her to return to playing. She appeared with his big band at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival including performing several pieces from her Zodiac Suite; the memorable concert was recorded and released by the Verve label.
Mary Lou Williams gradually returned to the jazz scene but on her own terms. She composed a series of religious works including her groundbreaking mass “Black Christ of The Andes,” “Music For Peace,” “Mary Lou’s Mass,” “Anima Christi,” and “Praise The Lord.” While occasionally recording elsewhere, she formed her own Mary label for her more religious and adventurous works. She was commissioned by the Catholic Church to compose liturgical music, taught at a high school and later on at Duke University, founded the Pittsburgh Jazz Festival, and preferred to play at colleges rather than too many smoky night clubs.
While most of her playing and composing was in the religious area during the 1960s, Williams also balanced it with some jazz including performing at the 1965 Monterey Jazz Festival and at that year’s Pittsburgh Jazz Festival in a piano workshop with Duke Ellington, Willie “the Lion” Smith, Earl Hines, Billy Taylor, and George Wein.
During the 1970s, Mary Lou Williams performed more often in jazz settings, often presenting a history of jazz solo recital. Building upon the ideas of the 1955 recording, she would begin with a traditional gospel song, play some stride and her swing pieces, follow it with a bit of bebop and modern jazz (including sometimes including a piece that bordered on the avant-garde), and then perhaps concluding her set with an original religious number. Unlike other pianists who might present a similar type of program, Mary Lou Williams had actually lived and played through all of those eras.
In the 1970s, Williams recorded intriguing albums for her Mary label (some of which was reissued by Smithsonian Folkways), Chiaroscuro, Pablo, HighNote, a jam session flavored album in 1971 with Dizzy Gillespie and cornetist Bobby Hackett (Giants), and with veteran tenor Buddy Tate on a septet date that also included Roy Eldridge and Illinois Jacquet. Her 1975 album for Steeplechase called Free Spirits finds Williams at her most modern, sounding like a young pianist influenced a bit by McCoy Tyner (who originally became famous as John Coltrane’s pianist), not a 65-year old. Less successful but an admirable attempt was a 1977 concert (released as Embraced) in which she met up with the avant-garde innovator Cecil Taylor. She tried to get Taylor to join in on her history of jazz presentation but he simply played in his usual free form style and the two pianists clashed with each other throughout the performance; it really should not have been released!
Williams continued being prolific during 1978-79 such as appearing as one of the stars at Benny Goodman’s 40th anniversary Carnegie Hall concert (including playing her “Roll ’Em”), performing at the White House for President Jimmy Carter, recording a trio album for the Black and Blue label, having a solo recital at the 1978 Montreux Jazz Festival, being on the very first edition of Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz (a radio series that she thought she should have been hosting), and making a final live recording on November 14, 1979, for the Storyville label.
Mary Lou Williams passed away on May 28, 1981, at the age of 71 from cancer. By then she had lived several lifetimes and amassed quite a musical legacy, quite a bit of which can fortunately be heard in her many recordings.
Since 1975 Scott Yanow has been a regular reviewer of albums in many jazz styles. He has written for many jazz and arts magazines, including JazzTimes, Jazziz, Down Beat, Cadence, CODA, and the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, and was the jazz editor for Record Review. He has written an in-depth biography on Dizzy Gillespie for AllMusic.com. He has authored 11 books on jazz, over 900 liner notes for CDs and over 20,000 reviews of jazz recordings.
Yanow was a contributor to and co-editor of the third edition of the All Music Guide to Jazz. He continues to write for Downbeat, Jazziz, the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, the Jazz Rag, the New York City Jazz Record and other publications.
