One of the greatest jazz pianists, composers, and arrangers of all time, Mary Lou Williams was a swing and bebop icon with few equals. A musical prodigy, at the age of two she was able to pick out simple tunes, and by the age of three she was given piano lessons by her mother. Mary Lou Williams played piano out of necessity at a very young age … when only six, she supported her ten half-brothers and sisters by playing at neighborhood parties. She began performing publicly at the age of seven, when she became known admiringly in Pittsburgh as “The Little Piano Girl” of East Liberty. She became a professional musician at the age of 15, and recorded more that one-hundred records (78s,45s, and 33-1/3 LPs) throughout her lifetime. She was a friend, mentor, and teacher to many of the greats, including the likes of Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Bud Powell, and Dizzy Gillespie.
Above is a performance of an original Williams composition, Medition II, recorded for a popular 1974 television program. It features Sy Oliver on trumpet, Milton Suggs on bass, and Walter Perkins playing drums. Below left, she partners with Stan Getz in 1978 with the familiar My Blue Heaven … and below right Mary Lou ‘noodles’ Some Blues. The video quality is poor but her brief solo was so classically blues, I had to include it!
Below is a track from her landmark 1975 album, “Live at the Cookery.” It’s Mary Lou Williams rendition of the Miles Davis tune, All Blues, with bassist Brian Torff. The album is a series of duets, essentially taking listeners on a trip through the history of jazz … from hymns and blues to stride, swing, and bop (including “All Blues”).
