Mary Lou Williams – The Credo (1964)

Mary Records, 45rpm, other personnel unknown

Mary Lou Williams Centennial Celebration (05/08/10)

“Mary Lou Williams is perpetually contemporary. Her music retains a standard of quality that is timeless. She is like Soul on Soul.” – Duke Ellington

Tomorrow, 05/08/10, marks the centennial celebration of Mary Lou Williams, the “First Lady of Jazz.” She was one of jazz’s great performers, composers, and innovators. She was present for, and participated in, nearly every evolution in jazz from stride to swing to bop to free. She mentored and inspired countless musicians including Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, and Thelonious Monk. A master of the blues in all its forms, here’s Mary Lou performing a solo blues improvisation for television in 1980:

Followed by a wonderful interpretation of “The Man I Love,” live in Montreux in 1978.

Click here for my previous posting on Mary Lou Williams, an analysis and discussion of her classic interpretation of “It Ain’t Necessarily So.”

http://bopandbeyond.wordpress.com/2008/10/29/347/

Also, NPR has a great little article on Mary Lou, celebrating her centennial:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126553362

“Jazz is a thing that feeds love and is healing to the soul.”

Mary Lou Williams, 1910 – 1981

Happy New Year from Bop and Beyond~!!

Bop and Beyond wishes everyone a Happy New Year! Big things planned here for 2010, including massive celebrations for the centennials of Django Reinhardt and Mary Lou Williams. I’m also getting a new microphone soon so more shows will be getting made. Things will be kicking off soon so keep checking back…

Django Reinhardt Centennial: January 23rd, 2010.

An Interview with Mary Lou Williams (1976)

“Jazz is a thing that feeds love and is healing to the soul.” — Mary Lou Williams

Thinking about Thelonious Monk got me thinking about Mary Lou Williams.  To understand Monk, you need to listen to Mary Lou. Here’s a brief audio interview with Mary Lou Williams conducted at The Stadler Hotel in Buffalo, NY, 1976. Her warmth and humor are evident. Such a wonderful personality and talent.

Mary Lou was one of jazz’s finest interpreters of the blues too:

And, finally, Mary Lou William’s famous “Jazz Tree” history:

Bop and Beyond’s 50 Personally Indispensable Jazz Albums:

Monty challenged me to come up with my own list of 50 personally indispensable jazz albums in response to the Amazon 100 list.

The criteria was simple, name the 50 jazz albums I personally could not live without. That’s it… a list of favorite albums (not necessarily the greatest albums either). Anyone who has followed this site knows my taste so most of these albums won’t come as much of a surprise anyway.

Monty’s list is posted here: http://rightheredude.blogspot.com/2009/05/my-top-50-jazz-albums-of-all-time.html

In the meantime, here’s mine…

01. Miles Davis – Kind of Blue

02. Duke Ellington – Money Jungle

03. Clifford Brown & Max Roach – A Study In Brown

04. Thelonious Monk – Monk’s Dream

05. Billie Holiday – Lady Day: The Master Takes

06. Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington – The Great Summit

07. Coleman Hawkins – Body and Soul

08. Ornette Coleman – At The Golden Circle

09. Miles Davis – In A Silent Way

10. Peggy Lee – Black Coffee

11. John Coltrane – Coltrane’s Sound

12. Alice Coltrane – Ptah, the El Daoud

13. Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers – Like Someone In Love

14. Ahmad Jamal – The Legendary Okeh and Epic Recordings

15. Curtis Amy – Katanga!

16. Von Freeman – The Great Divide

17. Mary Lou Williams – Black Christ of the Andes

18. Paul Chambers – Bass on Top

19. Alice Coltrane – Journey in Satchidananda

20. Charlie Rouse – Bossa Nova Bacchanal

21. Thelonious Monk – Misterioso

22. Booker Ervin – The Freedom Book

23. Ike Quebec – Blue and Sentimental

24. Sonny Rollins – Saxophone Colossus

25. John Coltrane – A Love Supreme

26. Miles Davis – Ascenseur Pour L’echafaud (Lift to the Scaffold)

27. Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers – Au Club St. Germain

28. Duke Ellington – Fargo, 1940

29. Coleman Hawkins – Night Hawk

30. Mal Waldron – The Seagulls of Kristiansund

31. Herbie Nichols – Love, Gloom, Cash, Love

32. Jimmy Smith – Back at the Chicken Shack

33. Pharoah Sanders – Jewels of Thought

34. The Jazz Crusaders – Freedom Sound

35. Django Reinhardt – Paris and London

36. Dexter Gordon – Our Man In Paris

37. Andrew Hill – Smokestack

38. Stanley Turrentine – Jubilee Shout!!!

39. Don Byas – Laura

40. Clifford Brown – With Strings

41. Grachan Moncur III – Evolution

42. Earl Hines – Once Upon A Time

43. Horace Parlan – Speakin’ My Piece

44. Lou Blackburn – The Complete Imperial Sessions

45. Sonny Rollins – East Broadway Run Down

46. Carmell Jones – Jay Hawk Talk

47. The Curtis Counce Group – Carl’s Blues

48. Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers – Free For All

49. Paul Gonsalves – Boom Jackie Boom Chick

50. Kenny Burrell – Midnight Blue