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Mary Lou Williams, 1910-1981
Overview
Not only was Pittsburgh's Mary Lou Williams a scholar of the history of jazz, she was an important participant. As she said it, while others lived through the history of jazz, she played through it (which she literally does on her LP, The History of Jazz). An accomplished pianist and composer, her work reflects her dedication to her instrument, her thorough knowledge of jazz styles, and her openly religious musical aspirations.
As a testament to her continuing inspiration and influence:
- In 2000, trumpeter Dave Douglas released a CD titled Soul on Soul as a tribute to her music,
- Pianist John Hicks released his Impressions of Mary Lou accompanied by Pittsburghers Dwayne Dolphin on bass and Cecil Brooks III on drums.
- The Dutch Jazz Orchestra researched and played rediscovered works of Williams on their Lady Who Swings the Band disc from 2005.
- In 2006, the Mary Lou Williams Collective, fronted by University of Pittsburgh graduate Geri Allen, released their Zodiac Suite: Revisited disc.
Books
| AUTHOR / TITLE | CALL NUMBER | |
 | Dahl, Linda Morning Glory: A Biography of Mary Lou Williams |
(r)ML417.W515 D34 1999 |
 | Kernodle, Tammy L. Soul on Soul: the Life and Music of Mary Lou Williams |
(r)ML410.W7134 K46 2004 |
Pittsburgh Music Reference Collection
The Music department has gathered thousands of recordings by musicians with Pittsburgh connections. These are kept as reference (i.e., they cannot be checked out of the library though a few duplicate copies may circulate) so they will always be on hand for researchers and curious listeners. There are listening stations in the department that can play LPs, cassettes and CDs. For Mary Lou Williams, there are both LPs and CDs in the reference collection for you to explore.
LP Records
| TITLE | CALL NUMBER |
| The History of Jazz In 1970, Mary Lou Williams tape recorded herself in her apartment narrating and playing the history of jazz. This LP still has not been officially released on compact disc. |
r RECORD AL 13962 |
| Mary Lou Williams: A Keyboard History* In 1955, Williams' piano trio recorded this history of her own career from her early ragtime, blue and boogie-woogie styles to modern jazz. This recording also has never been officially released on CD. | PGH LP 411 |
| The Best of Mary Lou Williams | (r) RECORD AL 13370 |
| Mary Lou Williams & Cecil Taylor Embraced | r RECORD AL 13950 |
| Mary Lou Williams in London | r RECORD AL 14321 |
| Mary Lou Williams Quartet featuring Don Byas | (r) RECORD AL 13908 |
| Mary Lou Williams: the Asch Recordings 1944-47 | r RECORD AL 13978 |
| Free Spirits | r RECORD AL 14020 |
| My Mama Pinned a Rose on Me | r RECORD AL 14129 |
| Solo Recital | (r) RECORD AL 12953 |
* (This LP is part of the library's Pittsburgh LP Collection, an historical group of over 500 LPs of Pittsburgh music. The Pittsburgh LP Collection, and some other resources on Pittsburgh musicians, are listed on the library website, but are not included in the catalog.)
Compact Discs
Most of the CDs in the Pittsburgh Music Reference Collection are also available as circulating copies. Reference items have an "r" in the call number while circulating items do not; titles with both reference and circulating copies are signified by "(r)" in the call number.| TITLE | CALL NUMBER |
| Circle Recordings | (r) Jz Wil #29672 |
| Free Spirits (Mary Lou Williams Trio) | (r) Jz Mar #29664 |
| Ladies of Jazz: Mary Lou Williams & Barbara Carroll | (r) Jz Wil #29671 |
| Live at the Keystone Korner | (r) Jz Wil #21111 |
| Mary Lou Williams, 1953-1954 | (r) Jz Wil #29676 |
| Mary Lou Williams Presents Black Christ of the Andes | (r) Jz Wil #22470 |
| Mary Lou's Mass | (r) Jz Wil #24181 |
| My Mama Pinned a Rose on Me | (r) Jz Wil #29673 |
| Zodiac Suite | (r) Jz Wil #9521 |
| Zodiac Suite | r CD 4487 |
| Zoning | (r) Jz Wil #10160 |
Additional Catalog Searches
For more Mary Lou Williams recordings, including albums where she collaborated or performed with other bandleaders, you can perform an author search limited to Music CD and LP/Cassette.
And be sure to explore the Catalog to find scores or videos and DVDs related to Mary Lou Williams.
Listen Online
The library subscribes to a streaming audio database, Naxos Music Library Jazz, that contains two Mary Lou Williams albums: her concert with avant-garde pianist Cecil Taylor and a solo recital from the Montreux Jazz Festival from 1978. Search for "Mary Lou Williams" and make sure your pop-up blocker is turned off before clicking on the entries.In addition, the Smithsonian Global Sound database contains almost 100 tracks from Mary Lou Williams that are easily found through an alphabetical artist search.
All of the library's streaming audio databases are free and can be accessed off-site with a Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh library card.Further Research
The library subscribes to numerous periodicals related to jazz including Down Beat, Jazziz, and Jazztimes Magazine. These journals and hundreds of others are indexed in the Music Index database (after clicking on link, scroll down). This database is available only from computers in the CLP Main library. Articles about Mary Lou Williams are also available in JSTOR, a scholarly full-text database also only available in the CLP Main library building.
Finally, the Mary Lou Williams
Foundation, founded by the artist herself, continues to extend her legacy and provides links to her Mary Records label and the Mary Lou Williams collection at the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University.
As always, if you have any questions, please ask a librarian.
Updated March 2008.
