Mary Lou Williams: An Inspiration to All Musicians

"I'm the only living musician that has played all the eras," Mary Lou Williams once said, "Other musicians lived through the eras and they never changed their styles."
When the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra came to Stonehill to dedicate a concert to the famous musician Mary Lou Williams, I had a lot of mixed feelings. I didn't know whether I would enjoy this big band jazz, or if it would be my type of music. Throughout the concert I realized how creative Mary Lou Williams was and how brilliant her music is. I really enjoyed the concert and came out with a totally different outlook on big band jazz and of course Mary Lou Williams. The man who composed that night talked about Mary Lou William's life between every couple of songs which helped me to come more associated with her.
Mary Lou Williams loved to play the piano and keyboard and actually learned by ear, able to play note for note what her mother played for her. Her stepfather James P. Johnson taught her the blues, but at age 13 Mary Lou ran away from home. At the early age of 16, Mary Lou Williams was already married. She became an inspiration to musicians all over the world, and people would travel to see her perform. She was brilliant on the piano, which we saw in the concert in the songs "Anima Christi" and "St. Martin de Porres." The compositions she put together were truly beautiful and I got nothing but enjoyment from listening to her music be played.
Later on in her life, Mary Lou donated money to musicians that were detrimented by drugs and alcohol. These donations helped to get musicians back on their feet once they were out of their addiction. One of my favorite pieces put together by Mary Lou Williams were "Swing Hard" and "Roll 'Em." Overall, Mary Lou Williams is a great inspiration to musicians all over the world and she truly was an amazing performer. As Duke Ellington put it, "Mary Lou Williams is perpetually contemporary. Her writing and performing are and always have been just a little ahead throughout her career... Her music retains a standard of quality that is timeless. She is like soul on soul."

-Justin Coonan