Mary Lou Williams is known worldwide for her jazz music. With this being said, she didn’t always think that the type of music she was playing was exactly holy, even calling it the “devil’s own music” therefore almost quitting making jazz for good. After she converted to the Roman Catholicism, a priest convinced her that she was too talented to let her gift go to waste, thus helping her play music again. This was great considering she had a lot of talent to offer to her faith, and God. She was right to think of herself as a "soul" player—a way of saying that she never strays far from melody and the blues.” Also when she said “"I am praying through my fingers when I play…I get that good 'soul sound,' and I try to touch people's spirits", she could not have been more right. One such example of song in which she does that is “St. Martin de Porres.”

Her album Mary Lou Williams Presents St. Martin de Porres was the first to present her sacred music compositions. The title track captures the eerie, yet soothing essence that can be found in traditional sacred music. The vocals are very smooth and solemn. About two-thirds into the song she plays a little piano, that differs somewhat from the vocals, yet with her being the genius she is, she makes it works. Overall Mary Lou Williams contributed a lot to the genre of jazz, but it’s the sacred music that can really capture the heart.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,870827,00.html
http://newarkwww.rutgers.edu/ijs/mlw/religious_1.html

Kadeem Jeudy