Mary Lou Williams Biography

Mary Lou williams (1910-1981), often called The First Lady of Jazz, was a pioneering pianist, composer, and arranger whose creative genius spanned five decades and many styles from Swing to Bebop to post bop styles.  She became a devout Roman Catholic in 1957 and offered her music "as a prayer for others."  As an African American woman composer, her career is remarkable in that she rose to prominence in the era before Civil Rights and Women's Rights, when successful female jazz musicians were rare.
During the 20's and 30's Williams wrote for and performed with Andy Kirk's band, Twelve Clouds of Joy, and composed and arranged for leading orchestral conductors of the Swing Era, including Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman.  Later compositions were recorded by Dizzy Gillespie, and her extended composition, The Zodiac Suite, was premiered in Carnegie Hall.  Turning to Catholicism, she began to compose sacred music, including three masses, that most famous being Mary Lou's Mass, which was performed at the Vatican.
In the final years of her life, Williams was artist-in-residence at Duke University, where she continued her life-long commitment to teaching young musicians.  Her legacy continues through the work of the Mary Lou Williams Foundation, the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture at Duke University, and the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival held annually at the Kennedy Center.