Mary Lou Williams Mary Lou Williams artist page: interviews, features and/or performances archived at NPR Music
Mary Lou Williams
Mary Lou Williams, Charenee Wade, Lizz Wright Getty Images/NPR hide caption
Turning the Tables at Lincoln Center NPR hide caption
Turning The Tables: Celebrating Eight Women Who Invented American Popular Music
Jazz at Lincoln Center
Turning The Tables: Celebrating Eight Women Who Invented American Popular Music
Andy Kirk And His Orchestra, including Mary Lou Williams (sitting at the piano), pose for a studio group portrait in 1940. Williams toured with Kirk's band before settling in New York. Gilles Petard/Redferns hide caption
Mary Lou Williams on stage in 1968. David Redfern/Getty Images hide caption
Mary Lou Williams in 1942. In the 1930s and '40s, her apartment on 63 Hamilton Terrace formed an important space in advancing the evolution of jazz and the survival of musicians. Donaldson Collection/Getty Images hide caption
Helen Sung on Mary Lou Williams NPR hide caption
Jazz helped Mary Lou Williams stay alive — but after several draining decades as a musician, she quit the scene. When she returned, she claimed her true power as one of jazz's fiercest advocates. Metronome/Getty Images hide caption
Mary Lou Williams began arranging in 1929. By 1942, she was among the most renowned arrangers in the business. Bettmann/Bettmann Archive hide caption
Jazz composer and pianist Mary Lou Williams is photographed in 1950. Gilles Petard/Redferns/Getty Images hide caption
Turning The Tables: 8 Women Who Invented American Popular Music Chelsea Beck for NPR hide caption
Mary Lou Williams' choral masterpiece Black Christ Of The Andes showcased her seemingly endless ability to innovate. William P. Gotlieb/Library of Congress via flickr.com hide caption
Following her conversion to Catholicism, pianist Mary Lou Williams began to compose and record religious music. William Gottlieb/Library of Congress hide caption
Mary Lou Williams at the CBS studios in 1947. William P. Gottlieb/Library of Congress hide caption
"I'm a little verklempt! Talk amongst yourselves. I'll give you a topic: John Coltrane was neither made of coal or a train. Discuss." NBC hide caption
Can you name all the musicians in the photo? Need help? Art Kane/Art Kane Archives hide caption
Mary Lou Williams received an honorary degree from Fordham University in 1973. Mary Lou Williams Collection, Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University hide caption
Listening, Party For Two: Mary Lou Williams, 'Aries'
Not only did Mary Lou Williams write and arrange music for herself and legends like Benny Goodman, but she also taught Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell. Metronome/Archive Photos hide caption
Mary Lou Williams received an honorary degree from Fordham University in 1973. Mary Lou Williams Collection, Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University hide caption
Hear Performances From 1976 And 1978
The Kennedy Center honors Mary Lou Williams every year with the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival, which showcases today's brightest female jazz artists. William P. Gottlieb/Library of Congress via flickr.com hide caption
Mary Lou Williams, ca. 1946. William P. Gotlieb/Library of Congress via flickr.com hide caption