Mary Lou Williams

American jazz pianist and composer (1910–1981)

Born: 1910
Atlanta
Died: 28 May 1981
Durham
Country: United States
Record labels: Atlantic Records, Decca, Brunswick Records, King, Victor
Discography: 18 albums

Biography

Mary Lou Williams was a jazz musician who played piano. Mary Lou Williams was born in 1910 in Atlanta and died on 28 May 1981 in Durham. The music is usually filed under jazz, swing and big band music. Record labels: Atlantic Records, Decca, Brunswick Records and King. The discography here lists 18 albums, from “Plays in London” (1953) to “Zodiac Suite” (2023). Honours include Guggenheim Fellowship (1972) and honorary doctor of Fordham University (1973).

Mary Lou Williams (born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs; May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. She wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements and recorded more than one hundred records (in 78, 45, and LP versions). Williams wrote and arranged for Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman, and she was friend, mentor, and teacher to Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Tadd Dameron, Bud Powell, and Dizzy Gillespie. She has been noted for her 1954 conversion to Catholicism, which led to a musical hiatus and a later transformation in the nature of her music. She continued to perform and work as a philanthropist, educator, and youth mentor until her death from bladder cancer in 1981.

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Discography

Studio and live albums

Plays in London 1953

Mary Lou Williams 1964

Zoning 1974

Zodiac Suite 1975

Embraced 1978 · Live

Live at the Cookery 1990 · Live

The London Sessions 1997

Solo Recital Montreux Jazz Festival 1978 1998 · Live

Live at the Keystone Korner 2002 · Live

My Mama Pinned a Rose on Me 2005

A Grand Night for Swinging 2008 · Live

First Lady of the Piano 2009

Zodiac Suite 2023

Blueprints for a Velvet Galaxy (After Hours Sessions)

Lady Piano

Mary Lou Williams and Orchestra

Piano Solos

The History of Jazz

Also plays on

Albums where Mary Lou Williams is credited as a sideman

1971	Giants — Dizzy Gillespie, Bobby Hackett, Mary Lou Williams, Grady Tate & George Duvivier	piano
2026	World Tour — Oscar Peterson	piano

Teacher of

Dizzy Gillespie 1917–1993 · American jazz trumpeter (1917–1993)

Awards

1972 Guggenheim Fellowship
1973 honorary doctor of Fordham University

Historic 78 rpm records

PIANO SOLOS MARY LOU WILLIAMS · Morgan Lewis · Jack Strachey · Mary Lou Williams archive.org ↗
Signs of the ZODIAC Mary Lou Williams · (Mary Lou Williams) · Al Lucas archive.org ↗
How High the Moon Mary Lou Williams · Morgan Lewis archive.org ↗
Cloudy Mary Lou Williams archive.org ↗
CLOUDY MARY LOU WILLIAMS · Mary Lou Williams archive.org ↗
BENNY'S BOP (Now) Benny Goodman Sextet · Benny Goodman · Wardell Gray · Mary Lou… archive.org ↗
Russian Lullaby; Blue Skies; Persian Rug; Night and Day; You Know Baby; I Found a New BAby Mary Lou Williams Trio · Mary Lou Williams · Jack Palmer · Neil… · 1944 archive.org ↗
MARY LOU WILLIAMS TRIO Jack Palmer · Al Hall · Irving Berlin · MARY LOU WILLIAMS TRIO ·… · 1944 archive.org ↗