Mary Lou Williams Historical Marker

Mary Lou Williams was born May 8, 1910 as Mary Elfrieda Scruggs. She began playing the piano at a very young age – when she was only two years old, her mother noticed her perfect pitch and recognized her potential. Though she never had formal piano lessons – her mother thought a teacher would interfere with her growth – Williams was doing professional pianist work at the age of 12. Her work with big bands and famous composers, such as Duke Ellington, was her introduction to the constantly-evolving world of jazz. In 1929, when she was only 19, Williams joined the band Andy Kirk and the Twelve Clouds of Joy to begin her career as an arranger, quickly becoming popular. A year later, Mary Lou Williams released her first two solo recordings, titled “Drag 'Em” and “Night Life”.

Williams’ skill quickly made her an influential figure in the jazz world. She did not limit herself to one style of music and sometimes tackled multiple at once, such as in her 1945 Zodiac Suite. Modern critics have noted that because of this versatility, her work was sometimes ahead of its time, placing her at the forefront of the evolution of swing and bebop. In addition to her indirect influence on jazz, she also mentored many musicians throughout her life including Dizzy Gillespie and Bud Howell; and she played with many bands including women’s bands such as Girl-Stars.

In 1954, while in Paris, Williams took a sudden break from composing and performing. She had noticed the toll the music industry was taking on her and her contemporaries, causing many to suffer and even die from stress and addiction. Then, on the advice of her friend, she picked up her Bible. Rejuvenated, Mary Lou Williams eagerly dedicated herself to her Catholic spirituality. After she returned to playing in 1957, she released several liturgical jazz pieces including "Black Christ of the Andes", which was released in 1962. Her music was even played in St. Patrick's Cathedral during a 1975 Mass, though it did not catch on, and despite repeated attempts Williams' work was not played in a Vatican Mass.

During this time, Williams took on several outreach projects in her community. In 1958 she founded the Bel Canto Foundation, a charitable project that used thrift stores to raise funds. The profits benefited musicians struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, an epidemic that had already killed some of Williams' friends. Later in life, she also helped to establish the Pittsburgh Jazz Festival, which was held annually from 1964 to 2003.

Williams felt that her relationship with God and with music was closely related to her identity as a Black woman. The following is excerpted from the page Williams included in her 1964 record Mary Lou Williams Presents Saint Martin de Porres:

"From suffering came the Negro spirituals, songs of joy, and songs of sorrow. The main origin of American Jazz is the spiritual. Because of the deeply religious background of the American Negro, he was able to mix this strong influence with rhythms that reached deep enough into the inner self to give expression to outcries of sincere joy, which became known as Jazz."⁷

On May 28, 1981, Williams died. She was 71. Although her funeral was held in New York, she was buried at Cavalry Cemetery in Pittsburgh. A historical monument commemorating Mary Lou Williams’ story was dedicated in 1996, and it was placed outside Lincoln Elementary School where she had attended for four years. The plaque serves as a reminder of Williams’ lifelong dedication to music and her influence on decades of jazz. The last time Mary Lou Williams played piano was February 14, 1981. But the music she wrote, and the music of those she inspired, is still being played today.

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3. Corbin, Ian Marcus. A jazz Mass? The vexing legacy of Mary Lou Williams. Commonweal, vol. 139, no. 2113 - 16. Published December 7th 2012. EBSCOhost.
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10. Wikipedia contributors. Mellon Jazz Festival. Wikipedia. Accessed March 31st 2021. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mellon_Jazz_Festival.
11. Williams, Mary Lou. ejazzlines: The Global Source for Jazz. Accessed May 18th 2021. https://www.ejazzlines.com/big-band-arrangements/by-arranger/mary-lou-williams-arrangements.
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