Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band
“She is like soul on soul.” (Duke Ellington)
Mary Lou Williams (1910–81), whom Duke Ellington called “perpetually contemporary,” mastered forms from blues to boogie-woogie, stride to swing on the piano. When bebop came along, she adapted effortlessly, working with Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, and Charlie Parker. As a composer she wrote for the big bands and later created extended experimental works. This illuminating documentary, filled with tuneful archival footage, ranges over the life and career of a jazz woman to be reckoned with.
Q&A filmmaker Carol Bash will be interviewed by Tom Staudter, veteran music writer and regular contributor to Downbeat magazine.
