Mary Lou Williams: Biography from Answers.com Mobile

Mary Lou Williams

(born May 8, 1910, Atlanta, Ga., U.S. — died May 28, 1981, Durham, N.C.) U.S. pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. A child prodigy, she had her professional debut with big bands at age 12. Beginning in 1929, Williams wrote arrangements for many swing bands, including those of Andy Kirk (1898 – 1992) and Duke Ellington. Her 12-movement Zodiac Suite was performed by the New York Philharmonic in 1946. A pianist with strong roots in the blues and early jazz, Williams embraced the innovations of bebop and later free jazz, performing with a diverse array of jazz musicians, including Dizzy Gillespie and Cecil Taylor (b. 1929). In the 1960s and '70s she composed a number of liturgical pieces for jazz ensembles, including Music for Peace (1970), popularly known as "Mary Lou's Mass."

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