In A Mellow Tone, April 2: Mary Lou Williams and the 80th Anniversary of The Zodiac Suite
Mary Lou Williams was a pianist and composer. This show will feature her compositions, including a conversation with Adam Fairhall about his new release of Mary Lou Williams compositions
Mary Lou Williams was a pianist and composer. On Wednesday night’s show I will be featuring an interview with Adam Fairhall about her compositions and her influence. Adam Fairhall and Johnny Hunter have a new release of arrangements of her compositions and we will hear some of that release as well.
In the second hour we will hear the “Zodiac Suite” as interpreted by various artists, including Adam Diehl and the Knights, the Umlaut Chamber Orchestra, Jeong Lim Yang, and Geri Allen.
Here is the Umlaut Chamber Orchestra playing “Scorpio”.
We will end the show with Mary Lou herself, playing a medley of tunes from “Zodiac Suite” with the Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra live at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1957. Here is a live performance of Mary Lou with a trio, recorded at the Nice Jazz Festival in 1978, just three years before her death.
You can listen live on Wednesday at 9 p.m. at 93.1 on the FM dial in the National Capital Region or via online streaming at CKCUFM.com. The show is also available on demand.