Mary Lou Williams Presents Black Christ of the Andes
Mary Lou Williams Presents Black Christ of the Andes
ASIN: B0001L3LGS
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Generally regarded as our greatest female jazz musician, Mary Lou Williams composed and arranged for Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie and was an important influence on fellow pianists Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell. Williams converted to Catholicism in the mid '50s, and in 1962 she began work on Black Christ of the Andes, the centerpiece of which is a hymn dedicated to the 16th century Afro-Peruvian priest, St. Martin de Porres, featuring a chorus by the Ray Charles Singers. In many ways, this three-part work anticipates Ellington's Sacred Concerts. The rest of the disc blends the sacred and the secular while highlighting Williams mostly in trio settings (often including the MJQ bassist Percy Heath). Williams embraces the whole history of jazz, from the funereal, John Kennedy tribute "Dirge Blues" and the Latin-styled "Koolbonga" to the soul-jazz-tinted treatment of "My Blue Heaven" and her avant-garde solo, "A Fungus A Mungus." --Eugene Holley, Jr.
Product Description
Mary Lou Williams, the "First Lady of Jazz," was an extraordinary pianist, composer, arranger, and master of blues, boogie woogie, stride, swing, and be-bop. Williams' complex harmonies and brilliant phrasing, rooted in spirituals and blues, border on the avant-garde. Black Christ is both a powerful secular statement and a call to the divine. Duke Ellington said, "[She was] beyond category - a pianist who sums up in herself the full essence of jazz and expresses it with skill and perception that few other jazz musicians have even approached."
Originally issued in 1964, this CD contains an additional 4 unreleased tracks, new extensive liner notes, and historic photos. 53 minutes.
Mary Lou Williams Presents Black Christ of the Andes,Mary Lou Williams,Smithsonian Folkways,Bop,Jazz,Pop,Third Stream
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Mary Lou Williams Presents Black Christ of the Andes
Mary Lou Williams Manufacturer: Smithsonian Folkways ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD  Bebop General
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ASIN: B0001L3LGS Release Date: 2004-04-27 |
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Amazon.com
Generally regarded as our greatest female jazz musician, Mary Lou Williams composed and arranged for Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie and was an important influence on fellow pianists Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell. Williams converted to Catholicism in the mid '50s, and in 1962 she began work on Black Christ of the Andes, the centerpiece of which is a hymn dedicated to the 16th century Afro-Peruvian priest, St. Martin de Porres, featuring a chorus by the Ray Charles Singers. In many ways, this three-part work anticipates Ellington's Sacred Concerts. The rest of the disc blends the sacred and the secular while highlighting Williams mostly in trio settings (often including the MJQ bassist Percy Heath). Williams embraces the whole history of jazz, from the funereal, John Kennedy tribute "Dirge Blues" and the Latin-styled "Koolbonga" to the soul-jazz-tinted treatment of "My Blue Heaven" and her avant-garde solo, "A Fungus A Mungus." --Eugene Holley, Jr.Album Description
Mary Lou Williams, the "First Lady of Jazz," was an extraordinary pianist, composer, arranger, and master of blues, boogie woogie, stride, swing, and be-bop. Williams' complex harmonies and brilliant phrasing, rooted in spirituals and blues, border on the avant-garde. Black Christ is both a powerful secular statement and a call to the divine. Duke Ellington said, "[She was] beyond category - a pianist who sums up in herself the full essence of jazz and expresses it with skill and perception that few other jazz musicians have even approached."Originally issued in 1964, this CD contains an additional 4 unreleased tracks, new extensive liner notes, and historic photos. 53 minutes.
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jazzmind.......2005-07-17
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