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Title
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Mary Lou Williams
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Description
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Information on Mary Lou Williams (1910-1981), born in Atlanta as Mary Elfrieda Scruggs, a prominent black jazz pianist of Kansas City. Williams came to Kansas City in 1928 as a pioneer woman jazz musician and as "arranger for Kansas City swing bandleader Andy Kirk and his 12 Clouds of Joy." Later she became "the first guest on [fellow female jazz pianist Marian] McPartland's radio show, 'Piano Jazz'" in 1979.
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Object Type
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Vertical File
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Title
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18th & Vine District to Inaugurate Jazz Walk of Fame
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Description
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Article announces that a ceremony to honor distinguished Kansas City jazz musicians by installing 30-inch bronze medallions in the sidewalks along 18th Street near the 18th and Vine District will take place on August 23, 2014. Plans for the planned yearly event are provided. The article announces that the 2014 honorees will be Count Basie, Charlie Parker, Mary Lou Williams, Jay McShann, Pat Metheny, and Bobby Watson.
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Date
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2014-08-22
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Object Type
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Newspaper Article
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Title
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Morning Glory: A Biography of Mary Lou Williams
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Description
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Photos and descriptions of Mary Lou Williams, a prominent black woman jazz pianist and composer in Kansas City during the 1930s, born in Atlanta in about 1910 and memorialized with a street named after her in Kansas City.
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Date
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1999
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Object Type
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Book
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Title
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Jazz Women at the Keyboard
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Description
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Chapters of the book about Midwestern women pianists and keyboard players, mostly in the jazz style. Photos and description of Mary Lou Williams (1910-1981), a black jazz pianist born in Atlanta and coming to Kansas City in 1929, playing with many bands.
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Date
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1983
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Object Type
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Book
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Title
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In Memory: Andy Kirk Leaves a Kansas City Legacy
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Description
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Obituary for Andy Kirk, legendary big band leader whose band, the Clouds of Joy, arrived in Kansas City in 1929-30 and immediately became rivals of Bennie Moten's band. Kirk died December 11, 1992.
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Date
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1993-02
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Object Type
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Magazine Article
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Title
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Jazz: Hot and Cool
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Description
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Description of the jazz scene in Kansas City between 1918 and 1976.
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Date
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1976
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Object Type
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Magazine Article
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Title
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The Kansas City Style of Jazz
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Description
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The authors in this book have traced the history and personalities involved in the immergence of the unique style of jazz that originated in the heartland and in particular in Kansas City during the 1920s-1940s. Individuals and groups detailed include: Count Basie, Jay McShann, Andy Kirk and the Clouds of Joy, Charlie "Bird" Parker, Mary Lou Williams, Bennie Moten, Lester Young, Claude Williams, George Lee, Julia Lee, Walter Page, Joe Turner and many more. The book also gives a description of the areas and places where groups played and performers rose to prominence as the 18th and Vine area, 12th Street, Fairyland Park, El Torreon Ballrooom, Paseo Hall, Pla-Mor Ballroom, Reno Club and numerous other roadhouses and clubs. Besides tracing the performers and style, reasons for the growth and eventual waning of local jazz are given.
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Date
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2005
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Object Type
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Book
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Title
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Jazz Wouldn't Be the Same Without Her
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Description
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Article reviews the life of Mary Lou Williams (May 8, 1901-1981) and her contribution to jazz on the occasion of her 100th birthday. "Mary Lou Williams was 19 when she played piano on the first recordings made by Andy Kirk's Clouds of Joy, marking the beginning of her Kansas City years. She was both pianist and arranger for Kirk and later composed and arranged for the Duke Ellington Orchestra."
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Date
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2010-05-16
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Object Type
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Newspaper Article
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Title
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Mary Lou Williams: Music for Peace
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Description
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Photo and biographical article about Mary Lou Williams (1910-1981), a black jazz "pianist-composer-arranger" and "the only major jazz artist who lived and played through all the eras in the history of jazz." Born in Atlanta and coming to Kansas City in 1928 as a professional musician with her husband and fellow musician Andy Kirk and going on to perform here in Kansas City's jazz heyday from 1929 to 1942 before retiring in Europe in 1954 and returning in later life to compose Catholic Mass songs such as "Music for Peace." Composer of songs for the following: Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Andy Kirk, Jimmie Lunceford, and Glenn Gray, et al.
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Date
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1985
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Object Type
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Magazine Article
