Mary Lou Williams

Deanna Witkowski is an award-winning jazz pianist and composer who recently relocated to Mary Lou Williams’s hometown of Pittsburgh after spending twenty-three years as a New Yorker. Her seven recordings include the forthcoming Force of Nature (MCG Jazz) featuring all Williams compositions, and Makes the Heart to Sing: Jazz Hymns (Tilapia Records), featuring 14 jazz arrangements of classic hymns alongside a companion sheet music book. As a frequent guest music leader, Witkowski has shared her original liturgical jazz in over one hundred churches throughout the United States. She has lectured and performed the music of Mary Lou Williams at venues including the Kennedy Center, Duke University, Fordham University, and with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. She is currently a PhD student in jazz studies at the University of Pittsburgh. Visit Witkowski online at deannajazz.com.

• ContentsAcknowledgments   xiIntroduction   1Chapter OneChanging the Scene (1910–26)   7Chapter TwoEleven Men and a Girl (1927–42)   16Chapter ThreeWaltz Boogie (1942–52)   28Chapter FourRestless and Revolutionary (1952–54)   41Chapter FiveReaching the Right Sound (1954–58)  49Chapter SixKeep Your Heart High (1958–62)   63Chapter SevenSaint Martin and the Steel City (1962–67)   72Chapter EightEternal and Everyday (1967–69)   85Chapter NineA Musical Contemplative (1968–74)   99Chapter TenThe Whole Point Is Love (1974–81)   115Notes   129Selected Bibliography   141Index   145

"A beautifully written and expertly researched biography of one of the most fascinating Catholic artists of our time. Deanna Witkowski, a musician herself, brings to life a whole era in this engrossing new book about art, music, love, perseverance, and faith."James Martin, SJ, author of Learning to Pray and In All Seasons, For All Reasons