Search - Mary Lou Williams :: The Zodiac Suite

The Zodiac Suite
Mary Lou Williams
The Zodiac Suite
Genres: Jazz, Pop
 
  •  Track Listings (17) - Disc #1

Smithsonian Folkways proudly celebrated the 50th anniversary of the original Asch Records release of Mary Lou Williams' work, Zodiac Suite. Performing solo and accompanied by bassist Al Lucas and drummer Jack Parker, Willi...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Mary Lou Williams
Title: The Zodiac Suite
Members Wishing: 1
Total Copies: 0
Label: Smithsonian Folkways
Release Date: 10/17/1995
Genres: Jazz, Pop
Styles: Swing Jazz, Traditional Jazz & Ragtime, Bebop
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 093074081020

Synopsis

Album Description
Smithsonian Folkways proudly celebrated the 50th anniversary of the original Asch Records release of Mary Lou Williams' work, Zodiac Suite. Performing solo and accompanied by bassist Al Lucas and drummer Jack Parker, Williams crafted these pieces as a series of dedications to fellow musicians born under each astrological sign. This 12-part interpretation of the zodiac was crafted so each movement comprises a set of jazz tone poems. Six alternate takes, mastered from the original acetates, are featured on this reissue. "Irresistible themes...blending sophistication and intimacy." - DownBeat

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CD Reviews

Pisces waltzes in a dream...
DJ Rix | NJ USA | 09/15/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)

"A delightful collection of "miniatures" in which Mary Lou Williams - not an expert at astrology - accurately captures certain attributes of the various signs by observing them in people she knew & making them into music, much as Virgil Thomson did in his Portraits. Taurus plods along heavily. Pisces waltzes in a dream. Scorpio is sneaky. Cancer is a Debussyan moon. Fun for fans of jazz piano & maybe more than that for the astrologically-inclined. Sound quality is rough, to say the least, but it's like peeking at Mary Lou's private journal.

Bob Rixon, WFMU-FM"
One for the stars
h.zane knauss | columbia,, sc United States | 06/27/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mary Lou Williams is a pianist from the galaxy of pianists who came from the Greater Pittsburgh area - Earl Hines, Erroll Garner, Billy Strayhorn, Johnny Costa, etc... she had a pile driving left hand at the piano and a wide-ranging imagination when it came to writing music. This album is another fine exmple of her thinking. I don't think she ever received the fame she deserved...as a musician or as a composer."