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== Subsequent performances == |
== Subsequent performances == |
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[[File:Dizzy Gillespie, Tadd Dameron, Mary Lou Williams, and Jack Teagarden, Mary Lou Williams' apartment, New York, N.Y., ca. Aug. 1947 (William P. Gottlieb 15931).jpg|thumb|329x329px|Mary Lou Williams and Dizzy Gillespie (''bottom left''), with whom she would later perform music from ''Zodiac Suite'' ]] |
[[File:Dizzy Gillespie, Tadd Dameron, Mary Lou Williams, and Jack Teagarden, Mary Lou Williams' apartment, New York, N.Y., ca. Aug. 1947 (William P. Gottlieb 15931).jpg|thumb|329x329px|Mary Lou Williams and Dizzy Gillespie (''bottom left''), with whom she would later perform music from ''Zodiac Suite'' ]] |
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Pearl Primus, Katherine Dunham and Talley Beaty all choreographed dances to sections of the suite in the 1940s.{{Sfn|Griffin|2013|p=168}} In 1957, Williams performed with Dizzy Gillespie at the [[Newport Jazz Festival]] a medley of three songs from the suite ("Virgo", "Libre" and "Aries") which was included on an [[Dizzy Gillespie at Newport|album of the concert]].{{Sfn|Kernodle|2020|p=188}}{{Sfn|Dahl|1999|p=263}} Williams |
Pearl Primus, Katherine Dunham and Talley Beaty all choreographed dances to sections of the suite in the 1940s.{{Sfn|Griffin|2013|p=168}} In 1957, Williams performed with Dizzy Gillespie at the [[Newport Jazz Festival]] a medley of three songs from the suite ("Virgo", "Libre" and "Aries") which was included on an [[Dizzy Gillespie at Newport|album of the concert]].{{Sfn|Kernodle|2020|p=188}}{{Sfn|Dahl|1999|p=263}} With [[Melba Liston]], Williams planned an arrangement of the suite for Thelonious Monk but the project never materialised.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Witkowski |first=Deanna |url=https://books.google.com.au/books?id=6i84EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA36&lpg=PA36&dq=The+Zodiac+Suite+grammy+hall+of+fame&source=bl&ots=uWf9E5T8uP&sig=ACfU3U003qZpokwXnvxePbAqpnCQkDXYQQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjbhN6B3Mf5AhWx-zgGHflqBMIQ6AF6BAg4EAM#v=onepage&q=The%20Zodiac%20Suite%20grammy%20hall%20of%20fame&f=false |title=Mary Lou Williams: Music for the Soul |date=2021-08-15 |publisher=Liturgical Press |isbn=978-0-8146-6401-8 |pages=36-37 |language=en}}</ref> In 1969, Williams performed music from the suite on [[Vatican Radio]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/musicianscompose0005unse/page/1626 |title=Musicians & Composers of the 20th century |date=2009 |publisher=Salem Press |isbn=978-1-58765-512-8 |editor-last=Cramer |editor-first=Alfred W. |volume=5 |location=Pasadena, Calif. |pages=1626 |language=en}}</ref> |
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[[Geri Allen]], who played Williams in the film [[Kansas City (film)|''Kansas City'']], recorded ''Zodiac Suite Revisited'' with the Mary Lou Williams Collective in 2006.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Brady |first=Shaun |title=Five Essential Mary Lou Williams Albums |url=https://jazztimes.com/features/lists/five-essential-mary-lou-williams-albums/ |access-date=2022-08-05 |website=JazzTimes |language=en-US}}</ref>{{Sfn|Griffin|2013|p=195}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=West |first=Michael J. |title=JazzTimes 10: Essential Geri Allen Recordings |url=https://jazztimes.com/features/lists/jazztimes-10-essential-geri-allen-recordings/ |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=JazzTimes |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2021, Zodiac Suite was performed by the New York Philharmonic, conducted by [[Tito Muñoz]]; Chris Pattishall in a performance called ''Zodiac;'' and the [[Kansas City Jazz Orchestra]]''.''<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite episode |title=Mary Lou Williams' 'Zodiac Suite' Reimagined |episode-link= |access-date=12 August 2022 |series=Up To Date |station=[[KCUR-FM]] |date=5 May 2021 |language=en |url=https://www.kcur.org/podcast/up-to-date/2021-05-05/mary-lou-williams-zodiac-suite-reimagined}}</ref> |
[[Geri Allen]], who played Williams in the film [[Kansas City (film)|''Kansas City'']], recorded ''Zodiac Suite Revisited'' with the Mary Lou Williams Collective in 2006.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Brady |first=Shaun |title=Five Essential Mary Lou Williams Albums |url=https://jazztimes.com/features/lists/five-essential-mary-lou-williams-albums/ |access-date=2022-08-05 |website=JazzTimes |language=en-US}}</ref>{{Sfn|Griffin|2013|p=195}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=West |first=Michael J. |title=JazzTimes 10: Essential Geri Allen Recordings |url=https://jazztimes.com/features/lists/jazztimes-10-essential-geri-allen-recordings/ |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=JazzTimes |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2021, Zodiac Suite was performed by the New York Philharmonic, conducted by [[Tito Muñoz]]; Chris Pattishall in a performance called ''Zodiac;'' and the [[Kansas City Jazz Orchestra]]''.''<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite episode |title=Mary Lou Williams' 'Zodiac Suite' Reimagined |episode-link= |access-date=12 August 2022 |series=Up To Date |station=[[KCUR-FM]] |date=5 May 2021 |language=en |url=https://www.kcur.org/podcast/up-to-date/2021-05-05/mary-lou-williams-zodiac-suite-reimagined}}</ref> |
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''Zodiac Suite'' was considered novel in jazz music when it was first performed, both thematically and musically, due to its references to and use of [[classical music]].{{Sfn|Dahl|1999|p=159}}<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Lawn |first=Richard |title=Experiencing Jazz |publisher=Routledge |year=2013 |isbn=9-780-415-69960-0 |edition=2nd |location=New York |pages=168–169 |language=en}}</ref> The work's [[Symphony|symphonic]] nature places it as a precursor to the [[third stream]] genre.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Harbison |first1=Patrick Lewis |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MxdhoKIKmnsC&dq=%22zodiac+suite%22+williams&pg=PA117 |title=American Women Composers |last2=Moore |first2=Gregory Kehl |date=1997 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-90-5702-145-9 |editor-last=Pendle |editor-first=Karin |pages=117 |language=en |chapter=Jazzwomen Compose}}</ref> The suite was seen as an accomplishment by the black community at the time and one journalist said the Carnegie Hall concert "completely eroded the whites-only barrier to the Carnegie Hall stage."{{Sfn|Dahl|1999|p=176}} The suite's composer being a woman also added to its import.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kernodle |first1=Tammy L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nVxgs_E57_EC&dq=%22zodiac+suite%22+williams&pg=PA1020 |title=Encyclopedia of African American Music |last2=Maxile |first2=Horace |last3=III |first3=Emmett G. Price |date=2010-12-17 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-34200-4 |pages=1020 |language=en}}</ref> [[Ben Ratliff]] called ''Zodiac Suite'' "beautifully coherent" and noted the strong feminine expression in the "unmacho" music.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ratliff |first=Ben |url=http://archive.org/details/jazzcriticsguide00ratli |title=Jazz : a critic's guide to the 100 most important recordings |date=2002 |publisher=Times Books |others=The Archive of Contemporary Music |isbn=978-0-8050-7068-2 |location=New York |pages=65–67 |language=en |chapter=Mary Lou Williams: Zodiac Suite}}</ref> |
''Zodiac Suite'' was considered novel in jazz music when it was first performed, both thematically and musically, due to its references to and use of [[classical music]].{{Sfn|Dahl|1999|p=159}}<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Lawn |first=Richard |title=Experiencing Jazz |publisher=Routledge |year=2013 |isbn=9-780-415-69960-0 |edition=2nd |location=New York |pages=168–169 |language=en}}</ref> The work's [[Symphony|symphonic]] nature places it as a precursor to the [[third stream]] genre.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Harbison |first1=Patrick Lewis |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MxdhoKIKmnsC&dq=%22zodiac+suite%22+williams&pg=PA117 |title=American Women Composers |last2=Moore |first2=Gregory Kehl |date=1997 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-90-5702-145-9 |editor-last=Pendle |editor-first=Karin |pages=117 |language=en |chapter=Jazzwomen Compose}}</ref> The suite was seen as an accomplishment by the black community at the time and one journalist said the Carnegie Hall concert "completely eroded the whites-only barrier to the Carnegie Hall stage."{{Sfn|Dahl|1999|p=176}} The suite's composer being a woman also added to its import.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kernodle |first1=Tammy L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nVxgs_E57_EC&dq=%22zodiac+suite%22+williams&pg=PA1020 |title=Encyclopedia of African American Music |last2=Maxile |first2=Horace |last3=III |first3=Emmett G. Price |date=2010-12-17 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-34200-4 |pages=1020 |language=en}}</ref> [[Ben Ratliff]] called ''Zodiac Suite'' "beautifully coherent" and noted the strong feminine expression in the "unmacho" music.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ratliff |first=Ben |url=http://archive.org/details/jazzcriticsguide00ratli |title=Jazz : a critic's guide to the 100 most important recordings |date=2002 |publisher=Times Books |others=The Archive of Contemporary Music |isbn=978-0-8050-7068-2 |location=New York |pages=65–67 |language=en |chapter=Mary Lou Williams: Zodiac Suite}}</ref> |
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Jazz reviewers had an overall positive response to Williams's Asche recording |
Jazz reviewers had an overall positive response to Williams's Asche recording.{{Sfn|Dahl|1999|p=163}} The album was chosen by ''The Record Review'' as their record of the month and was one of [[Metronome (magazine)|''Metronome''<nowiki/>'s]] albums of the year.{{Sfn|Dahl|1999|p=163}}<ref name=":3" /> In 2020, the album was inducted into the [[Grammy Hall of Fame]].<ref name=":3" /> The Town Hall arrangement received encouraging reviews from jazz critics but classical music critics were less sympathetic. [[Paul Bowles]] described the performance as "neither fish nor foul" in its attempt to marry American jazz and [[Impressionism in music|French impressionism]].{{Sfn|Dahl|1999|p=167}} A review in ''[[The New York Times]]'' called the suite "rather ambitious" and "scarcely a jazz piece at all".{{Sfn|Griffin|2013|p=166}} [[Barry Ulanov]] deemed the concert a "brave try, a partial success" as well as the "music of the future".{{Sfn|Kernodle|2020|p=124}} The Town Hall performance is placed by [[The Penguin Guide to Jazz|''The Penguin Jazz Guide'']] as a "key moment in the recognition of jazz as an important twentieth-century music".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Cook |first1=Richard |url=http://archive.org/details/penguinguidetoja0000cook |title=The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings |last2=Morton |first2=Brian |date=2006 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-14-102327-4 |edition=8th |location=London |pages=1382 |language=en}}</ref> |
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Williams herself said that ''Zodiac Suite'' earned her "the name of musician's musician instead of the [[Boogie-woogie|Boogie Woogie]] Queen".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harriston |first=Monica |url=http://archive.org/details/bigearslistening0000unse |title=Big Ears: Listening for Gender in Jazz Studies |date=2008 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-0-8223-4336-3 |editor-last=Rustin |editor-first=Nichole T. |location=Durham |pages=80 |language=en |chapter=Gender, Jazz and the Popular Front |editor-last2=Tucker |editor-first2=Sherrie}}</ref> |
Williams herself said that ''Zodiac Suite'' earned her "the name of musician's musician instead of the [[Boogie-woogie|Boogie Woogie]] Queen".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harriston |first=Monica |url=http://archive.org/details/bigearslistening0000unse |title=Big Ears: Listening for Gender in Jazz Studies |date=2008 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-0-8223-4336-3 |editor-last=Rustin |editor-first=Nichole T. |location=Durham |pages=80 |language=en |chapter=Gender, Jazz and the Popular Front |editor-last2=Tucker |editor-first2=Sherrie}}</ref> |
Revision as of 01:51, 15 August 2022
Zodiac Suite is a series of 12 pieces of jazz music written by Mary Lou Williams and first performed in 1945. Each song in the suite is inspired by an astrological sign and musicians or performers who were born under it.
Williams began writing music for Zodiac Suite in 1942 and finished in 1945. The suite was first recoded by Williams as part of a trio for Asch records and was followed by two notable performances with larger groups. The first performance was with a chamber jazz group and the second was with a symphony orchestra at Carnegie Hall . There performances took such a toll on Williams that she took a break from performing shortly afterwards.
Zodiac Suite is notable as an early instance of the fusion of classical and jazz music and has been described as a landmark in the history of jazz.
Composition and first performances
Composition and Asch recording
Williams began writing Zodiac Suite in 1942 after borrowing a book on astrology. She was interested in the idea of writing music based on the star signs of musicians she knew. The first three compositions were for "Scorpio", "Gemini" and "Taurus".[1] Duke Ellington's Black, Brown and Beige had inspired Williams to create an orchestral work that reached outside of jazz music norms. The suite was also influenced by classical composers such as Béla Bartók. Williams explained that The Zodiac Suite was "the beginning of a real fulfilment of one of my ambitions".[2]
Williams had hoped to finish the suite for a live performance on WNEW in 1945 with Al Lucas on bass and Jack Parker on drums. By the time of the performance, she still only had compositions for three star signs. The remaining nine signs were improvised live on air.[3] The performance received a positive reception and Williams subsequently recorded Zodiac Suite with the same trio for Asch records.[4][5]
Most pieces in the suite were dedicated or influenced by other performers reflecting their star sign.[6][7] "Aires" was for Ben Webster and Billie Holiday; "Taurus" for Duke Ellington; "Gemini" for Shorty Baker; "Cancer" for Lem Davis; "Leo" for Vic Dickerson; "Libra" for Art Tatum, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker and John Coltrane; "Scorpio" for Ethel Waters, Katherine Dunham and Al Lucas; "Sagittarius" for Eddie Heywood; "Capricorn" for Pearl Primus and Frankie Newton; "Aquarius" for Josh White and Eartha Kitt; and "Pisces" for Al Hall and Barney Josephson.[6]
While Williams appeared pleased with recording for Asch, she had ideas for new ways to perform the suite.[8] Williams began working on arranging the pieces for larger bands in a concert-hall environment. Williams had a personal relationship with Milton Orent, an arranger for NBC, at the time.[9] With Orent, Williams listened to and discussed the work of modernist composers like Arnold Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky. She credited Orent with influencing her musical growth.[10] Orent worked with Williams on the arrangements but the extent of his input is unclear.[9]
Town Hall and Carnegie Hall performances
At the end of 1945, Williams performed Zodiac Suite at Town Hall with Edmond Hall's chamber-jazz group.[11] Williams went to considerable efforts to arrange the concert, having to borrow money, pay considerable sums herself and talk Barney Josephson into renting Town Hall.[12] The musicians employed were not particular strong, the venue was half empty and Orent, who was conducting, lost a page of music which confused the musicians. Critical reaction to the concert was split and Williams herself was severely upset with the performance.[13] She was ill for a week following the performance.[14] The concert was recorded but the tapes were missing when Williams went to retrieve them. They are suspected to have been stolen by Timme Rosenkrantz for use on pirate records in Europe.[15][14] Journalist Chris Albertson noted Rosenkrantz released music from Zodiac Suite on the Selmer record label using different song titles. Williams was never paid for this release.[16] The concert was eventually released in full in the 1990s.[17]
In June 1946, Williams performed Zodiac Suite with a seventy-member symphony orchestra at Carnegie Hall after being approached by Norman Granz.[18][19] Because of the expense of a concert on this scale, Williams again had to pay for some of the organisational expenses.[18] Dan Morgenstern considers the Carnegie Hall concert to be the first time a symphony orchestra performed jazz compositions.[1] Williams was happy with her performance at the concert but the orchestra was slightly disappointing.[20] The concert was taped and, not wanting to lose the recording again, Williams arranged for Timme Rosenkrantz, whom Williams at the time did not suspect of the Town Hall theft, to guard the tapes. The tapes went missing with Rosenkrantz again suspected of purloining them.[21]
Working on the Zodiac Suite took a considerable physical and emotional toll on Williams and she subsequently took a break from performing.[22]
Subsequent performances
Pearl Primus, Katherine Dunham and Talley Beaty all choreographed dances to sections of the suite in the 1940s.[22] In 1957, Williams performed with Dizzy Gillespie at the Newport Jazz Festival a medley of three songs from the suite ("Virgo", "Libre" and "Aries") which was included on an album of the concert.[23][24] With Melba Liston, Williams planned an arrangement of the suite for Thelonious Monk but the project never materialised.[25] In 1969, Williams performed music from the suite on Vatican Radio.[26]
Geri Allen, who played Williams in the film Kansas City, recorded Zodiac Suite Revisited with the Mary Lou Williams Collective in 2006.[27][28][29] In 2021, Zodiac Suite was performed by the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Tito Muñoz; Chris Pattishall in a performance called Zodiac; and the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra.[4][27][30]
Critical reception
Zodiac Suite was considered novel in jazz music when it was first performed, both thematically and musically, due to its references to and use of classical music.[1][31] The work's symphonic nature places it as a precursor to the third stream genre.[32] The suite was seen as an accomplishment by the black community at the time and one journalist said the Carnegie Hall concert "completely eroded the whites-only barrier to the Carnegie Hall stage."[33] The suite's composer being a woman also added to its import.[31][34] Ben Ratliff called Zodiac Suite "beautifully coherent" and noted the strong feminine expression in the "unmacho" music.[35]
Jazz reviewers had an overall positive response to Williams's Asche recording.[36] The album was chosen by The Record Review as their record of the month and was one of Metronome's albums of the year.[36][25] In 2020, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[25] The Town Hall arrangement received encouraging reviews from jazz critics but classical music critics were less sympathetic. Paul Bowles described the performance as "neither fish nor foul" in its attempt to marry American jazz and French impressionism.[37] A review in The New York Times called the suite "rather ambitious" and "scarcely a jazz piece at all".[38] Barry Ulanov deemed the concert a "brave try, a partial success" as well as the "music of the future".[14] The Town Hall performance is placed by The Penguin Jazz Guide as a "key moment in the recognition of jazz as an important twentieth-century music".[39]
Williams herself said that Zodiac Suite earned her "the name of musician's musician instead of the Boogie Woogie Queen".[40]
Structure
Zodiac Suite is composed of
References
- ^ a b c Dahl 1999, p. 159.
- ^ Dahl 1999, p. 160.
- ^ Dahl 1999, p. 160-161.
- ^ a b Walls, Seth Colter (2021-03-19). "With 'Zodiac,' Mary Lou Williams Spanned Classical and Jazz". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
- ^ Dahl 1999, p. 161.
- ^ a b Dahl 1999, p. 161-163.
- ^ Griffin 2013, p. 163.
- ^ Kernodle 2020, p. 122-123.
- ^ a b Dahl 1999, p. 163-165.
- ^ Griffin 2013, p. 163-164.
- ^ Griffin 2013, p. 165.
- ^ Dahl 1999, p. 165.
- ^ Dahl 1999, p. 166-168.
- ^ a b c Kernodle 2020, p. 124.
- ^ Dahl 1999, p. 168-171.
- ^ Dahl 1999, p. 171.
- ^ Dahl 1999, p. 168.
- ^ a b Dahl 1999, p. 172.
- ^ Kernodle 2020, p. 128.
- ^ Dahl 1999, p. 174.
- ^ Dahl 1999, p. 174-175.
- ^ a b Griffin 2013, p. 168.
- ^ Kernodle 2020, p. 188.
- ^ Dahl 1999, p. 263.
- ^ a b c Witkowski, Deanna (2021-08-15). Mary Lou Williams: Music for the Soul. Liturgical Press. pp. 36–37. ISBN 978-0-8146-6401-8.
- ^ Cramer, Alfred W., ed. (2009). Musicians & Composers of the 20th century. Vol. 5. Pasadena, Calif.: Salem Press. p. 1626. ISBN 978-1-58765-512-8.
- ^ a b Brady, Shaun. "Five Essential Mary Lou Williams Albums". JazzTimes. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
- ^ Griffin 2013, p. 195.
- ^ West, Michael J. "JazzTimes 10: Essential Geri Allen Recordings". JazzTimes. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
- ^ "Mary Lou Williams' 'Zodiac Suite' Reimagined". Up To Date. 5 May 2021. KCUR-FM. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ a b Lawn, Richard (2013). Experiencing Jazz (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge. pp. 168–169. ISBN 9-780-415-69960-0.
- ^ Harbison, Patrick Lewis; Moore, Gregory Kehl (1997). "Jazzwomen Compose". In Pendle, Karin (ed.). American Women Composers. Psychology Press. p. 117. ISBN 978-90-5702-145-9.
- ^ Dahl 1999, p. 176.
- ^ Kernodle, Tammy L.; Maxile, Horace; III, Emmett G. Price (2010-12-17). Encyclopedia of African American Music. ABC-CLIO. p. 1020. ISBN 978-0-313-34200-4.
- ^ Ratliff, Ben (2002). "Mary Lou Williams: Zodiac Suite". Jazz : a critic's guide to the 100 most important recordings. The Archive of Contemporary Music. New York: Times Books. pp. 65–67. ISBN 978-0-8050-7068-2.
- ^ a b Dahl 1999, p. 163.
- ^ Dahl 1999, p. 167.
- ^ Griffin 2013, p. 166.
- ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2006). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (8th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 1382. ISBN 978-0-14-102327-4.
- ^ Harriston, Monica (2008). "Gender, Jazz and the Popular Front". In Rustin, Nichole T.; Tucker, Sherrie (eds.). Big Ears: Listening for Gender in Jazz Studies. Durham: Duke University Press. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-8223-4336-3.
- ^ "Zodiac Suite". Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
Sources
- Dahl, Linda (1999). Morning Glory: A Biography of Mary Lou Williams. New York: Pantheon Books. ISBN 978-0-375-40899-1.
- Griffin, Farah Jasmine (2013). Harlem Nocturn: Women Artists & Progressive Politics During World War II. New York: Basic Civitas. ISBN 978-0-465-01875-8.
- Kernodle, Tammmy L. (2020). Soul on Soul: The Life and Music of Mary Lou Williams. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. doi:10.5406/j.ctv18bv9s6. ISBN 978-0-252-04360-4. JSTOR 10.5406/j.ctv18bv9s6. S2CID 242996590.
Notes
- ^ Time lengths reference the original 1945 Asch recording.