Description
Mary Lou Williams (1910-81) was the most accomplished and influential female jazz pianist, arranger, composer, and teacher in the 20th century. She wrote 350 compositions and hundreds of arrangements, and recorded more than 100 records. Harmonically ahead of her time, she adapted to, and influenced, stylistic changes in jazz. Duke Ellington called Williams “perpetually contemporary”. Because of her close relationship with Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie, she was often called The Mother of Bebop.
Jane Ellen passionately shares her eclectic interests via the marvels of the internet from her home in Central Florida’s Space Coast. Specializing in all aspects of music and entertainment history, she strives to bring her subjects to life whilst seeking to make a deeper understanding of music accessible to all. Jane’s presentations benefit not only from her gifts as a storyteller, but from a lifetime of work as a scholar, performer, composer, and recording artist.
