Mary Lou Williams biography

Profile

Mary Lou Williams was born on May 8, 1910 in Atlanta, Georgia. She was a musical a prodigy with perfect pitch at age four. Later she played with Jelly Roll Morton and Duke Ellington. She took over her husband's band which became a major influence for the Kansas City Big Band sound. She also worked with bebop musicians including Thelonious Monk and founded a record label. Williams died in 1981.