I’ve Got a Story to Tell: Mary Lou Williams and the Re-Imagining of Jazz’s History
At the time of her death in 1981, pianist/composer Mary Lou Williams was celebrated as one of the only jazz musicians to have played through each of the eras of jazz (1920s-late 1970s). This distinction was not simply based on Williams’ proximity to specific jazz communities that have been essentialized as part of the general understanding of genre’s progression but symbolized her direct contributions to the evolution of jazz’s sound. During the last decade of her life, Williams began promoting through live performances, lectures, and recordings her version of the “history of jazz.” Although she did not claim overtly any allegiances to the faction of intellectuals and creatives that promoted cultural nationalism as part of the Black Power ideology, there are correlations that permeate Williams’ framing of jazz and its history. This lecture discusses how Mary Lou Williams’ shift away from the common mythologies/themes and canonical repertory that are often advanced in telling jazz’s history reflected how female jazz musicians challenged the exclusionary and narratives of jazz’s history.
Date: 14 May 2025, 17:00
Venue: Rothermere American Institute, 1A South Parks Road OX1 3UB
Venue Details: Seminar Room
Speaker: Tammy L. Kernodle (Miami University)
Organising department: Rothermere American Institute
Organiser: Justine Shepperson (University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address: events@rai.ox.ac.uk
Host: Daniel Rowe (Oxford)
Booking required?: Not required
Cost: Free
Audience: Public
Editor: Joshua Alexander