Black Christ of the Andes

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Black Christ of the Andes
Studio album by Mary Lou Williams

Publication
(s)

1964

Label (s) Folkways Records, MPS, Smithsonian Folkways

Format (s)

LP, CD

Genre (s)

Modern jazz , postbop

Title (number)

10/14

running time

52:22 (CD)

occupation
  • Piano : Mary Lou Williams
  • For more cast see article
chronology
Art Tatum & Mary Lou Williams - The King and Queen of Jazz Piano
(1958) 		Black Christ of the Andes Mary Lou Williams / The Paul Quinlan Trio - Praise the Lord in Many Voices
(2019)

Black Christ of the Andes is an album by jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams . The recordings were made on October 9, 1963 in Nola Studios and on November 19, 1963 in Cue Studios, New York. They first appeared in 1964 on Williams' own label Mary Records as well as untitled on Folkways Records . In 1975 MPS released the album under the title Black Christ of the Andes . In 2004 the album was re-released on CD on Smithsonian Folkways. When the Williams album ( Mary Lou Williams Presents Black Christ of the Andes ) was reissued , four more trio recordings with bassist Percy Heath were added on November 19, 1963.

background

In the mid to late 1950s, jazz composer and pianist Mary Lou Williams withdrew from public appearances for almost four years. She converted to Catholicism during her hiatus , and the first record she made on her return was a distinct departure from her earlier work: it was a mass. In 1962 the Catholic Church proclaimed a Dominican brother named Martin von Porres , son of a freed slave named Ana Velazquez, a new saint. His canonization inspired the pianist, and thus Mary Lou Williams Presents Black Christ of the Andes , a devotional work written in his honor, was born. The composition is rooted in both Catholic liturgy and African-American musical traditions - and has undoubtedly found critics among those who belong exclusively to one school or the other, wrote Jenny Gathwright ( National Public Radio ). Williams performed the entire work for the first time in November 1962 at Saint Francis Xavier Church in New York and played it for publication in October 1963.

The opening anthem “St. Martin de Porres ”begins with a choir that sings a cappella . As the singers recite the name of the saint, the chorus slows down and swells in the vowels, “as if to show their devotion. When Williams finally hits the keys, she plays an Afro-Latin groove, perhaps a nod to the legacy of the anthem's theme. ”Other contributors include a second choir around George Gordon (also part of Honi Gordon ) and Budd Johnson (bass clarinet in“ Anima Christi ”), Jimmy Mitchell (vocals), Grant Green (guitar), the latter in“ Praise the Lord ”and“ Anima Christi ”.

Track list

  • Mary Lou Williams: Black Christ of the Andes (MPS 35 53759, BASF - 35 53759)
  1. Black Christ of the Andes (A. Woods, Mary Lou Williams) 6:23 - Choir: Howard Roberts Singers
  2. It Ain't Necessarily So (George & Ira Gershwin) 4:35 - Bass: Ben Tucker , Drums: Percy Brice
  3. The Devil (A. Woods, Mary Lou Williams) 3:55 - vocals: Howard Roberts Singers
  4. Miss DD (Mary Lou Williams) 2:25 - Bass: Theodore Crommwell , Drums: George Chamble
  5. Anima Christi (A. Woods, Mary Lou Williams) 2:43 - arrangement, conductor: Melba Liston , bass clarinet: Budd Johnson , guitar: Grant Green , bass: Larry Gales , drums: Percy Brice, vocals: Jimmy Mitchell, choir: George Gordon Singers.
  6. A Grand Nite for Swingin (Billy Taylor) 2:54 - Bass: Percy Heath , Drums: Tim Kennedy
  7. My Blue Heaven (George Whiting, Walter Donaldson) 3:02 - Bass: Percy Heath, Drums: Tim Kennedy
  8. Dirge Blues (Eustis Guillemet Jr., Mary Lou Williams) 3:21 - Bass: Percy Heath, Drums: Tim Kennedy
  9. A Fungus Amungus (Mary Lou Williams) 2:48 - Mary Lou Williams solo
  10. Praise the Lord (Mary Lou Williams) 5:47 - arrangement, conductor: Melba Liston, bass clarinet: Budd Johnson, guitar: Grant Green, bass: Larry Gales, drums: Percy Brice, vocals: Jimmy Mitchell, choir: George Gordon Singers.
Bonus track of the CD edition (2004)
Percy Heath; 1977
  • Mary Lou Williams with Percy Heath (bass) and Tim Kennedy (drums)
  1. Koolbonga (Williams) 3:21
  2. Forty-Five Degree Angle ( Denzil Best ) 2:50
  3. Nicole (Williams) 3:37
  4. Chunka Lunka (Williams) 3:07

reception

According to Jenny Gathwright (NPR), Williams created "something unique: an avant-garde jazz mass, complete with its signature swing style." According to Steve Futterman ( JazzTimes ), the trio numbers showed "a pianist with a clear, inviting approach whose clean lines reflect her identity as a memorable composer. ”Williams' relaxed approach to the blues goes back to her Kansas City roots, but her openness to newer sounds is also evident in the solo“ A Fungus a Mungus, ”a quasi free one - Jazz piece, fascinatingly audible. Williams would be in her element in “My Blue Heaven”, Billy Taylor's “A Grand Night for Swinging” and in her own composition “Nicole”; she plays mainstream jazz with finesse and charm. Williams' religious works do not fit into any category; this is "one of the main reasons why it still attracts our attention today."

From left: Dizzy Gillespie , Tadd Dameron , Hank Jones , Mary Lou Williams, Milt Orent . Approx. August 1947. Photo by William P. Gottlieb

Bob Jacobson wrote in All About Jazz in 2004 that exploration was the hallmark of Williams' career. Here she goes on a journey of discovery into the rhythms and deep into the blues. Sometimes their game is very economical, but deeply felt. “A Fungus a Mungus” orientates the listener in a polytonal direction and indicates her later interest in Cecil Taylor .

Brandon Burke awarded the album four stars in Allmusic, writing, “Complex suites by jazz artists have often received mixed reviews. Whether praised as brilliant and visionary or described as complacent and banal ”; the author lists Duke Ellington's Black, Brown and Beige , Charles Mingus ' Town Hall concert [1962], where, under somewhat chaotic circumstances, parts of his epitaph were performed, or Wynton Marsalis ' Blood on the Fields [1997] - “all of these Works come to mind, not least of all great risks for the artists involved. At the time of its premiere, Black Christ of the Andes was dubbed everything from 'blues without an accent' to a 'maudlin prayer', which led Williams to remove it from their repertoire. An unfortunate fate for a very entertaining and now highly regarded piece of music. ”Other tracks on this LP, such as her great rendition of“ It Ain't Necessarily So, ”would have been welcome within their dark and smoky confines, Burke continued. A number of styles are represented in the other tracks on the album and are interwoven with ease and grace. This is a very entertaining record with some particularly rewarding Williams piano solos.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Steve Futterman: Mary Lou Williams: Black Christ of the Andes. JazzTimes, September 1, 2004, accessed January 7, 2020 .
  2. ↑ a b c Jenny Gathwright: Shocking Omissions: Mary Lou Williams' Choral Masterpiece. National Public Radio, May 6, 2019, accessed January 9, 2020 .
  3. ^ Mary Lou Williams: Black Christ of the Andes in Discogs
  4. ^ Bob Jacobson: Mary Lou Williams: Mary Lou Williams Presents Black Christ of the Andes. All About Jazz, September 12, 2004, accessed January 7, 2020 .
  5. ^ Review of the album at Allmusic (English). Accessed January 1, 2020.