Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » The Dutch Jazz Orchestra: Rediscovered Music of Mary Lou Williams

440

The Dutch Jazz Orchestra: Rediscovered Music of Mary Lou Williams

By

Sign in to view read count
The Dutch Jazz Orchestra: Rediscovered Music of Mary Lou Williams
Thankfully, Mary Lou Williams' music has been getting "rediscovered" quite a bit over the past few years through reinvestigation of her sacred works, as well as her own solo and small group performances, plus interpretation/tributes by small groups led by Dave Douglas, John Hicks and Geri Allen. Now the Dutch Jazz Orchestra has given us Williams' big band arrangements of her own compositions covering the vast span from 1936-78 on this release, subtitled "The Lady Who Swings the Band."

Particularly valuable are five arrangements she wrote for Duke Ellington's orchestra, which that group never recorded. Now that would have been a dynamite album! "Chief" is like Duke Ellington meets hard bop. "Scorpio," arranged for Duke in 1946, has a stronger melody than many MLW compositions, brought to us by a gorgeous clarinet. "O.W.," with hints of "It Don't Mean a Thing," is tremendously exciting, particularly the trumpet work over massive horn backing. "Scratchin' In the Gravel" is a luscious 1967 reworking of the blues which Wiliams wrote for Andy Kirk's band in 1940, with DJO's Albert Beltman evoking (but not imitating) Johnny Hodges. "You Know Baby" is essentially another Hodges vehicle.

Two of the other arrangements here, "Aries Mood" and "Shafi," written in the '60s and '70s, are reminiscent of Thad Jones and Mel Lewis' band. "Shafi," with its many changes of mood, tempo and rhythm, is... well, my notes say "Whew!" "Lonely Moments" reveals Williams' "bop" inclinations as early as 1943. The only sour note here is "What's Your Story, Morning Glory?," Williams' 1938 piece written for Andy's Kirk's Twelve Clouds of Joy. Though it's well-played, especially the clarinet solos, the tempo is downright sluggish compared with the original.

Overall this is a beautiful album; nearly everything is well-played, nuanced and exciting. Let's hope this "rediscovered music" leads many more big bands to perform Mary Lou Williams' work.

Track Listing

Chief; Aries Mood (A Portrait of Ben Webster); MediII; Scorpio; O.W. 3/01; Scratcin' In The Gravel; Shafi; What's Your Story, Morning Glory?; New Musical Express; You Know Baby; Lonely Moments; Ghost of Love; Walkin' and Swingin'.

Personnel

Jan Oosthof, Ruud Breuls, Erik Valdkamp, Peter van Soest, Mike Booth: trumpet; Hansjorg Fink, Andy Bruce, Dave Rothschild, Martin vanden Berg: trombone; John Ruocoo, Albert Beltman, Hans Mejdam, Ab Schaap, Simon Rigter, Nils van Haften: reeds; Rob van Bavel: piano; Martijn van Iterson: guitar; Jan Voogd: bass; Eric Ineke, drums.

Album information

Title: Rediscovered Music of Mary Lou Williams | Year Released: 2006 | Record Label: Challenge Records

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris
Candid
Sunny Five
Inside Colours Live
Julie Sassoon

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.