If you track the tenor saxophone back to the artist who did the most to change the instrument's direction—transforming it from a mannered, slippery reed to a bossy, solo voice—you'll wind up on the doorstep of Coleman Hawkins. If you do the same with gospel, you will discover Marion Williams, who in the late 1940s began turning the church vocal into an expressive and individual virtuoso form. Her astonishing delivery would have a significant influence on male and female R&B artists of the 1950s as well as soul greats like Aretha Franklin.
A new CD, Packin' Up: The Best of Marion Williams (Shanachie) is a bit misleading, since this album isn't a greatest hits collection. Instead, it's a magnificent 26-track compilation curated by Grammy-winning author and gospel scholar Anthony Heilbut that spans from 1957—Williams' first appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival—to 1993, a year before her death. In other words, we're given an carefully selected introductory taste of Williams' take-charge voice and its riveting power.
What the careful listener notices immediately about Williams is her extraordinary breath control. On songs like The Old Landmark and Motherless Children, it's difficult to hear exactly where she takes in air. Her electrifying performance in 1957 at the Newport Jazz Festival is on the album as well, where she hits hair-raising operatic high notes and the most beautiful gravely low notes.
In listening to this album, I found myself thunderstruck by the music. At times, Williams seems possessed by joy and overcome by her exalted state. On other songs, she caresses lyric lines and spits out words on others. Back in the 1950s, her inspired whoops found their way into songs by Little Richard and other R&B artists who were fans. [Photo above of Marion Williams, performing at a jazz festival in Antibes, France, c. 1960]
Born in Miami in 1927, Williams sang in Pentecostal churches, where services tended to be fiery and physical. When she turned 20, Williams joined the Clara Ward Singers, which would become one of the most popular gospel groups of the 1950s. In 1958, Williams and members of the group left over low pay to form their own group—the Stars of Faith. During this period, she founds ways to add stagecraft to her performances by moving around, using her hands and looking up to illustrate song lyrics. Williams' solo career began in 1960, as she performed at churches, colleges and on tour. Throughout the 1970s and '80s, Williams recorded for a range of labels before suffering from diabetes in the 1990s. Williams died at age 66 in 1994.
A pioneering vocal giant whose talents still can't be matched in the secular world.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Packin' Up: The Best of Marion Williams (Shandachie) here.
JazzWax clips: Here's Marion Williams at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival singing Packin' Up...
Here's “The Old Landmark“ (1974), here's Angels With Their Gaze“ (1974) and here's “Promises to Keep“ (1975).
A new CD, Packin' Up: The Best of Marion Williams (Shanachie) is a bit misleading, since this album isn't a greatest hits collection. Instead, it's a magnificent 26-track compilation curated by Grammy-winning author and gospel scholar Anthony Heilbut that spans from 1957—Williams' first appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival—to 1993, a year before her death. In other words, we're given an carefully selected introductory taste of Williams' take-charge voice and its riveting power.
What the careful listener notices immediately about Williams is her extraordinary breath control. On songs like The Old Landmark and Motherless Children, it's difficult to hear exactly where she takes in air. Her electrifying performance in 1957 at the Newport Jazz Festival is on the album as well, where she hits hair-raising operatic high notes and the most beautiful gravely low notes.
In listening to this album, I found myself thunderstruck by the music. At times, Williams seems possessed by joy and overcome by her exalted state. On other songs, she caresses lyric lines and spits out words on others. Back in the 1950s, her inspired whoops found their way into songs by Little Richard and other R&B artists who were fans. [Photo above of Marion Williams, performing at a jazz festival in Antibes, France, c. 1960]
Born in Miami in 1927, Williams sang in Pentecostal churches, where services tended to be fiery and physical. When she turned 20, Williams joined the Clara Ward Singers, which would become one of the most popular gospel groups of the 1950s. In 1958, Williams and members of the group left over low pay to form their own group—the Stars of Faith. During this period, she founds ways to add stagecraft to her performances by moving around, using her hands and looking up to illustrate song lyrics. Williams' solo career began in 1960, as she performed at churches, colleges and on tour. Throughout the 1970s and '80s, Williams recorded for a range of labels before suffering from diabetes in the 1990s. Williams died at age 66 in 1994.
A pioneering vocal giant whose talents still can't be matched in the secular world.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Packin' Up: The Best of Marion Williams (Shandachie) here.
JazzWax clips: Here's Marion Williams at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival singing Packin' Up...
Here's “The Old Landmark“ (1974), here's Angels With Their Gaze“ (1974) and here's “Promises to Keep“ (1975).
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
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