Mary Lou Williams Centennial Celebration: From Swing to Sacred Music, a Journey of Faith

Got this info from my friend Richard Nelson - if you are going to be in Boston, Massachusetts, United States on Sunday, 9 May 2010, do not miss out on this:

Pianist Geri Allen & narrator Fr. Peter F. O'Brien S.J. celebrate Mary Lou Williams centennial with Aardvark Jazz Orchestra -- May 9, 2010

Mary Lou Williams Centennial Celebration: From Swing to Sacred Music, a Journey of Faith

The Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, with pianist Geri Allen, will perform May 9 at 8:00 pm at Boston College Robsham Theater, celebrating the centennial of jazz great Mary Lou Williams (1910-1981).

Tickets are $20, available at the Boston College Box Office Monday thru Friday, 8:00 a.m. til 4:00 pm. Visa and Master Card, no service charge. After Friday, May 7 at 4:00 pm, the box office will be closed until Sunday, May 9 at 6:30 pm. Free parking. MBTA Green Line (B Branch, Boston College Station).

The May 9 concert is the only major Mary Lou Williams centennial tribute currently planned in New England.

Mary Lou Williams stands alongside Duke Ellington as one of our great American composers, and yet her work is seldom heard. This is a rare opportunity to hear her magnificent music, from swing to bebop to modern concert music and sacred works.

Geri Allen played the role of Mary Lou Williams in Robert Altman's film Kansas City and has performed Williams' music at Lincoln Center, San Francisco Jazz Festival, Duke University, and many other venues, in addition to touring internationally and collaborating with such notables as Ornette Coleman, Dave Holland, Ron Carter, Dr. Billy Taylor, Ruth Brown, Wayne Shorter, Betty Carter, Charlie Haden and Paul Motion, Clark Terry, and Ravi Coltrane, to name a few.

The concert will be narrated by Father Peter O’Brien, S.J., who was Mary Lou’s longtime friend and manager and now serves as Executive Director of the Mary Lou Williams Foundation. Also on the bill: BC bOp! the jazz ensemble of Boston College led by Sebastian Bonaiuto, and The Mary Lou Williams Centennial Choir of Boston College (JoJo David, director).

The Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, led by founder and music director Mark Harvey, is now in its 37th season. Winner of the 2000 Independent Music Awards, Aardvark has premiered more than 100 works for jazz orchestra and has released 10 CDs including 5 discs on the Leo Records label.

"Mary Lou Williams is perpetually contemporary. Her music retains a standard of quality that is timeless. She is like Soul on Soul." – Duke Ellington

Posted in: Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, Geri Allen, Mark Harvey, Mary Lou Williams, Richard Nelson