Zodiac Suite: Revisited - The Mary Lou Williams Collective
The Mary Lou Williams Collective, an arm of the Mary Lou Williams Foundation, Inc., is devoted to the recording and performance of the music of the pianist and composer. Williams dedicated her Zodiac Suite to figures she respected, including Billie Holiday, Ben Webster, Duke Ellington, Ellis Larkins, Vic Dickenson, Leonard Feather, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Tatum, Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Eddie Heywood, Bob Cranshaw, Frankie Newton, and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Pianist Geri Allen interprets each movement from the Zodiac Suite with fiery passion and a relaxed swing that lifts you up out of your chair. The straightahead drive of bop powers each selection with authority, as Allen, bassist Buster Williams and drummer Billy Hart stretch out with a relaxed feel for what Williams had envisioned. As with the original, several of the movements are performed by solo piano.
Click here to read more of Jim Santella's review at AllAboutJazz.com.
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