Mary Lou Williams: Music for the Soul

There are two ways to watch the program: in-person at our venue Alphabet City or live-streamed online. If you’re coming live, you can also dine at the in-house restaurant 40 North—before, during, or after the concert. Please visit Open Table to make a reservation.  Open Table reservations are different from concert tkts.

Celebrate the launch of Deanna Witkowski’s new biography on Mary Lou Williams, Music for the Soul, and celebrate the tunes of this masterful Pittsburgh musician.

Mary Lou Williams’ music transcends time in American culture. With a foundation in the Blues, Mary Lou’s compositions reflect her life as a Black woman and a true triumph of the human spirit.

Pianist-composer-jazz historian and Mary Lou Williams’ scholar Deanna Witkowski offers a poignant portrait of the pioneering jazz pianist-composer. Witkowski’s forthcoming album, Force of Nature (MCG Jazz, October) features all Williams compositions.
She presents the full Mary Lou: “a forward-thinking, breathtakingly original pianist and
composer,” who mentored some of the greatest musicians of the twentieth century—including
Powell, Charlie Parker, and Art Blakey—and a deeply spiritual person who found solace in the
Catholic faith and believed in the healing power of jazz.

We’ll hear Deanna play Williams’ tunes and read passages of the biography. This is an evening not-to-be missed for jazz fans  interested in Pittsburgh’s musical legacy past, present, and future.