One of the most overlooked pianists and composers of the modern jazz era, Mary Lou Williams recorded Black Christ of the Andes an astonishing forty years after taking her first tentative steps on the jazz scene aged fifteen with Duke Ellington’s Washingtonians.
Hers was a career which spanned the history of modern jazz, touching base with all the major movements from swing to avant-garde, while retaining a sound entirely her own. Joining her in 1963 with the release of Black Christ of the Andes, we find Williams at the height of her creative and compositional powers. The record begins with a hymn to the “Black Christ” St. Martin de Porres, the newly canonized Peruvian Patron Saint of interracial justice. But don’t let the esotericism of her subject put you off. This is both a highly sophisticated, yet deeply emotional arrangement, which offsets the undulating crystal-clear harmonies of the choir with the sensitivity of Williams’s own piano playing. Likewise, “The Devil”, a devastating acknowledgement of post-lapsarian humanity, embodies the spiritual avant-garde while avoiding being religiously overbearing.
And yet, despite the ambition of these truly unique compositions, what is most remarkable about this record, and Williams in general, is her ability as a pianist. Deeply rooted in the blues tradition, she possessed a rare appreciation for dynamic variation and rhythmic syncopation. “It Ain’t Necessarily So” stands out as one of the great trio recordings. Williams was able to turn the piano from an unwieldy instrument into a tender extension of her deepest emotions. This is one of those essential trio recordings which, like Bill Evans’s Village Vanguard sessions or Ahmad Jamal Live At The Pershing Lounge, contains some extra-musical, elemental truth.
Despite the delicacy and pared down simplicity of tracks like “Miss. D.D.”, in which Williams is very much pushing the boundaries of trio jazz, this potentially ‘avant-garde’ record is not afraid of its blues and roots, as in the swinging invocations of “Anima Christi”. In fact, the last word is given over to the rip-roaring gospel blues of “Praise the Lord”. Hearing really is believing.
