The Asch Recordings, 1939 to 1947 - Volume ,1 Blues, Gospel, and Jazz

Asch Recordings – AA 2

Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Compilation
Country: US
Released: 1966
Genre: Jazz, Blues, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Gospel, Folk, Country Blues
[Tracklist]
A1 You're Driving Me Crazy: Muggsy Spanier (2:36)
A2 I'd Climb the Highest Mountain: Pee Wee Russell (3:02)
A3 Take Me To the Land of Jazz: Pee Wee Russell (2:29)
A4 Harlem Hotcha: Omer Simeon Trio (2:52)
A5 Hesitation Blues: James P. Johnson (3:09)
A6 Sister Kate: Joe Sullivan and Sidney Bechet (2:44)
B1 Topsy: Art Tatum (4:12)
B2 Leave My Love Alone: Coleman Hawkins (2:37)
B3 Desert Sands: Stuff Smith (2:45)
B4 Roll 'Em: Mary Lou Williams (2:49)
B5 Jazz at the Philharmonic - Blues, Part 3: Jazz at the Philharmonic (Les Paul, guitar) (3:44)
[Credits]
Producer: Samuel Charters, Recorder: Moses Asch, Designer: Ronald Clyne
[Notes]
A continuation of Volume 1 (FW00AA1), this archival recording moves into the realm of big band jazz, showing off heavyweights like Muggsy Spanier, Pee Wee Russell, Mary Lou Williams and Art Tatum.

Mary Lou Williams Presents Black Christ of the Andes

Smithsonian Folkways – SFW CD 40816

Format: CD, Album, Reissue
Country: US
Released: 2004
Genre: Blues, World, & Country
Style: Blues, Ragtime
[Tracklist]
01 St. Martin De Porres (6:32)
02 It Ain't Necessarily So (4:41)
03 The Devil (4:00)
04 Miss D.D. (2:28)
05 Anima Christi (2:48)
06 A Grand Night For Swinging (3:06)
07 My Blue Heaven (3:21)
08 Dirge Blues (2:57)
09 A Fungus A Mungus (3:21)
10 Koolbonga (3:21)
11 Forty-Five Degree Angle (2:50)
12 Nicole (3:37)
13 Chunka Lunka (3:07)
14 Praise The Lord (5:55)
[Credits]
Mary Lou Williams (piano) Jimmy Mitchell (vocals) George Gordon Singers (choir) Ray Charles Singers (choir) Larry Gales (bass) Percy Heath (bass) Theodore Cromwell (bass) Budd Johnson (bass clarinet) Budd Johnson (tenor saxophone) Grant Green (guitar) George Chamble (drums) Percy Brice (drums) Tim Kennedy (drums)
Reissue Producer and Liner Notes: Fr. Peter F. O'Brien, S.J., Reissue Producer: Mary Monseur, Atesh Sonneborn and Daniel Sheehy, Liner Notes: Eddie Meadows and Jacob Love,　Designer: Sonya Cohen Cramer, Photographer: Carl Van Vechten, Chuck Stewart, Dennis Stock and Tom Caffrey, Engineer: Pete Reiniger
[Notes]
Mary Lou Williams, the "First Lady of Jazz," was an extraordinary pianist, composer, arranger, and master of blues, boogie woogie, stride, swing, and be-bop. Williams' complex harmonies and brilliant phrasing, rooted in spirituals and blues, border on the avant-garde. Black Christ is both a powerful secular statement and a call to the divine. Duke Ellington said, "[She was] beyond category—a pianist who sums up in herself the full essence of jazz and expresses it with skill and perception that few other jazz musicians have even approached." Originally issued in 1964, this CD contains an additional 4 unreleased tracks, new extensive liner notes, and historic photos. 53 minutes.

Mary Lou Williams

Folkways Records FS 32843

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo
Country: US
Released: 1964
Genre: Jazz
Style: Bop, Soul-Jazz, Gospel, Modal
[Tracklist]
A1 Black Christ Of The Andes (6:23)
A2 It Ain't Necessarily So (4:35)
A3 The Devil (3:55)
A4 Miss D. D. (2:25)
A5 Anima Christi (2:43)
B1 A Grand Nite For Swinging (2:54)
B2 My Blue Heaven (3:02)
B3 Dirge Blues (3:21)
B4 A Fungus Amungus (2:48)
B5 Praise The Lord (5:47)
[Credits]
Mary Lou Williams (piano)
Artwork: David Stone Martin, Liner Notes: Gerrard Pochonet, Engineer: Tommy Nola
[Notes]
Composer, arranger, and pianist Mary Lou Williams' musical career reflected the history of American jazz from the late 1920s through the 1970s. Described by Duke Ellington as being "beyond category," Williams was conversant in jazz styles ranging from stride through swing and be-bop to the avant-garde, yet her music was always rooted in spirituals and the blues. This self-produced recording, originally recorded in 1962 and 1963, contains a mix of standards and originals including four original compositions reflecting her devout interest in religious music.