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Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band
Film / 2015

Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band

Directed by Carol Bash
Documentary

★ 8.0/10Audience rating

Jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams was a genius ahead of her time. From child prodigy to "Boogie-Woogie Queen" to groundbreaking composer to mentoring some of the greatest musicians of all time, she never ceased to astound those who heard her play. But for a Black woman in the early 1900s, life as a star did not come easy.

The story

Jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams was a genius ahead of her time. From child prodigy to "Boogie-Woogie Queen" to groundbreaking composer to mentoring some of the greatest musicians of all time, she never ceased to astound those who heard her play. But for a Black woman in the early 1900s, life as a star did not come easy.

Cast

Mary Lou WilliamsSelf (archive footage) Alfre WoodardMary Lou Williams (voice) Delroy LindoJohn Williams (voice) Wendell PierceAndy Kirk (voice) Stanley CrouchSelf Robin D.G. KelleySelf Gary GiddinsSelf Tammy L. KernodleSelf Farah GriffinSelf Gayle MurchisonSelf Alexandra NoaillesSelf Peter O'BrienSelf
See more cast
Robert O'MeallySelf Billy TaylorSelf Geri AllenSelf - Performer Esperanza SpaldingSelf - Performer Terri Lyne CarringtonSelf - Performer Wycliffe GordonSelf - Performer Carmen LundySelf - Performer Joel HaberliBarney Josephson / Critic (voice) Robert CastelineCritic (voice)

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