"This biography presents the life and music of the pianist, composer, and arranger Mary Lou Williams (1910-1981), a talented and versatile jazz artist well versed in most of the emerging styles in jazz's evolution. Williams wrote and arranged for the likes of Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman, and was a friend, mentor, and teacher to Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and other stars of the bebop scene. Tammy Kernodle draws on extensive interviews, letters, oral histories, and meticulous research, bringing rich biographical detail together with incisive commentary on Williams's music, performances, and recordings. This deeply contextualized portrait chronicles Williams's impoverished upbringing in Pittsburgh, where she began performing publicly at the age of 6, through her harsh life on the road and rise to fame in the 1930s. In later years, Williams's powerful sacred jazz compositions and dedicated support to help rehabilitate jazz musicians struggling with addiction contributed further to her lasting influence as a composer and educator"--