The Zodiac Suite

Mary Lou Williams | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 17, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Smithsonian Folkways
• ASIN: B000001DM3
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #168,169 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #90 in Music > Jazz > Traditional Jazz & Ragtime > Stride Piano

Editorial Reviews

Smithsonian Folkways proudly celebrated the 50th anniversary of the original Asch Records release of Mary Lou Williams' work, Zodiac Suite. Performing solo and accompanied by bassist Al Lucas and drummer Jack Parker, Williams crafted these pieces as a series of dedications to fellow musicians born under each astrological sign. This 12-part interpretation of the zodiac was crafted so each movement comprises a set of jazz tone poems. Six alternate takes, mastered from the original acetates, are featured on this reissue. "Irresistible themes...blending sophistication and intimacy." —DownBeat

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One for the stars, June 27, 2003

By 

h.zane knauss (columbia,, sc United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Zodiac Suite (Audio CD)

Mary Lou Williams is a pianist from the galaxy of pianists who came from the Greater Pittsburgh area - Earl Hines, Erroll Garner, Billy Strayhorn, Johnny Costa, etc... she had a pile driving left hand at the piano and a wide-ranging imagination when it came to writing music. This album is another fine exmple of her thinking. I don't think she ever received the fame she deserved...as a musician or as a composer.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pisces waltzes in a dream..., September 14, 1999

By 

DJ Rix (NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Zodiac Suite (Audio CD)

A delightful collection of "miniatures" in which Mary Lou Williams - not an expert at astrology - accurately captures certain attributes of the various signs by observing them in people she knew & making them into music, much as Virgil Thomson did in his Portraits. Taurus plods along heavily. Pisces waltzes in a dream. Scorpio is sneaky. Cancer is a Debussyan moon. Fun for fans of jazz piano & maybe more than that for the astrologically-inclined. Sound quality is rough, to say the least, but it's like peeking at Mary Lou's private journal.

Bob Rixon, WFMU-FM

5.0 out of 5 stars Mislabeled? misleading?, November 3, 2011

By 

L. Braverman "TD" (NYC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Zodiac Suite (Audio CD)

I think there's 2 Suites; 2 separate CDs, with different cuts, that Amazon has conflated as one: this one, recorded in 1945 @ Town Hall with an orchestra (there's nothing to listen to) which was reputed to be stolen for 50 years and was put out (according to the Product Details) by Jazz Classics...

and then the other one, which, according to the Product Description:

"Smithsonian Folkways proudly celebrated the 50th anniversary of the original Asch Records release of Mary Lou Williams' work, Zodiac Suite. Performing solo and accompanied by bassist Al Lucas and drummer Jack Parker..."

The covers are different, and the titles, too; with the orchestra it's entitled:

"Town Hall '45: The Zodiac Suite by Mary Lou Williams", featuring Ben Webster (CD, Vintage Jazz Classics)

It can be found here:
[...]

("featuring Ben Webster" appears on the album cover of this one)

The trio alone, The Smithsonian Folkways version, is simply titled "The Zodiac Suite"

Here's where it can be found: The Zodiac Suite

I've listened to the trio version and it's superb; the other one (this one?) featuring Ben Webster and the orchestra I haven't heard and can't judge, but since I couldn't leave this review online without a rank I gave it 5 stars because it's Mary Lou Williams after all and the other version really is superb; this one probably is too... unless the tapes were degraded.

Anybody know more about this??????????