1930-1941

This 20-song collection provides an overview of Mary Lou Williams’ breakout years as the star of Andy Kirk’s big band The Twelve Clouds of Joy. While Williams was the band's pianist, her dominant talent was for writing and arranging. The partnership between Kirk and Williams was mutually beneficial. Kirk taught Williams notation and the rules of music theory, and in return Williams gave the band creative arrangements that toyed with those rules. Like Duke Ellington, she adhered to the fundamental rhythms of dance music but always threw in small tricks and intricate designs that separated her songs from hundreds of others. Sometimes it's an unexpected shift in rhythm or an unusual combination of instruments. In a Williams arrangement, a clarinet or trombone is as likely to take the lead as a tenor saxophone (the primary solo instrument of Kansas City swing). Other times, as on “Twinklin’," the band holds back entirely, putting the spotlight wholly on Williams’ piano. Even in the big band setting, where every instrument vies for space, her steadfast but magical piano playing was a signature that distinguished The Twelve Clouds of Joy from all others.