SFJAZZ.org | On the Record-Mary Lou Williams Zodiac Suite

January 21, 2025

On the Record: Mary Lou Williams' "Zodiac Suite"

By Rusty Aceves

On 1/26, Brooklyn-based bassist Jeong Lim Yang and her trio perform the music from iconic pianist and composer Mary Lou Williams’ 1945 masterwork Zodiac Suite. Here’s a close look at the piece and its original recording, including notes written by Williams herself.

Mary Lou Williams

Mary Lou Williams

Jeong Lim Yang is among the most exciting and in-demand bassists on the New York scene. In 2022, Yang released an album devoted to Mary Lou Williams’ 12-part Zodiac Suite for the Fresh Sound New Talent label entitled Zodiac Suite: Reassured.

In this article, we look back at the origin of the piece, its recordings, performances, and of course, the composer.

A prolific writer and musician – and a towering figure in the origins of bebop – Mary Lou Williams made over a hundred recordings during her career and mentored many of the music’s critical figures, including Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell.

Fascinated by a book on astrology, Williams was inspired to write music based on the star signs of her fellow musicians, and composed her magnum opus, the Zodiac Suite, over three years beginning in 1942.

She performed a partly through composed and partly improvised version of the incomplete piece with her trio of bassist Al Lucas and drummer Jack Parker for her weekly WNEW radio show in 1945, and subsequently took the trio into the studio to record it for recording engineer Moses Asch’s Asch Records – the precursor to his famous Folkways label.

Though happy with the original Asch recording, Williams had initially been inspired to create an expanded orchestral version influenced by the success of Duke Ellington’s 1943 suite Black, Brown and Beige. After the trio recording was completed, she revised the work for large ensemble with assistance from Milton Orent, a friend and house arranger for NBC television in New York.

The resulting arrangements were an innovative mix of jazz and classical elements that preceded the so-called “third stream” movement of the 1950s and 1960s exemplified by the work of Gunther Schuller, George Russell, Jimmy Giuffre, and Gil Evans in his heralded collaboration with Miles Davis. Each movement of the 12-part work corresponds to and is named for individual signs of the zodiac and is dedicated to a selection of influential artists born under each sign.

Williams premiered the expanded Zodiac Suite at New York’s Town Hall on December 31, 1945, with the chamber-jazz group led by clarinetist Edmond Hall and featuring tenor saxophonist Ben Webster and drummer J.C. Heard – a performance that was considered unsuccessful on multiple levels. The piece was performed at Carnegie Hall the following year with a 70-piece orchestra under the auspices of Jazz at the Philharmonic impresario and Verve Records founder Norman Granz. Both concerts were recorded, and it is suspected that Danish jazz enthusiast and patron Timme Rosenkranz, who was entrusted with the care of the master tapes, appropriated both sets of recordings for distribution to European “pirate” labels without Williams’ consent or paying her royalties. The 1945 Town Hall concert was finally given a “legitimate” release on Vintage Jazz Classics Records in 1996 – fifteen years after Williams’ death.

The emotional toll on Williams from work on the Zodiac Suite caused her to take a break from her career for over a year.

In 1975, Smithsonian/Folkways Records reissued the 1945 Asch Records trio recordings of the Zodiac Suite, with new liner notes by author Dan Morgenstern and archival notes from Williams herself.

What follows is Williams’ notes in their entirety:

WHY I WROTE THE ZODIAC SUITE

It seems that man has always utilized the stars and heavenly bodies to guide him and his destinies in making new inroads in the world in which we live; so I adopted the signs of the Zodiac themes for writing my latest compositions, released under the Asch record label.

I have always thought of astrology and the study of the stars as understanding one of the influences that molds man’s destiny, and I have given the Signs the musical interpretation which I feel they warranted.

To carry through my ideas about the Signs of the Zodiac and to give musical expression to the quotation “Stars guide man’s life and fortunes,” I based each sign on people I know in the creative world.

So far as I have been able to determine, the only other composer who has utilized astrological concepts in writing music was the English musician, Robert Forsythe. However, his selections cover only a few of the signs.

For instance, in writing Aries (The Sign of the Ram) I utilized the two people whom I felt best typified the moods and personalities governed by the sign. Both Billie Holiday, the songstress, and Ben Webster, the saxophonist, come under the sign. Changeable, moody, and impulsive, they seemed to me the examples I should choose for my composition.

In writing the music for those born under the sign of the bull, Taurus, I wrote an interpretation for those who are creative and are said to be lovers of the arts. Music and art usually dominate the lives of these individuals. And what better examples could I select than Duke Ellington, Joe Louis, and Bing Crosby? I have also tried to portray the stubborn quality of individuals born under Taurus, and my music for the Sign of the Bull begins and ends with the same theme to indicate the personality that “only changes when it is forced to do so.”

Gemini, The Twin Sign, is dedicated to two men I have known and admired for many years. Both of them are well known for their versatility in many pursuits. Benny Goodman, a famous musician and clarinetist, is as well known for his work with symphonic concert orchestras as he is for his own swing band, Paul Robeson is a man who has become universally known as a great singer, actor, and world citizen. Each of these outstanding people are at home doing “two things at one time,” and to me seemed like wonderful examples of the “dual personality” Gemini represents. And so in my music, I have used two themes, in discord equally balanced to set the pattern of those born under the Sign of the Twin.

Cancer is the composition I have dedicated to those who like order, peace, and tranquility. The general traits of those born under the sign of the Crab are well accented in my selection which was modeled after the lovely actress, Lena Horne, whom I have known for a long time.

Leo, the lion, the sign for kings and those “born to rule,” is written with the pomp and circumstance it deserves. I have given the opening chords a trumpet like effect to set the stage for this piece. If you examine history, you will find many leaders born under the sign of Leo.

It is said that ALL Virgo-born are favored for adventure, initiative, and a go-getter spirit, so I have chosen Phil Moore, the pianist and band leader, as an appropriate subject for musical portrayal of those born under Virgo. Flowing rhythms and running chords suggest these people who seem to be more intellectual than emotional personalities.

Libra, the sign for those who love beauty and art, was written in a harmonious and melodic mood. It was meant to identify one of the great American musicians of our time, Art Tatum.

Scorpio is the sign of those who are creative, intense, and passionate. Imogene Coca, the popular comedienne, is one of the artists born under this sign whom I have known. Al Lucas–bassist is another. The music for Scorpio people is set in a strong and forceful pattern to indicate some of the moods which they themselves follow.

Sagittarius, the Sign of the Archer, governs those who are usually successful, noble, and magnanimous: “The young man who sees visions and the old man who dreams dreams” are Sagittarius. Alan Comfrey, radio music commentator, was born under this Sign. John Hammond, the musician impresario who has done so much for American musicians and music, is influenced by this sign. I set this piece in a triumphant and varied mood for those headed for “success and glory,” and made the bars of the music full and resounding as possible to achieve the kind of effect I wanted for the portrayal of Sagittarius individuals.

Capricorn people are generally considered persistent, moody, and hard working. My Capricorn is written with a dirge-like, half hammer beat, and it builds slowly to suggest a deliberate and head-strong personality. Pearl Primus, the dancer, and Frankie Newton, the trumpeter, are wonderful examples of the perfectionist-body type of individual I have in mind in this music.

Aquarius, the sign of the water-bearer, is a light, happy, and jovial composition. It is written for such outgoing people and humanitarians as are suggested by the personality of the late Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Pisces, the Sign of the Fish and the last of the Signs of the Zodiac, I composed while broadcasting one Sunday afternoon. There is a theme but no set pattern written for this composition because I think of Pisces people as freedom-loving and imaginative. Of course, those influenced by this Sign are thought to be arrogant and “high minded” too – and as the music unfolds I have injected those notes which I thought best captured the spirit of these people.

The personalities of those influenced by the stars have been interpreted freely, so that I could achieve the scope and effect I wanted in each case. I know that man has thought of the stars mystically since the beginning of time; giving musical expression to the Signs has been a very satisfying experience for me.

As a composer and musician, I have worked all of my life to write and develop serious music that is both original and creative. The Zodiac Suite is the beginning of a real fulfillment of one of my ambitions.

Jeong Lim Yang and her trio perform music from Zodiac Suite: Reassured on 1/26. Tickets and more information are available here.

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