The Players:
Mary Lou Williams – The Composer and Piano Player – “The First Lady of Jazz”
Al Lucas – The Original Zodiac Suite Bass Player
Jack “The Bear” Parker – The Original Zodiac Suite Drummer
Moe Asch – Founded Asch/Folkways Records
Milt Orent – Arranger for the Town Hall Concert Chamber performance – Pic!
Baron Timme “The Robber Baron” Rosenkrantz – Danish Aristocrat, Jazz Enthusiast
Ben Webster – One of the great Tenors, “The Beast”, Guest soloist on Cancer
Hope Foye – Soprano, Guest singer on Pisces, premiered “Lilac Wine” in 1950
Irving “Mouse” Randolph – Guest trumpet on Virgo, part of Andy Kirk’s Clouds of Joy
Jay C Heard – Guest drummer at Town Hall performance
Edmond Hall – Clarinetist at Town Hall performance
Henderson Chambers – Trombonist, french horn & violinist at Town Hall performance
Eddie Barefield – Clarinetist and banjo at Town Hall performance
Dizzy Gillespie – Trumpet player, Composer & Band Leader, Zodiac Medley in ‘57
Melba Liston – Trombone player, Arranger for Zodiac Medley in ‘57
Oscar Pettiford – Bass player, records Mary’s Duke Ellington arrangement of Scorpio
Geri Allen – Pianist for the Zodiac Suite revisited
Buster Williams – Bassist for the Zodiac Suite revisited
Billy Hart – Drummer for the Zodiac Suite revisited
The Places:
The Cafe Society – Sheridan Square, Greenwich Village, NYC. Pic
WNEW – “The World’s Greatest Radio Station” 1130AM NYC
The Town Hall – 123 West 43rd Street, NYC
Carnegie Hall – 57th & 7th Avenue, NYC
The Institute of Jazz Studies – Rutgers Libraries, Newark, NJ
The Portraits:
Aries:
Ben Webster – see “Players”, romantically involved w/ Mary around ‘37
Billie Holiday – One of the great Jazz Singers
Taurus:
Joe Louis – Heavyweight Champion of the World 37-49, “The Brown Bomber”
Bing Crosby – Singer/Actor, released “White Christmas” in 1941
Duke Ellington – One of the Greatest Composers, Musicians & Band Leaders
Ellis Larkins – Pianist, one of the great Vocal accompanists
– Mary too
Gemini:
Paul Robeson – Activist, Baritone, a man who did everything!
Benny Goodman – Clarinetist, Band leader, “The King of Swing”
Harold Baker – “Shorty” Trumpeter, married Mary in 1942
Miles Davis – Trumpeter, One of the Great Musicians, dedicated after Zodiac release
Cancer:
Lem Davis – saxophonist, worked with Eddie Heywood at the Cafe Society
Lena Horne – Singer, Dancer, Actress & Activist, a woman who did everything!
Leo:
Vic Dickenson – Trombonist, records with Mary in 1944
Leonard Feather – Jazz Journalist & pianist,
(Phil Moore) – Mary listed Phil here but he is a Pisces
Libra:
Dizzy Gillespie – One of the great trumpeters, band leader and composer
Art Tatum – One of the great pianists
Bud Powell – One of the great pianists, and composer
Thelonious Monk – One of the great pianist and composers
Scorpio:
Imogen Coca – a comedic actress
Ethel Waters – a singer & actress, a barrier breaker!
Katherine Dunham – a dancer, choreographer, activist. A woman who did everything!
- Al Lucas – added by Mary later, see Players
Sagittarius:
Eddie Heywood jr. – a pianist and band leader
+ Bob Cranshaw – a bassist, added by Mary later
Alan Comfrey – radio commentator, added by Mary later
John Hammond – record producer, critic and activist
Capricorn:
Frankie Newton – a trumpeter
Pearl Primus – a dancer, choreographer and anthropologist
Aquarius:
FDR – The 32nd President of the United States of America
Josh White – singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. A man who did everything!
Eartha Kitt – “The most exciting woman in the world” Orson Welles
Pisces:
Al Hall – a bassist, founded Wax records in 1946
Barney Josephson – Opened the Cafe Society 12/18/1938
“I wanted a club where blacks and whites worked together behind the footlights and sat together out front… There wasn’t, so far as I know, a place like it in New York or in the whole country.” 9/30/88 NYT (obituary)
Phil Moore – pianist and band leader, Marilyn Monroe’s vocal coach
The Story Tellers:
Father Peter F. O’brien – Mary’s manager and a priest
Linda Dahl – writer, biographer of “Morning Glory”
Dan Morganstern – writer, critic, wrote the Zodiac Suite reissue liner notes
Andrew Homzy – musician, arranger & scholar, wrote liner notes for the Town Hall CD
Dr. Billy Taylor – pianist, composer, broadcaster & educator, on Kennedy Center video
Dr. Valerie Capers – pianist, composer & educator, on Kennedy Center video
Found Sounds 