Mary Lou Williams inspired ensemble Musical Portrait - acrylic painting - art by Rachel J Haungs

A call for art recently prompted me to consider, what does Jazz mean to me? Personally, Jazz is about finding joy in collaboration and the weaving of musicality of several musicians together through rhythm and improvisation. It’s about knowing the rules and structure of music well enough to know just how many rules can be broken intentionally while still creating a cohesive sound. This felt like the perfect opportunity to try an abstracted ensemble musical portrait.

My 1st inclination was to research some of the founding musicians of jazz that were women, which immediately brought me to Mary Lou Williams. Immediately captivated to by how her melodies dance around on the piano, I knew I’d enjoy diving into her history. The more I learned, the more obvious her energy was exactly what I wanted to capture.

Mary Lou Williams was a pioneer in American jazz composition, arranging, and musical performance. She mentored famous artists like Dizzy Gillespie, and she became known as the First Lady of Jazz. She was a prodigy, learning from her mother and the musical community around her, becoming heavily involved in Kansas City swing in the 1930s before transitioning into the bebop movement of the ‘40s. She also spent a lot of time arranging music for artists like Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman. She was one of the first women to start a record label and recorded over 100 albums, spending the later years of her life as an artist in residence at Duke University. Many consider her to be one of the most important female musicians in jazz and music history as a whole.

Stay tuned as I dive deeper into her story and stylings, and how that’s reflected in my painting - Mary Lou Williams - The Band 30x24 acrylic painting on gallery wrapped stretched canvas.

The Band is an expressive return to a subject I explored first in my career—musical instruments. Embracing experimentation, improvisation, and spontaneity, these instruments reflect the joy, rhythm, and personal nostalgia music stirs in me. Loosely rendered with an emphasis on linework, each piece captures how music looks and feels to me. When the instability of life needs grounding, music brings me back on beat, and this collection is way to document that.

Follow me to be the first to know when the latest album drops from my collection, The Band 🎹 🪈

#marylouwilliams #jazz #piano

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