“Roll ‘Em”

A happy Monday, folks!  We’re here at last with a much belated edition of the Monday Morning Blues, & coming at you once again with a piece of music that explores the intersection of blues & jazz.

Up to now this series has only explored songs from the “hot jazz” era of the 1920s.  While I love music from that era, I didn’t want the series to turn into a sort of “moldy figs” appreciation of traditional jazz to the exclusion of later developments in the music—both because I love later jazz as well, & also because there are some prime examples of blues meeting jazz from all points in jazz history, & even from some composers who have been considered quite radical.

Today’s song comes from one of the most talented composers & pianists in the history of jazz, tho sadly she is still all too often overlooked.  That is the great Mary Lou Williams, of whom Duke Ellington wrote:
 

Mary Lou Williams is perpetually contemporary. Her writing and performing have always been a little ahead throughout her career. Her music retains, and maintains, a standard of quality that is timeless. She is like soul on soul.

Mary Lou Williams began her performing career in the 1920s when she was still in her early teens, & at age 15 she was performing with Duke Ellington’s Washingtonians.  She made the claim—a true claim at that—that in her long career she played in “every era” of jazz, & in fact she composed & performed in the hot jazz era, thru the big band time & was an important tho frequently neglected figure in the development of be-bop.  Williams continued to be a significant force in the jazz world up to her death in 1981.

In addition to the fact that Mary Lou Williams was a masterful pianist, she was also a composer & arranger of note.  Her Zodiac Suite from the mid 1940s is a great extended composition, & she also composed a number of noteworthy songs, including today’s selection, “Roll ‘Em,” which she wrote in 1937 in response to Benny Goodman asking her to come up with a theme song for his band.  “Roll ‘Em” is a hard driving boogie, & the version we have today showcases Williams as a performer backed by the Benny Carter Orchestra.  In its basic structure, “Roll ‘Em” is a  12-bar blues, but it’s transfigured by Williams’ inventiveness & her powerful flow of musical ideas.

Hope you enjoy it!