Mary Lou Williams, Pittsburgh, Kennedy Center and More - with Deanna Witkowski, Bobbie Ferguson on the Scene

Mary Lou Williams, Pittsburgh, Kennedy Center and More - with Deanna Witkowski, Bobbie Ferguson on the Scene

Mary Lou’s Birthday was May 8th - and in this month of May, a number of important events celebrating her life and career are on tap.

May 12th and 13th, the 27th annual Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival will be held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Hosted by NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater. Included on the agenda, some of today’s finest women in jazz: Doreen Ketchens, Somi, Camille Thurman, and the Dee Dee Bridgewater Big Band.

Also - the Heinz History Center is presenting a virtual screening of “Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band,” on Saturday, May 20.

We talk with Deanna Witkowski about her Mary Lou Williams Biography, Music for the Soul, about Pittsburgh and what she has learned in the process. Also, a visit with Bobbie Ferguson - niece of Mary Lou Williams and founder of the new, Pittsburgh-based, Mary Lou Williams Institute.

The Scene - Thursday at 6, Friday and Saturday at noon, Sunday at 5 on WZUM.

Appreciating Jazz in April under the MCG Jazz Spotlight

Marty Ashby and Renee Govanucci look back on Jazz Appreciation Month highlights performed and recorded at MCG Jazz - all in the month of April. Spyro Gyra, Tom Scott, Ann Hampton Callaway, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, Paquito D’Rivera, Herbie Mann, Phil Woods and more!

The MCGJazz Spotlight on WZUM - Friday and Sunday nights at 6, and Saturday afternoon at 1.