TRANSCRIPT:
I’m Mark Rapp, and this is Rapp on Jazz.
In the late 1950s, jazz legend Mary Lou Williams underwent a profound spiritual transformation that reshaped her music and mission. Out of that calling emerged her groundbreaking sacred works—compositions that blended jazz with liturgical tradition.
Her most celebrated pieces, including Black Christ of the Andes, Mass for the Lenten Season, and Mary Lou’s Mass, brought swing, blues, and bebop into churches and concert halls alike. These works challenged the belief that jazz belonged only in nightclubs, proving its expressive power could elevate worship and celebrate faith.
Williams saw sacred jazz as healing music—music for the soul and the community.
This has been Rapp On Jazz, a co-production of ColaJazz and SC Public Radio, made possible by Layman Publishing Partners, celebrating 50 years of expert content creation, authoritative information management, and standards-driven print and digital production.