We Knew What We Had: The Pittsburgh Jazz Story

Whether you realize it or not, just about everyone has heard at least a little something from Pittsburgh’s jazz community. For instance, Erroll Garner had a monster hit with “Misty” and George Benson became the original jazz cross-over artist. Even if they do not ring any bells, virtually everyone will have heard the piano stylings of Johnny Costa, who for years scored Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. One of the richest regional jazz scenes gets its overdue ovation in Jeff Sewald’s We Knew What We Had: The Greatest Jazz Story Never Told (trailer here), which airs this week on World Channel and throughout the month on finer PBS affiliates throughout the nation.

The honor roll of Pittsburgh jazz greats will make your eyes pop: Earl “Fatha” Hines, Art Blakey, Erroll Garner, Mary Lou Williams, Billy Eckstine, Ahmad Jamal, Ray Brown, Stanley Turrentine, Kenny Clarke, and the great Billy Strayhorn. To use an academic term: “wow.” If you are wondering how Pittsburgh got so hip, Sewald and his on-camera experts offer a cogent explanation of the historical dynamics. Pittsburgh was a river town that ported riverboats that trekked up from New Orleans. It was also strategically located as the first logical stop on a cross-country tour for musicians based in New York. Plus, it had integrated schools since the late 19^th Century, which meant African American student had access to music education.

Of course, that does not explain why so many legendary musicians happened to be born in western Pennsylvania, but the presence of so many greats clearly inspired successive generations. To its credit, WKWWH also gives due time and credit to talent that largely stayed local, like former Horace Silver sideman, drummer Roger Humphreys.

It is a shame outside political and cultural factors conspired to put a damper on the Pittsburgh scene, because this film would otherwise motivate viewers to book Amtrak tickets to Steel City. Frankly, it would probably be even stronger if there were a little less of the experts talking and a little more music. However, one of those experts is the late, great Geri Allen, who hailed from Michigan, but played Mary Lou Williams in Robert Altman’s Kansas City and taught jazz at the University of Pittsburgh. It is still hard to believe she is no longer with us.

Obviously, there is plenty to say about Pittsburgh jazz musicians, since at least three of them, Billy Strayhorn, Erroll Garner, and Mary Lou Williams have already been the subject of their own documentaries. Just about everyone else could also easily sustain their own profile, especially Blakey, Costa, and Hines. This is true jazz royalty, from a city of grit and industry. Clearly, Sewald gets that—and he keeps the film pacing along nicely, so he can touch all the necessary bases in the hour-long running time. Highly recommended, We Knew What We Had airs tomorrow (2/6) and Wednesday (2/7) on World Channel and next Thursday (2/15) on Pittsburgh’s WQED.

Mary Lou Williams: the Lady Who Swings the Band

You can pretty much count on one finger the jazz musicians who have received Papal commissions. Mary Lou Williams will always be remembered for exceling as a musician-arranger-composer at a time when the music industry was ridiculously male-dominated. Yet, by reconciling and combining jazz with her Catholic faith, Williams shattered just as many musical preconceptions. Williams’ life and music are surveyed in Carol Bash’s Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band (promo here), which premieres on many PBS stations this weekend (but not always at convenient hours).

Williams was a child prodigy born to play the piano, but she first started to make a name for herself in Kansas City, at the height of the town’s hipness. Most musicians were loath to play with women, but her husband, alto and baritone player John O. Williams knew she could swing. When his boss, territory bandleader Andy Kirk found himself caught without a piano player, he reluctantly called her in to sub. Needless to say, she basically made Andy Kirk and the Clouds of Joy. Naturally, he resented her for it, but the producers were adamant—no Williams, no contract.

Eventually, Williams would separate from both Kirk and her husband, striking out on her. Despite her talent and reputation, she would experience all the ups and downs of the jazz musician’s life, except it was always even more challenging for Williams—until she heard what can be rightly described as her calling. Finding spiritual renewal in the Catholic Church, Williams was encouraged to use her musical gifts, but in a way that expressed her deepening faith.

It is great to see Bash fully explores the significance and influence of Williams’ sacred music. She also gives the jazz legend her due as an entrepreneur, self-producing her releases on her own Mary label, long before that became the industry norm. However, the film leaves some unanswered questions regarding her relationship with John O. According to his obit, he also played with the Cootie Williams band and co-wrote “Froggy Bottom,” which suggests he might be one of those unfairly overlooked kind of guys.

Of course, the music is the most important thing in Lady Who Swings. Bash incorporates some all-star performances, appropriately including Geri Allen, who played the Mary Lou Williams figure in Robert Altman’s unfairly panned Kansas City. Wycliffe Gordon also leads a big band and Carmen Lundy lends her vocal chops and elegant presence, but Bash cuts off them off before they really get started. That is a shame, because just about all of us interested in Williams will want to hear their take on her music. Maybe the concert interludes are allowed to go on longer in a more extensive festival cut.

Indeed, fifty-four minutes on Mary Lou Williams is certainly economical, but it only scratches the surface and whets the appetite. Nevertheless, Bash makes sure viewers leave with the right take-aways. If you still don’t understand Williams was Catholic who could still swing hard after watching her film, you have serious retention issues. Brisk, informative, and respectful of Williams’ Catholicism, Mary Lou Williams: the Lady Who Swings the Band will leave audiences wanting more, but what we have is still definitely worth seeing. Highly recommended, it airs Sunday night (4/12) in Salt Lake, Monday night (4/13) in LA, Wednesday night (4/15) in San Francisco, and in the early Monday morning a.m. (4/13) in New York/New Jersey (a more rational afternoon time-slot was announced and canceled, but hopefully it can be rescheduled, so check those local listings).