Birth of bebop

Birth+of+bebop

Pioneering pianist Mary Lou Williams is pictured at CBS Radio studio in New York City, circa April 1947. Williams, 37 here, hosted a weekly radio show called “Mary Lou Williams’ Piano Workshop.” She headlined at Cafe Society in Manhattan during this period, and mentored the likes of Thelonious Monk and Dizzy Gillespie in the nuances of early bebop.