GERI ALLEN & THE MARY LOU WILLIAMS COLLECTIVE IN PITTSBURGH, PA.

Mensah Wali, and the Kente Arts Alliance, will present GERI ALLEN & THE MARY LOU WILLIAMS COLLECTIVE in concert on Sunday, May 6, 2007, at 3:00P.M. at the Kelly/Strayhorn Theatre in the East Liberty Section of Pittsburgh, Pa. Though Mary Lou Williams was born in Atlanta, her family moved to Pittsburgh when Mary was a mere three to five years old. She is, therefore, considered a real Pittsburgher.

This is the second concert in a hoped for series honoring Pittsburgh Jazz Musicians that Mr. Wali is presenting. The concert will be pesented in two halves with an intermission. During the first half THE COLLECTIVE will play Mary Lou Williams' ZODIAC SUITE (1945). THE COLLECTIVE had recorded 'ZODIAC SUITE: REVISITED" for Mary Records (M104). During the second half of the program THE GERI ALLEN TRIO will play music from Ms. Allen's new Telarc CD "TIMELESS PORTRAITS AND DREAMS". Both recordings are available on Amazon.com.

On Saturday, May 5, 2007, Ms. Allen will offer a jazz workshop to middle school, junior high school, and high schools sstudents at The African American Music Institute whose director is Dr. James Johnson.

GERI ALLEN & THE MARY LOU WILLIAMS COLLECTIVE TO APPEAR AT THE SAN FRANCISCO JAZZ FESTIVAL.

GERI ALLEN (PIANO), KENNY DAVIS (BASS), and ANDREW CYRILLE (DRUMS) comprise
THE MARY LOU WILLIAMS COLLECTIVE. They will appear in concert at The Herbst Theatre during THE SAN FRANCISCO JAZZ FESTIVAL. THE MARY LOU WILLIAMS COLLECTIVE will appear during the first of two halves and play Ms. Williams' ZODIAC SUITE. The second half of the program will present The Thelonious Monk Legacy Band
with Ben Riley and under the direction of Don Sickler. See you there. The concert takes place on Friday evening April 6, 2007 at 8PM

GERI ALLEN & ANDY BEY SLATED TO RECORD THE MUSIC OF MARY LOU WILLIAMS WITH THE UNITED STATES ARMY FIELD BAND/JAZZ AMBASSADORS.

On Wednesday, April 4, 2007, Geri Allen and Andy Bey will record several of the compositions of Mary Lou Williams with the United States Army's Jazz Ambassadors. The recording will take place at Ft. Meade, Md. Ms. Allen's special feature will come on "Scorpio" - a composition she has already recorded on "Zodiac Suite: Revisited" issued on Mary Records (M104) a year ago and available on Amazon.com. Zodiac Suite was written by Ms. Williams in 1945. Ms Allen and the US Band will record an arrangement of "Scorpio" constructed by Ms. Williams for Duke Ellington's orchestra in 1946. Geri Allen will also be the pianist of choice on the two compositions of Ms. Williams that Mr. Bey will sing: "In The Land of Oo Bla Dee" (1949)
and "Praise the Lord" (1966) arrangment by Mary Lou Williams - new horn arrangements by Geri Allen.

The United States Soldiers chorus has already recorded Ms. Williams first sacred composition
"St. Martin de Porres - Black Christ of the Andes" (1963). An additional twelve (five in new arrangements) big band compositions will be recorded, ranging from 1929 through 1978. These CDs will not be for sale. They will be available to any school, teacher, or library asking for them.

Mary Lou Williams wrote three complete Jazz Masses. Her second was written in the spring of 1968. This was her Mass for the Lenten Season. This Mass is being played and sung each Sunday during this year's (2007) Lent at The Church of St. Joseph of the Holy Family on 125th Street at Morningside Avenue in Harlem (New York City, N.Y.). The Pianist and Music Director is Aaron J. Diehl who will graduate from The Juilliard School of Music this June. Mass takes place at 10AM sharp and is one and one-half hours in length. Professional singers from The Manhattan School of Music augment the Church's regular Sunday choir. The music at these Masses also includes Mary Lou Williams's composition, I Have a Dream, composed in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Ms. Williams wrote this immediately after Dr. King's assassination and included it in her "Mass for the Lenten Season".