NRR Project: ‘Night Life’
Composed and performed by Mary Lou Williams
1930
2:59
I could hardly do better than the explanatory essay by Linda Dahl, which you can read here. As her biographer, Dahl offers not just a musical evaluation, but an extremely painful personal narrative that underlies the 1930 recording session that gave birth to “Night Life”.
A child prodigy, Williams was not content with merely being an interpreter of others’ music. She was a gifted composer and arranger, and found herself working with Andy Kirk and his Twelve Clouds of Joy. While the band was setting up for a recording session in Chicago, Williams was asked to improvise a couple of solo numbers. Out of this came “Nite Life,” and “Drag ‘Em,” two classic tracks. (Dahl clearly outlines the terrible personal circumstances suffered by Williams right before this session.)
The piece is sprightly and inventive, working on a bluesy foundation. Williams does frills and fills, modulates and gets down and dirty, bringing it all to conclusion with a twinge of whimsy. Few are the times when a young genius makes their mark so clearly and distinctly.
The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next up: Ten Cents a Dance.
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