The last Sunday in February, Mary Lou Williams's hospitality, a few recipes and 5 Black women culinarians I celebrate
Just a few musings to bring some warmth and cheer. We'll call it "the weekend edition."
“Those that don't got it, can't show it. Those that got it, can't hide it.” Zora Neale Hurston
Yesterday, I saw a few people on Twitter sharing a meme asking followers to list the songs that would best characterize their tastes. I didn’t play along but I thought about it. My taste in music is eclectic and influenced often by something that sits pretty in my ear. “The Queen of Jazz Piano” Mary Lou Williams is a favorite artist and while I love much of her music I chose this song to serenade you as you read. Enjoy.
Mary Lou’s hospitality…
Jazz historians will tell you that pianist, songwriter and arranger Mary Lou Williams was as instrumental to the evolution of jazz music as some of the big named male artists who generally receive credit. Interesting for a woman who had to come off of the road a few times to regroup from the sexism she faced with male musicians. Interesting for a woman who worked as a freelance writer and arranger for men like Benny Goodman. Bebop as a genre developed and flourished in her small Harlem apartment in Hamilton Heights. But something else happened there.
At 63 Hamilton Terrace, Mary Lou Williams provided an unexpected form of hospitality. In 2019, music historian Tammy Kernodle wrote one of the most remarkable and thoughtful pieces I’ve ever read about Mary Lou Williams’s musical impact and her home (A Woman's Place: The Importance Of Mary Lou Williams' Harlem Apartment, NPR). She wrote,
Following her own spiritual and physical breakdown in Paris in 1954, she returned to America and entered a period of spiritual transformation and converted to Catholicism. After experiencing the death of Charlie Parker and witnessing the deterioration of Bud Powell, Williams decided to intervene. In addition to taking musicians to church, she turned her one-bedroom apartment into a one-woman rehabilitation center. 63 Hamilton Terrace became a halfway house where Williams detoxified, fed, clothed and found work for addicted musicians… She funded her efforts through royalty checks and donations from other musicians like Dizzy and Lorraine Gillespie.
In the 1940s Mary Lou Williams entertained and allowed musicians to workshop their music in her space and in the 1950s she provided a space for musicians to self-care and heal. It is why when I listen to her music, I love her even more.
Please read 5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Mary Lou Williams to learn more about Mary Lou Williams and her music. I’ve provided a NYT gift link.
To bless the end of February - the month of love and Blackness - I curated a few recipes found in historically Black newspapers.
Create a beautiful meal: Creole Shrimp with Polenta, New York Amsterdam News
Black America Cooks: Easy Deviled Seafood, Chicago Defender
Chef Huda’s Signature Soulful Soup, The Washington Informer
CHIC EATS: White Chocolate Banana Pudding, Michigan Chronicle
Vanilla Walnut Whipped Cream, Houston Defender
5 of my favorite Black women culinarians
Actually, I have more than five favorites but this group of women are always kind to me, supportive, and forever surprising me with their genius. Follow them on social media and you’ll figure out why I adore them.
Chef Kimberly Brock Brown, the first Black president of the American Culinary Federation @chefkimberlybrockbrown on IG
Dr. Leni Sorensen, food scholar featured in High on the Hog @indigohouseva on IG
Natasha Bailey, chef, podcaster and turophile (cheese expert) @eatablekc on IG
Monica O’Connell, ethnomusicologist, pastry chef and death doula @mimi_oconnell on IG
Rhonda McKnight, book author and Gullah home cook @authorrhondamcknight on IG
Happy Heavenly Birthday Uncle Milton!
After my granddad died, Uncle Milton became my confidant and favorite dinner (lunch, brunch, breakfast) date. He is one of the few people on this earth who could call and say get dressed, we’re going out today, and I’d jump up to get ready and go. And go we did. We attended concerts, church and ran the streets together. And we ate good everywhere we went. One of his favorite meals was brunch. I loved brunching with him. He introduced me to the joys of omelets and rye toast. I miss him. Today is his 104th birthday.
Thank you for stopping by. Please have a glorious week, and I hope you eat real good food.
Robin
The featured image was AI-generated with the help of my imagination.
You know I love this. Mary Lou, The GOAT
I learned today 💯🙏🏾‼️
Thank you for sharing your passion and expertise with us.