Mary Lou Williams (album)

Mary Lou Williams, alternatively titled Black Christ of the Andes, is a jazz album by pianist Mary Lou Williams, which was released in 1964 by Folkways Records. Released after Williams's conversion to Catholicism, the album incorporates a variety of styles from spirituals, blues and avant-garde jazz. The title track is a choral Mass hymn in honor of the Afro-Peruvian saint St. Martin de Porres.

Background
Following the amendments to the Constitution of Sacred Liturgy by the Second Vatican Council in 1962, Williams was encouraged by her peers in the church to create a work of "sacred jazz." Williams, who had hardly written or performed since her appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1957. In the mid-50s, Williams had converted to Catholicism following a spiritual journey. At the time of Vatican II, Williams was a member of St. Francis Xavier Church of Greenwich Village, where she was known by members of the parish community for her talents.

In 1962, she wrote "St. Martin de Porres" in preparation of the feast day for Martin de Porres's sainthood. This would become the basis for the compilation work to follow. The record primarily features original works by Williams with covers of previous works to expand her developing idiom of sacred jazz.

Reception and legacy
The album was listed at #140 in Pitchfork's Top 200 Greatest Albums of the 1960s, with critic Seth Colter Walls describing it as 'visionary'. AllMusic singled out Williams' piano solos as a highlight of the album.