To watch a streaming video of Deanna's trio from their August 2008 Kennedy Center performance, click on the photo below.

 

 

Deanna Witkowski has combined The Spirituality of the Soul and Heart with The Spirituality of Jazz...Witkowski continues the work of Mary Lou Williams who was the first major jazz artist to compose for liturgical purposes. This music is 'healing to the Soul'.
Rev. Peter F. O'Brien, SJ
Executive Director of The Mary Lou Williams Foundation 

 

About Mary Lou Williams and Moving with the Spirit:

The brilliant pianist/composer Mary Lou Williams (1910-1981) often stated that she wanted to be a force for emotional healing through her music. In the 1960s, Williams, who was always one step ahead of innovations in jazz, began focusing on music composition for the Catholic church. Her service music inspired Duke Ellington to write his own Sacred Concerts, yet differed from Ellington’s work in that her pieces were meant to be used in actual services, rather than solely in concert settings. Williams’ transition to composing for the church marked a seven year period that corresponded with liturgical changes within the Catholic church. From 1963 until 1970 she composed a number of hymns and three masses that garnered attention within the American Catholic church as well as from the Vatican. In 1975, jazz was played for the first time in New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral, when Williams performed her work Mary Lou’s Mass with her trio and a 60-voice youth choir. 

Moving with the Spirit combines spoken historical narrative with musical excerpts from Williams' liturgical work in illustrating how Williams' legacy has provided a foundation for current jazz artists who compose sacred music. Moving has been presented at venues including the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Duke University, the International Association for Jazz Education conference, and Saint Peter's Church (New York). The performance/lecture is available as a solo, duo, trio, or quartet. For booking inquiries, send an email.

Click here to download a press release from a 2008 presentation of Moving with the Spirit at Duke University.

For Deanna's YouTube channel, click here.


In March 2011 , Deanna performed a solo concert as part of Trinity Wall Street's Concerts at One.
Click here to watch the entire concert as an archived webcast.

Moving with the Spirit: The Sacred Jazz of Mary Lou Williams 

Watch the complete performance of Deanna's trio in their May 2009 Kennedy Center performance of Moving with the Spirit: The Sacred Jazz of Mary Lou Williams.

 

 

Excerpts from two different presentations of Moving with the Spirit: The Sacred Jazz of Mary Lou Williams (at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC and at Space 38/39 in New York)

Since Moving with the Spirit combines musical performance with spoken historical background, these clips are listed as follows:

• Clips in BROWN are musical performances with the Deanna Witkowski Trio.
• Clips in GREEN are lecture excerpts from either Deanna Witkowski or Dr. Tammy Kernodle.

1. Kevin Struthers- Introduction
2. Deanna Witkowski Trio- Wide Open Window- excerpt (Witkowski)
3. Deanna Witkowski- Introduction
4. Dr. Tammy Kernodle- on St. Martin de Porres
5. Deanna Witkowski- Williams' early years
6. Deanna Witkowski- Williams' time in Europe
7. Deanna Witkowski- Williams' conversion to Catholicism
8. Deanna Witkowski- Williams' liturgical music
9. Deanna Witkowski Trio- Anima Christi- excerpt (Williams)
10. Deanna Witkowski- Williams' work in Pittsburgh
11. Deanna Witkowski Trio- The Lord's Prayer (Williams)
12. Dr. Tammy Kernodle- on Mary Lou's Mass
13. Deanna Witkowski Trio- Act of Contrition- excerpt (Williams)
14. Dr. Tammy Kernodle- closing remarks
15. Deanna Witkowski Trio- Evening Mass: Kyrie/Sanctus- excerpt (Witkowski)
16. Deanna Witkowski Trio- Gloria- excerpt (Williams)
17. Deanna Witkowski Trio- Let My Prayer Rise- excerpt (Witkowski)
18. Deanna Witkowski Trio- Christ the Light (Witkowski)
    

Complete musical performances from the Kennedy Center performance of Moving with the Spirit

1. Wide Open Window (Witkowski)
2. Anima Christi (Williams)
3. The Lord's Prayer (Williams)
4. Act of Contrition (Williams)
5. Evening Mass: Kyrie; Sanctus (Witkowski)
6. Gloria (Williams)
7. Let My Prayer Rise (Witkowski)
8. Christ the Light (Witkowski)

Click here to download a handout on the history of other jazz musicians who compose liturgical music.

To book Moving with the Spirit contact Deanna at booking@deannawitkowski.com. The project can be presented in various sizes (ranging from solo to trio).

Brazilian music videos

Deanna/Filó duo- Doralice (Dorival Caymmi)

Deanna's quartet in São Paulo w/guest Filó Machado