Mary's Idea

"A chromatic tribute to pianist and composer Mary Lou Williams (1910-1981). . . . Along with offering inspiration to young musicians, and like the other tributes to jazz greats that he has been writing and illustrating since the beginning of his career, this loving remembrance captures rich hints of his subject's joy and sound. Elevating and evocative." - Kirkus Reviews

"Inspired by the life of jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams (1920-1981), Raschka, in ink, oil pastel, and watercolor, paints the figure's face and body seated at a piano. . . . The music she creates appears as ribbons of bright swatched squares emanating from the instrument. In a book that's less conventional biography than hymn to Williams's spirit, the leitmotif 'It was Mary's idea' underscores the musician's charting her own course and making her own decisions . . . Back matter supplies more about Williams's life." - Publishers Weekly

"Author-illustrator Raschka puts the power of music onto the page, with this poetic tribute to illustrious pianist-composer-conductor (and child prodigy) Mary Lou Williams. . . . On brown craft-paper backgrounds, loose scribbles of bright pastels become notes stacked into chords or pulses and waves of music flowing from creator to listener. . . . The rhyming text is spare yet evocative as any song lyric." - Booklist