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The United States Air Force Band and Washington Performing Arts present the Aaron Diehl Trio for a one-night concert event featuring the D.C. premiere of Mary Lou Williams’ Zodiac Suite for chamber-jazz ensemble and other works.

In 1945, pianist and composer Mary Lou Williams finalized and first performed her tour de force orchestral Zodiac Suite, 12 pieces based on the astrological signs from Aries to Pisces, many dedicated to jazz greats of her era born under the signs, including Billie Holliday, Dizzy Gillespie, Ethel Waters, Thelonious Monk, Café Society owner Barney Josephson and more. Williams debuted her celestial odyssey in a piano trio format, then arranged the work for chamber-jazz ensemble, and performed a recomposition with full orchestra at Carnegie Hall, yet the full suite was never performed during her lifetime. Pianist Aaron Diehl has devoted considerable energy to restoring Williams’s original orchestrations, first for the New York Philharmonic during pandemic lockdown, and then live with the Philadelphia Orchestra in spring 2023.