A street connecting Pittsburgh’s East Liberty and Larimer neighborhoods will now bear the name of one of the city’s jazz legends.
Officials and community members gathered Friday afternoon for the honorary renaming of East Liberty Boulevard in honor of Mary Lou Williams, a jazz pianist, arranger and composer who grew up in Pittsburgh’s East End. Members of the the family, jazz musicians, historians, and local leaders applauded as a sign proclaiming the street “Mary Lou Williams Way” was unveiled in the hot sun.
“The greatest jazz musicians of all time studied at her feet, and we have not done a good enough job here in Pittsburgh to remind the young people of the greatness that they come from,” said city councilor Khari Mosley. “This is one step in a much bigger journey we need to take as a city.”…