The pianist she replaced, Marion Jackson, did not take well to this but otherwise Kirk's band would be fairly stable after Williams entered it. Many of its members later became known in their own right including: Buddy Tate (tenor saxophone), Claude Williams (violin), Pha Terrell (vocals) and Mary Lou's then husband, John Williams (saxophonist). The band was smaller than most swing bands of the time, which had advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage being that the loss of individuals could be more damaging. In 1941 saxophonist Dick Wilson died and in the following year Mary Lou Williams began an independent career. The band still had successes after that, as the more poppish singer was more liked by the masses, but in 1948 he folded the band. Andy Kirk continued to do music after that, but eventually switched to hotel management and real estate.[2]
Sourcing
Andy Kirk Twenty Years on Wheels. As Told to Amy Lee. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1989.
Frank Driggs & Chuck Haddix Kansas City Jazz: From Ragtime to Bebop - A History. Oxford: Oxford University, Oxford 2005; ISBN 9780195307127
