Ongoing Education
In 1978, Marian McPartland had been approached to host a
new radio program called Piano Jazz, and that involved maintaining broadcast
schedules, doing her 'homework' on each guest pianist, and setting aside time
for taping shows. Also in 1978, she became involved in supporting the first
festival involving female musicians, the Kansas City Women's Jazz Festival. Following the success of this venture, Marian devoted much time and energy to
the encouragement and support of other female jazz musicians. This included sponsoring a Women
In Jazz recording, Now's The Time, on her own label, Halcyon Records.
During this period, Marian McPartland decided to appear less frequently in clubs and
more often with symphony orchestras. This meant that she had to find time to practice
her classical selections and learn arrangements orchestrated for her performances
with various symphony orchestras throughout the country. Even with such a demanding
touring schedule, as well as trio concerts and recording dates, Marian McPartland
still kept up her involvement with education by holding workshops around the
country.
Interviewed in 1983, Marian spoke of conducting
workshops at universities, teaching groups and individual high school, college
and community musicians about the finer points of jazz piano. To add the finishing
crescendo to a workshop, she would perform a solo concert. In February, she held a workshop at the University of Florida at Gainesville and in April at the Georgia State Community College and Duke University. She was also engaged to play at Wolf Trap Theater's Meadows Center in Washington, D.C. in August. Ahead in 1984, she was booked for April workshops with students from the Middletown, Ohio, Public Schools.
Many universities
benefited from Marian McPartland's enthusiasm and expertise in the 1980s, including those mentioned above, and Ann Arbor University
in Michigan.
Marian McPartland's status as a jazz authority has led to
her role as a judge for stage bands and combos at state band competitions. She believed that there was a lot more interest in jazz and the standards of playing are higher. Through judging jazz bands and combinations at state band competitions all over the country, she discovered some amazing talent, with some players barely fifteen.
In January 1986,
Marian was the first woman to be named 'Jazz Educator Of The Year' by the National
Association of Jazz Educators (NAJE). When interviewed by Leonard Feather, Marian
said, 'Gene Shalit presented [the award] to me on The Today Show. It
was thrilling, but I couldn't help feeling a little sad. After all, Mary Lou
Williams certainly should have received it before I did' (Feather, 1986). Pianist
Mary Lou Williams, also an inspirational jazz educator with a long involvement
with Duke University in North Carolina, died in 1981.
Marian McPartland continues to educate listeners of all ages through
her instructive and entertaining Piano Jazz program. Contributing to
a JazzTimes tribute to Marian in October 1997, various musicians commented
on how Piano Jazz is an education in itself (Zych, 1997: 31-37). Joanne Brackeen said, '[With]
her Piano Jazz radio show, she's educating the public about what's really
going on.' George Shearing stated, 'Where she really shines, though, is as
an educator. This Piano Jazz thing has been marvelous. She has so many
people on that program - I've been on it three or four times - and, as a result,
she brings people in to the music. She makes people aware of jazz, and this
exposure is an incredibly healthy thing.'
Dave Brubeck offered, 'She is still
a fantastic player who is dedicated to the furthering of jazz, especially jazz
piano. I hope her program stays on NPR as long as she wants it there.' Billy
Taylor stated, ' I've always had a passion for education. Of course, Marian's
been a mentor to a lot of people; she's the kind of person who reaches out to
others whose talents she admires and I've always admired her for doing so, and
she never takes any credit for her success.' Murray Horowitz, vice-president
for cultural programming on NPR, said, 'Marian believes that people have bigger
ears than we give them credit for and that they're capable of understanding
more than we sometimes think. As a result, she never "plays down" to her audience.
She always plays up - she takes her audience with her.' This approach particularly applies to Marian McPartland's approach to student audiences.
Promoter George Wein
believed, 'Truly her main impact has been with her radio program. It educates
listeners about the scope of jazz piano, which encompasses everything from Jelly
Roll Morton right to the avant garde.' Marian never loses sight of the fact
that the program is produced by the South Carolina Educational Radio And Television, with a policy dedicated to promoting jazz and education. As well as being broadcast across America, Piano Jazz is beamed via satellite to other countries in the Northern Hemisphere (Zych, 1997: 31-37).
These testimonials from fellow musicians and industry figures are validation of Marian McPartland's contribution to jazz education.
When interviewed four years after Piano Jazz began, Marian McPartland
described the educational impact of the show:
It's been an enormous success, I suppose because of the millions
of pianists and piano buffs on so many levels, from amateur to professional.
I know there are students who taped those shows, like the one with Bill Evans,
where he describes how he builds a solo from the ground up. You know, we'd
name chords and explain how we do things (Lyons, 1983: 174).
Marian McPartland's encouragement of younger musicians and
of female musicians is legendary, and she spoke about having Joanne Brackeen
on Piano Jazz:
I watched Joanne grow musically. I even have those early records
she made for Adelphi. She's an enormous talent, her ideas are her own. I think it was a case of my going a bit further out and her coming
a bit further in. In a way it was easy to accompany her because in all her
flights of fancy she still has some root tone of the chord you can grab on to
(Lyons, 1983: 174).
In the 1990s, Marian McPartland began taking her trio to play with the Schreiber
High School Jazz Band in Port Washington, Long Island, her place of residence.
March 1991 was the month designated for highlighting music in the public schools
on Long Island, and this led to an annual concert appearance with the High School
Band. At Port Washington's Schreiber High School, Marian has
established 'The Jimmy And Marian McPartland Jazz Listening Library', a
most valuable resource for students.
'Marian McPartland Day' was declared at
the Long Island Jazz Festival on July 30, 1995. Earlier that month, Marian expressed missions
still to be accomplished, as youngsters still need to be encouraged towards jazz. She still recalled three hundred students hollering for Elvis Presley's latest hit:
That was ages ago, but the unintelligibility, the lack of musicality, it all keeps deteriorating. And I'm sorry the kids in formal music classes are not encouraged
to get away from the sheet music. I tell them, 'Put your hands down on the
piano and noodle around' (Klein, 1995).
In 1993, the Jazz Club of Sarasota staged a festival entitled
'Legends Of Jazz '93'. This was the most visible community event co-ordinated
by the club, a group whose mission focuses equally on entertainment and education.
Many first-call players are active in the club as performers, lecturers,
clinicians and conductors, and the club's artist-in-residence program attracts
top musicians. A similar 'Women In Jazz' series has enlisted the talents of pianists
Marian McPartland and Lynne Arriale and singer Banu Gibson:
The idea is to let youngsters understand what jazz is, to understand
the roots of jazz, to know that it's the original American art form. We like
to educate them in jazz - get them to understand what it is, who the famous
jazz artists were, and what it means to the culture (Booth, 1993).
Marian McPartland was photographed with students at a masterclass
she gave, sponsored by the Sarasota Jazz Club.
Under the sponsorship of the Mount Kisco Community Concert
Association, Marian McPartland and Gary Mazzaroppi performed in the Fox Lane
High School Auditorium in Bedford. In an interview she said she looked
forward to being Artist-in-Residence in Middletown, Ohio, for the local school
system:
It's an education for both the students and me,' said Ms. McPartland.
'I get to feel the vibrance of youth, and they get to hear the vibrancy of jazz.
It's a good trade-off for all of us (Moses, n.d.).
In the year 2000, Marian McPartland was honored with a Jazz
Masters Award for her contribution to jazz education by the National Endowment
of the Arts at the International Association of Jazz Educators Conference in
New Orleans (Jazz Educators Journal, 2000: 10-11).
Marian McPartland has dedicated herself to jazz education, and she has played a significant part in spreading the
gospel of jazz to young musicians in schools, colleges and universities. Jazz
education goes hand-in-hand with performance as far as Marian McPartland is concerned.
Her words in 1973 represent her confidence in young musicians and their place in the changing world of jazz:
Jazz as we know it is changing, but musicians all feel there is
new life, new growth in music now. To me it is more vital, more swinging,
more inventive, more technically demanding than ever before. Music is a tremendous
force for good and I'm just happy to be involved in it (Stewart, 1973: 4).
Marian McPartland's belief in music as a force for good propelled her innovative educational programs, and sharing her knowledge at both a performance and pedagogical level transformed students' awareness and comprehension of jazz.
Marian McPartland was involved in giving advice to aspiring
players for Keyboard Magazine in March 2000, along with pianist Fred Hersch.
Marian's hints were practical, and designed to equip the young musician with
the skills to get started in jazz:
One of the best deadlines to set for yourself is to look for and
accept a gig. You have to know a lot of tunes. Learn them however you want
to: from recordings, from sheet music, from other musicians. A repertoire of
tunes is essential. Old tunes and new tunes; you need to keep up with what artists
in the genre you're interested in are currently doing. Tunes that maybe you
don't like, too, but that may get played in the venues where you want to play.
I would spend hours listening to records of Teddy Wilson over and over, trying
to duplicate what he did. I learned so many tunes. I've never seen the music
to most of them (Rideout, 2000: 38).
Marian McPartland also stressed the benefits
of playing with other musicians:
When you play in a group, you develop the ability to listen, to
be sensitive to other musicians, and to interact musically. These are things
you can only learn by doing. Setting up a rehearsal or jam schedule with others
musicians gives you a regular goal to work towards, and gives you some larger
structure to adjust your practice time to (Rideout, 2000: 38).
As a crusader encouraging younger musicians, Marian McPartland
was honored with the Grammy Trustees Award at the 2004 Grammy Ceremonies held
in Los Angeles for her contribution to the field of recording during her long
career. This Special Merit Award is presented by vote of the Recording Academy's
National Trustees to individuals who, during their careers in music, have made
significant contributions, other than performance, to the field of recording:
Over the course of seven decades, Marian McPartland has become not only a complete
and elegant stylist, but also a spokesperson universally loved and admired for
her ability to present the music on the most personal of levels. Her Piano
Jazz programs, several of which have been reissued by Concord, form an invaluable
oral and musical history of our time. They also prove that, in a music form
that is all about communication among performers, Marian McPartland may be the
ultimate communicator (Blumenthal, 2004).
Many of the young musicians influenced by Marian McPartland's
education programs in schools, colleges, universities and at clinics have made
their way into the jazz profession. Back in 1974, Marian McPartland had said she never thought of herself as a teacher. Over the years, she has created a unique approach to opening the doors to jazz for young people, many of whom might go on to become musicians.
Marian McPartland's educational philosophy from the 1970s is as fresh and relevant
in the twenty-first century:
I'm drawn into this new world all the way. Professional musicians
are concerned human beings too, and there is a need for their expertise in all
music educational fields. You can only transmit to students with validity what
you have experienced yourself - you can make them realize the time and effort
that go into the making of a professional musician (McPartland, 1973).
References
Feather, L. (1986) 'Marian McPartland
Has A Giggle Over Her Radio Gig', Los Angeles Times, February
16
Zych, D. (1997) 'Marian McPartland:
True Devotion', JazzTimes, vol. 27, no. 8, October, pp. 31-37
Lyons, L. (1983) The Great
Jazz Pianists, New York: Da Capo Press Inc
Klein, A. (1995) 'A Life's Memories
From The "Queen Of Jazz"', The New York Times, July 16
Clark, A. (1986) 'Marian McPartland Interview',
Jazz Educators Journal, vol. 18, no. 4, April/May, pp.16-18, 70
Booth, P. (1993) 'Jazz Club Serves
All Ages', DownBeat, April
Moses, P. J. 'Marian
McPartland Brings Her Jazz To Area', Unknown source, n.d.
(2000) Photo of NEA Jazz Masters Honorees at 27th Annual IAJE Conference in New Orleans, Jazz Educators Journal, July 2000, vol. 23, no. 1, p. 11
Stewart, P. (1974) 'Pianist Has
Made A Noteworthy Commitment', Long Island Press, December 22
Stewart, P. (1973) 'Peripatetic Pianist: Marian McPartland Epitomizes Jazz', Long Island Press, May 6, pp. 3-4
Rideout, E. (2000) 'Chart Your
Own Course', Keyboard, March, pp. 36, 38
Blumenthal, B. (2004) 'Marian
McPartland', Grammy Magazine, February 4
McPartland, M. (1973) 'I Was Indignant
That Rock Reigned Supreme', The New York Times, September 23, pp. 17, 29
