Awards

'Contributions Rewarded'

Marian McPartland Receiving 'The Mary Lou Williams Women In Jazz Award' - 2000

Photo © Jazz Education Journal

Overview

Recognition for Marian McPartland’s achievements as a jazz pianist began during the 1950s, when Metronome Magazine Yearbook named her trio the Best Small Group in 1955. Since then, Marian has been honored many times for her exceptional contribution to jazz piano.

Among many other awards, Marian McPartland received a Duke Ellington Fellowship Award from Yale University, and an award from Pace University for ‘Matchless Musical Achievement’.

Overview Of Honors

Marian McPartland's dedication to jazz education has earned her several Honorary Doctorates from colleges and universities. Some of these Doctorates were in recognition of her willingness to participate in workshops and to perform in colleges and universities. Others were a tribute to her innovative approach to education, and her belief in the capacity of young people to absorb and enjoy listening to and performing jazz music. Yet other Doctorates were a mark of the significance of her role as a spokesperson for jazz.

Honorary Doctorates

Union College, Schenectady, New York

Bates College, Lewiston, Maine

Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York

Hamilton College, University Of South Carolina

City University of New York (CUNY), New York

Bowling Green State University, Ohio

New England Conservatory, Boston

Berklee College Of Music, Boston

Personal Awards For Achievements

Duke Ellington Fellowship Award From Yale University

Award For 'Matchless Musical Achievement' - Pace University

Jazz Educator Of The Year - National Association of Jazz Educators, 1986. Inducted into the NAJE Hall of Fame. (The Association is now The International Association For Jazz Education - IAJE)

The Southern Educational Communications Association Award (SECA) Lifetime Achievement Award - 1992

For Contributions to Jazz in Chicago, Marian McPartland was honored at the Union League Club of Chicago - 1994

Lifetime Achievement Award - DownBeat Magazine - 1994

Jazz Masters Award from the National Endowment for the Arts - 2000

The Mary Lou Williams Women In Jazz Award - 2000

Mentor Award - Manhattan Country School - 2001

The Gracie Allen Award (given by American Women in Radio and Television) for 'Best Radio Personality' - 2001

Lifetime Award - Long Island University Radio Network WPBX-FM - 2002

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)/International Association For Jazz Education (IAJE) Commissioned Works Honoring Marian McPartland Premiered At IAJE Conference in Toronto - 2003

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Jazz Wall Of Fame - Living Legend Award - 2004

Awards For Piano Jazz

Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz program began attracting awards early into the series, with the George Foster Peabody Broadcasting Award for Excellence in Broadcasting awarded by the University of Georgia. A string of awards followed, and the program celebrated its twenty-fifth year in 2004, with ratings continuing to soar.

The George Foster Peabody Broadcasting Award (University of Georgia) - 1984

The Edwin H. Armstrong Award (Columbia University)

The International Radio Festival of New York Gold Medal - 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1998, 1999

The Gabriel Award

Corporation for Public Broadcasting Program Award

The Southern Educational Communications Association Award (SECA) for Cultural Documentary, Best Performance, and Best Public Radio Program of the Year

ASCAP/Deems Taylor Award

The JazzTimes Readers Poll (Best Syndicated Jazz Radio Program) - Piano Jazz continued to be voted Best Syndicated Jazz Radio Program - 1992. Piano Jazz has won this award 14 out of 15 years.

Ohio State Award - 1993

The Jazz Journalists Association’s Excellence in Journalism Award for Broadcasting - 1998

The National Music Council’s American Eagle Award - 2001

Columbia Award - Federal Save America's Treasure Grant - 2002

National Endowment For The Arts Grant Award - 2004

Grammy Trustees Award For Contribution To The Recording Industry

Grammy Trustees Special Merit Award for Marian McPartland's significant contribution to the field of recording, presented at the 2004 Grammy Awards

Available: http://www.grammy.com/features/2004/0204_mcpartland.aspx.html

ASCAP Wall Of Fame - 2004

In June 2004, Marian McPartland performed at a ceremony at which she was one of seven music greats inducted into the ASCAP Jazz Wall of Fame. The other inductee present was Quincy Jones, another multifaceted musical legend. Five inductees were honored posthumously: Ray Brown, Carmen McRae, Woody Herman, Joe Pass and Willie 'The Lion' Smith. As an ASCAP member, Marian McPartland has been a major force in jazz for five decades as a pianist, composer, bandleader and host of NPR's Piano Jazz series. Judges for the Jazz Wall inductees were ASCAP members Alan Bergman, John Clayton and Johnny Mandel.

Commenting on the Jazz Wall of Fame, Marilyn Bergman said:

Jazz is truly the music of America, and like the movies, one of our greatest homegrown art forms. The sheer diversity and magnitude of the individuals we honor this year - among them are composers, instrumentalists and vocalists, each one an innovator - speaks to the richess of this living and endlessly evolving musical genre. ASCAP is pleased to add all of these legends to our Jazz Wall of Fame

Available: www.ascap.com/playback/2004/june/hd-jazzwall.html