Pianist - 2000+

 

 

 

 

Marian McPartland, Cover
JazzTimes Magazine

Photo © Gene Martin

Cover Design © JazzTimes

Appearances
References

Significance Of The Period - 2000-2005

Marian McPartland continues to perform, broadcast and record, with re-releases of earlier recordings being distributed by Concord.   She updated and expanded her book All In Good Time for a 2003 release, and her radio program Piano Jazz celebrated continuity of 25 years on air in 2004.

Overview

With Piano Jazz celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2004, Marian McPartland has become a media person of significant stature.  Her work in this field is not only informative and entertaining, but educational as well.  Several of The Jazz Alliance CDs of Piano Jazz have been re-released with a new cover design, including some never released before.  Marian remains in demand as a pianist, with solo, trio, and symphony performances booked far ahead, and more recordings out on the Concord Records label, including re-releases of earlier material.  In 2003, an updated edition of her 1987 book - Marian McPartland’s Jazz World: All In Good Time - was released by University of Illinois Press.  The Illinois Edition attracted enormous interest in jazz circles.  For her contribution to jazz education Marian was honored with the Grammy Trustees Award early in 2004.  Marian McPartland has been persistent in championing women in jazz by speaking out and offering opportunities for female jazz involvement.

Music Sample

‘Scratchin’ In The Gravel’
Marian McPartland Trio: Live At Shanghai Jazz

Marian McPartland’s Career In The Third Millennium

As the new millennium began, Marian McPartland maintained her multi-faceted involvement in jazz, and her position as one of jazz music's finest performers and an ambassador for jazz.  An overview of her activities to mid-2005 when this research was completed follows, in the form of a chronological 'calendar of events.’

2000

In January 2000, at the International Association Of Jazz Educators Conference in New Orleans, Marian McPartland was presented with a Jazz Masters Award.  Other American Jazz Masters for 2000 included educator-composer Dr. David Baker and trumpeter Donald Byrd (Mergner, 2000: 37).

Presented by the National Endowment for the Arts, each 'jazz master' received a $20,000 fellowship grant, with no restrictions on how the grant money should be spent.  During her visit to New Orleans, Marian chose to use her award to record an episode of Piano Jazz at Loyola University, with Nicholas Payton on trumpet, to celebrate the Louis Armstrong Centennial.  She also recorded a Piano Jazz session with New Orleans pianist/educator Ellis Marsalis. 

In January/February 2000, Piano & Keyboard published a feature article entitled 'Jazz & Gender', interviewing three jazz pianists from different generations -  Marian McPartland ('I was absolutely gone on jazz'), Joanne Brackeen ('I just wanted to play what I heard') and Renee Rosnes ('I felt more satisfied creatively playing jazz')  (Bernotas, 2000: 28-30). 

As one thread of the article, Bob Bernotas reviewed the three pianists' latest recordings to assess whether they go beyond being just 'good music' by breaking new ground, telling a story, and revealing something about the artist.   He concluded that 'each of these new jazz releases has a purpose - a reunion with cherished friends (McPartland's Reprise), a showcase for uncommon and exceptional writing (Brackeen's Pink Elephant Magic), and a presentation of varied musical influences (Rosnes' Art and Soul)' (Bernotas, 2000: 32-33).

The musicians discussed how the role of being a woman in jazz has changed over the years.  Marian was quoted as saying, 'Jimmy was so good to me, wanting to see me get ahead.  When I stopped playing with his group, I remember him saying to me, "Boy, I really miss having you in the band".I feel bad now when I think about it.  I guess it sort of wound up pulling us apart, because I really did get ahead with my group' (Bernotas, 2000: 29).

This comment was also quoted in JazzTimes in April 2000 under the heading Overheard (JazzTimes, April 20, 2000).  

Joanne Brackeen also got her start by simply sitting in unasked in a New York club, landing her first major gig with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers in 1972.  She later worked with tenor saxophonists Joe Henderson and Stan Getz.  It was only when her own gigs as a leader conflicted with theirs that she made the obvious choice to steer her own trio (Bernotas, 2000: 31).  

Rene Rosnes auditioned for the role of pianist with trombonist J. J. Johnson:

You're a jazz pianist?'  I said, 'Yeah.'  He said, 'Go to it, then.'  So I played.  I guess I did okay, because I got called to play with him and be in his band (Bernotas, 2000: 33).

Another thread of the article is a full-page cameo of pianist Mary Lou Williams, who, according to Marian McPartland, was one of the few musicians who transcended the label 'woman musician'.  At the end of the piece, Marian lamented, 'Unfortunately she's never been as well known as she should be.  But I think people are beginning to take more notice of her' (Bernotas, 2000: 35). 

Discussing the merits of Billy Taylor's Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival in Washington D.C. (a 'Women in Jazz' Festival), Renee Rosnes was quoted as saying: 'But it would sure be nice if it didn't have to be a special thing.  I'll feel good when we don't even have to talk about it, because it has nothing to do with the music.  The music is the bottom line' (Bernotas, 2000: 36).  

While Marian McPartland has chosen to lead a trio rather than be a sideplayer, except for a short stint with Benny Goodman, Brackeen and Rosnes have worked with some of the most demanding leaders in jazz.  The three women agreed that an article on issues of jazz and gender needed to be written to give a better slant on female musicians.  Marian McPartland also agreed that the music is the bottom line, and that 'the goal is to sound like yourself' (Bernotas, 2000: 36).

In April 2000, Marian McPartland performed at Ann Arbor University in Michigan. This appearance was followed by a feature article on Marian McPartland in the May 2000 issue of DownBeat, a First-Person Project entitled 'Marian McPartland: On The Witness Stand'.  In this article, she discussed her concept of jazz piano, the stylistic influences that shaped her pianism, and how she adapts to the different stylists on Piano Jazz.  She pondered on the subject of changes in the way jazz is perceived:

We talk about jazz as a kind of music, but the word embraces a lot today, doesn't it?  What would Duke say?  He would say something charmingly evasive.  When I was at the Hickory House, we used to sit around and pull apart records.  That's jazz, that's not; that is, that's not.  We would pontificate a lot.  But in many ways jazz has gone beyond any boundaries (McDonough, 2000: 49).

Marian McPartland was born about the time the first jazz records appeared in the United States, and 'she has withstood a stimulating century with pre-eminent grace and come through it a wise and observant witness' (McDonough, 2000: 47).

In 2000, Marian McPartland also received the 'Mary Lou Williams Women In Jazz Award' for her lifetime contribution to jazz.  She continued to attract a full calendar of concert and festival dates, with the Marian McPartland Trio appearing at Scullers Nightclub in Boston on January 28 and 29, 2000.   

On March 3, the trio appeared at the University of Kansas Jazz Festival in the Lied Center, with Chuck Berg, jazz critic and professor of theatre and film, as Master of Ceremonies.  On March 12 and 13, Marian McPartland performed in Chicago, followed by a performance at the California Performing Arts Center on March 16 as part of the Fifth Women In Jazz Festival. 

Performances in Sarasota and Fort Lauderdale followed.  On March 30, Marian joined the band of the Long Island Schreiber High School for 'An Evening Of Jazz With Marian McPartland', performing with the band, then with her trio, and also with guest Dave Lalama. 

On April 13, Marian was featured at the Mother Lode Theater in Butte, Montana, while April 15 found her performing in the Herbst Theater in the San Francisco Civic Center along with Chicago pianist Willie Pickens. 

In the same month, Marian presented the second annual Marian McPartland/Eastman School of Music Jazz Concert in Rochester, a series designed to shine the spotlight on an exceptional jazz pianist deserving of wider recognition.  This concert featured Russian child prodigy Eldar Djangirov, a protégé of both Marian and Billy Taylor.  

The month of May continued to be busy for Marian McPartland.  On May 5, 2000, she starred at the Gilmore Festival, after which she performed in Washington, D.C., and at the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City on May 11.  As part of the Jammin' at the Gem Series, Marian McPartland participated in Kansas City Jazz Workshops on May 14 with vocalist Trudy Pitts. 

On May 20, 2000, a tribute concert to Bill Evans was staged in the Tisch Center for the Performing Arts at the 'Y' on the Upper East Side at 92nd St in New York.  Marian McPartland appeared as a Baldwin artist performing Evans' 'Waltz for Debby' alongside other pianists, including Dick Hyman and Bill Charlap as part of the 'Jazz At The Y' series.  

From June 6 to 11, the Marian McPartland Trio appeared in the club Jazz Alley in Seattle, WA.  She followed that concert with an appearance from June 15 to June 18, as a headliner among other jazz artists at Jazz at Ravinia, a jazz festival on Chicago's North Shore.  Billed as the jazz event of the summer, other performers during the four days included the Dave Brubeck Quartet, singer Rosemary Clooney, the Oscar Peterson Quartet, Tito Puente's Latin Jazz Ensemble and singer Cassandra Wilson.

The latter half of the year 2000 was also one of Marian McPartland's busiest times.  On June 27, 2000, Marian McPartland performed during Women In Jazz month for the Global Music Network.  In Washington, D.C. on July 5, Marian continued her sequence of popular in-store performances in Borders Bookstores, and on July 18, she was involved in the New York program 'Jazz In July' at the YMCA. 

Marian McPartland was billed as performing in Cleveland, Ohio, on August 12.   From September 16 to October 1, she was featured again with her trio at Yoshi's Nitespot in Oakland, CA, and she performed at Wellin Hall at Hamilton College, NY, on October 7, 2000.  

From November 2 to 4, 2000, Marian performed solo and with her trio at the Montreal Bistro in Canada, and on November 21, radio station WFIU broadcast a 'Tribute To Hoagy Carmichael' with Marian McPartland, David Baker, Ross Barbour, Barbara Lea and Richard Sudhalter.  On KQED, on December 6, Marian McPartland demonstrated a variety of jazz moods, and offered insights into her career, along with Doug Kassell and Kon Miller.  

On club dates from December 22 to 24 at Joe Segal's famous Chicago club, the Jazz Showcase, Marian recorded live with Willie Pickens. Pickens had earlier appeared on Piano Jazz and duetted with her at the Chicago Jazz Festival.  Marian McPartland saw the performing year out in 2000 with a New Year's Eve concert with Jackie Lane in Vermont.

Marian McPartland kept herself in the foreground as a recording artist during this millennium year.  On March 14, 2000, her 1953 recording, Marian McPartland: On 52nd Street, was re-released on CD through Savoy Jazz.  In 1999, Marian McPartland had set herself a goal to record a tribute album to Duke Ellington and to name it The Single Petal Of A Rose, inspired by a painting of a rose she had done at age fifteen.  On April 17, 2000, the dream was fulfilled.

Marian McPartland obtained permission to record in the chapel-like surroundings of the Maybeck Studio for the Performing Arts in Berkeley, California.  With bassist Bill Douglass, the selection of tunes recorded with crystal-clear sound ranged from the known 'Mood Indigo' to the original 'Cerulescence' composed by Marian. 

This CD represents pure dedication to an American musical genius whom Marian admired and respected. Even when he was not at the Hickory House in person, Duke Ellington's impact could be felt. His command of language was impressive (he once described Marian to an audience as 'that pulchritudinous purveyor of tonal zest').  His rich voicings were distinctive (as a teenager Marian was fascinated by his big-band harmonies in the composition 'Blue Goose').  His contribution to jazz education was valuable (he played for Marian's students in the nine-week NEA-sponsored Washington D.C. program in the last year of his life).  His pursuit of excellence in music was formidable (he didn't like the word jazz.  'I don't like that word.  It's music') (McPartland to Shaw, 1979: 700).  

Duke Ellington influenced Marian McPartland’s pianistic style in so many ways (at the Hickory House he once commented to Marian ‘Oh, you play so many notes’), and by challenging herself to learn his complicated piece ‘Clothed Woman’ she added a staple tune to her repertoire, surprising and delighting Duke (‘I don’t even play that tune myself).  A short review of this musical tribute to Ellington was published in The New Yorker under the heading ‘Marian McPartland, The Single Petal Of A Rose’ (Concord Jazz).

2001

Marian McPartland performed solo over three nights in the Kaplan Penthouse in the Alice Tully Hall as part of the tenth Jazz At Lincoln Center series from January 11 to 13, 2001.  From the Program Notes come the words:

The program this evening will be typically varied between originals, well-known items, and the unusual, all given that special McPartland treatment.  There may even be a selection or two from her recent recording of music by Mary Lou Williams...It should come as no surprise that both women were favorites of Ellington, who must have sensed that they were indeed kindred spirits (Schoenberg, 2001).

The Lincoln Center is regarded as the world's largest not-for-profit organization dedicated to jazz. [Author's note: This researcher attended Marian McPartland's Lincoln Center performance on January 13, 2001, along with a capacity audience].

Marian McPartland again performed the Three Piano Crossover program with classical pianist Ruth Laredo and jazz pianist Dick Hyman on January 17 in the Carpenter Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Richmond.  From March 18 to 21, Marian was a headliner at the Sarasota Jazz Festival.

Marian McPartland presented another protégé, up-and-coming pianist Roberta Piket, at the Third Eastman School of Music Annual Jazz Concert series on April 24, with Marian performing in duet with the younger pianist during the concert. 

The Marian McPartland Trio performed in Santa Barbara, California, in a Dinner Series concert on May 15 in Campbell Hall for the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) Arts & Lectures Series.  In August, Marian McPartland appeared once more as a headliner at the annual Caramoor Jazz Festival in Katonah, NY.   

Another trio performance took place on October 5 in the Nightingale Concert Hall in the Church Fine Arts Complex in the University of Nevada, Reno.  On October 20, Marian McPartland appeared in concert in the Mandel Hall of the University of Chicago with trumpeter Bobby Lewis to present a tribute to her husband, Jimmy McPartland.  She then performed at the Philadelphia Convention Center on November 30, 2001.  

The world premiere of a work by composer Leanne Rees entitled 'Life Notes' commissioned by Marian McPartland was performed in 2001, with Marian present in the audience.  Linking with the theme 'Women Composers and the Men in their Lives', a contrasting work, Duke Ellington's 'Clothed Woman', was also performed.  Marian McPartland has performed this challenging piece frequently since the Hickory House days.

Highlights of Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz program for 2001 were the July 23 session with singer Willie Nelson and guitarist Jackie King, and a recording with Los Angeles singer Patricia Barber on August 13, as well as a live Piano Jazz broadcast from the 2001 Tanglewood Jazz Festival in Ozawa Hall in September. 

A new recording, Marian McPartland Trio With Joe Morello And Rufus Reid: Live At Shanghai Jazz, was recorded on April 24, 2001, at a Chinese restaurant in Madison, New Jersey, celebrating its third anniversary as a nightclub featuring jazz artists.  With Morello on drums and Reid on bass, the tracks on the album were culled from two sets at Shanghai Jazz and the CD was released in 2002. 

After the release, Marian explained why she did not use her regular trio of Gary Mazzaroppi on bass and Glenn Davis on drums, but chose sidemen she had known for several years for this recording:

I've known both players for a number of years.  I've known Rufus for thirty years or so, Joe I've known for forty, almost fifty years.  I've worked with them on and off all during that time.  Joe Morello and I actually worked together before he was with Dave Brubeck.  He's been teaching these days, but still occasionally plays.  I've kept in touch with him and was able to get him for the album (Kane, 2001). 

On July 10, 2001, Marian McPartland & Willie Pickens: Ain't Misbehavin', Live At The Jazz Showcase was released.  Pickens' robust stride-based style contrasts with Marian's more melodic improvisations, but he and Marian resolved their stylistic differences without compromise on this album.  Marian's ability to adapt to different piano stylists on Piano Jazz is one of the reasons the program has worked so well on National Public Radio.

On December 21, NPR released An NPR Jazz Christmas with Marian McPartland and Friends II.  Like Volume I of the Christmas selection, Marian McPartland chose a variety of performers to interpret music of the season, among them Nnenna Freelon, Jacky King, Bill Cunliffe, David Hazeltine, Randy Weston, Makoto Ozone, Eden Atwood and Christian McBride.

Marian McPartland was the recipient of various awards in 2001.  On April 12, Marian received an Honorary Degree from the New England Conservatory, and the NEC Orchestra honored the occasion by performing a work by composer George Russell.  Marian McPartland and Piano Jazz received an Eagle Award from the National Music Council, and the show also garnered a 'Gracie', the Gracie Allen Award honoring American Women in Radio and Television.  Marian McPartland was voted 'Best Radio Personality' by AWRT.  As well, Marian received a Mentor Award from the Manhattan Country School. The recipient of the 2001 Willis Conover-Marian McPartland Award for Excellence in Jazz Broadcasting, an award of the Jazz Journalists' Association, was Michael Bourne.

2002

Pianist and songwriter Loonis McGlohon, composer of the lyrics to Marian McPartland's tune 'Willow Creek', died on January 26, 2002.  A 20-piece band performed a tribute concert in his memory at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, NC. 

In March 2002, Marian again performed live in Borders Bookstore in Westbury, NY.  In April, pianist Jason Moran was featured as the rising star of jazz in the Fourth Marian McPartland/Eastman School of Music Annual Jazz Concert Series.  Eastman shone the spotlight also on Marian McPartland with a new exhibit in the Sibley Music Library 'Celebrating Marian At Eastman'.  Opening on May 8, 2002, the exhibit included many photos, posters, awards, clippings and items drawn from Marian's personal archives and continued until September 15, 2002 (www.rochester.edu/eastman).

On May 4, the Marian McPartland Trio appeared at the Folly Theater in Kansas City, and again at Bistro Montreal in Toronto on June 22.  Also in June, Marian McPartland was an awardee of one of the first ever Lifetime Awards presented to 'eight great legends' by the Long Island University Radio Network WPBX-FM. 

She was also was among the stellar line-up for George Wein's 2002 JVC Jazz Festival in New York from June 16 to 19, 2002, along with Toshiko Akiyoshi, Barbara Carroll, Keith Jarrett, Wynton Marsalis, Cecil Taylor and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra.

During August, Marian again appeared with the Three Piano Crossover group in Oregon, performing with classical pianist Ruth Laredo and jazz pianist Dick Hyman.  On November 1, Marian McPartland performed in the Philadelphia Convention Center for the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and again on November 13 with her trio before an overflow crowd at the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles, featuring Bill Douglass on bass and Scott Davis on drums.  According to the reviewer, Marian 'offered a program as vibrant and alive as anything she's done over the course of her nearly seven-decade career' (www.latimes.com/archives).

On June 19, the presentation of the 2002 Willis Conover/Marian McPartland Award for Excellence in Jazz Broadcasting to Kenny Washinton was held at the New York nightclub Jazz Standard, with a guest performance by Marian.  She hosted another live Piano Jazz broadcast at the 2002 Tanglewood Jazz Festival from August 30 with guest Sir Roland Hanna.  Canadian pianist Oscar Peterson also guested in an encore appearance on Piano Jazz on November 12, 2002.

In 2002, Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz Collection received a Columbia Award in the form of a Federal Save America's Treasure Grant of $81,000 (www.saveamericastreasures.org).

In May 2002, Marian McPartland was one of four pianists interviewed by DownBeat on the subject of pianistic interpretations of the American Popular Songbook.  In the article 'Songbook In The Round', pianists Marian McPartland, Bobby Short, Fred Hersch and Bill Charlap discussed their approach to playing standards from this storehouse of repertoire (Bourne, 2002: 27).

The interviewer, Michael Bourne, picked the musical minds of these four interpreters of American popular song, short forms which are the equivalent of poems, involving not only the music but the lyric, the drama, the power of the song.  The four discussed different ways of interpreting the classics, songs from the 1920s to the 1960s. 

When asked by the interviewer was she attracted to one songwriter more than the others, Marian McPartland replied, 'No, I just pick here and there.  There are songs I love to play like 'It Never Entered My Mind', 'All The Things You Are'.  Songs by Harold Arlen like 'When The Sun Comes Out'.  When asked if there was a song so perfect that it should be played exactly as it is written, Marian nominated 'Little Girl Blue'.  This discussion summed up Marian McPartland's approach to imaginative and creative playing.  Through her variation technique, by changing the tempo and choosing a different key, a song that may be regarded as hackneyed can become fresh and alive with promise (Bourne, 2002: 31). 

In August 2002, the Marian McPartland Trio appeared again at the annual Caramoor Festival, in Katonah, NY.  The following review, setting the scene for Marian McPartland's appearance, gives an indication of her rapport with the audience:

Caramoor is an estate with many gardens connected by paths, and one must stick to these paths.  The stage of the 'Venetian Theater' is large, represents one side of a large building surrounded by fences, and faces into a huge tented area with more than a thousand seats.  One never sees the musicians arriving or leaving the venue; the audience only sees them when they walk out onto the stage, which is elevated at least four feet above the auditorium area and has no access from below.  That being said, the acoustics are excellent, and the crowd was very enthusiastic about Marian, the last of five groups and leaders who performed yesterday.  The concert ran from 2:00 to 6:30 pm, with a break for getting a bite to eat and a resumption of performances at 8:00 and lasting until about 10:35.

When it was Marian's turn, her trio was filled out with Gary Mazzaroppi on bass and Glenn Davis on drums.  She was given a tremendous reception, and started off with 'Take The A Train', moving on to 'Willow Weep For Me', tunes by Chick Corea and, of all people, Ornette Coleman, and then giving a Bach fugue treatment to 'All The Things You Are'.  It was wonderful.  I can't remember all the things that she did, but at one point she asked for requests, and then put three of them together in a medley - 'On Green Dolphin Street' was one of them.  She played a tune that she had written, 'In The Days Of Our Love', followed by an unannounced closing number and an encore. 

Excellent!  She was witty and humorous; when she saw some people leaving early to avoid traffic, she called out, 'Sorry that we had to move you.'  After that, I noticed, people who left early tried to go when she looked the other way, and they moved very quickly.  At one point she talked about being offered a job in a music hall piano quartet and the horror that it caused her parents.  She said that her mother said that if she did join the quartet, she would end up marrying a musician and living in an attic.  Marian then said, 'And I did!' (Leheny, Research Participant).

Joe Leheny responded to a letter published in JazzTimes in September 2000 seeking recollections of Marian McPartland in performance.  He had witnessed Marian with her trio at the Hickory House in the 1950s, and still follows her career with interest.  This unsolicited review from Mr. Leheny, also a prolific writer on jazz matters, gives an indication of Marian McPartland's ability to engage with an audience both musically and personally.

2003

Marian McPartland's schedule of Piano Jazz programs kept her busier than ever, and she began the year 2003 with an appearance at the International Association For Jazz Education Annual Conference in Toronto, Canada (www.tcjs.org/IAJE-2003).  This involved performing with her trio at the club Jazzoids after being a guest on a discussion panel, and sharing stories of her jazz life.  

As well, two new jazz works composed in honor of her 85th birthday were commissioned under the annual American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)/International Association For Jazz Education (IAJE) Commissions program.  The awards went to New York composers, trombonist Robin Eubanks for the work 'Full Circle' and drummer John Hollenbeck for the work 'Folkmoot', and Marian McPartland was present at the premiere performances of these new works (www.ascap.com). 

On February 11, Marian McPartland was interviewed by Leonard Lopate on his show All That Jazz, and on February 23 she appeared again at Scullers Night Club in Boston, MA.

A return performance by Marian McPartland in the Eastman Theater took place on April 7 with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and virtuoso trumpeter Byron Stripling performing during the second half of the concert.  This event was the 80th season for the Orchestra, who present a broad range of quality music, and Marian McPartland was described as 'one of the original American jazz musicians' (www.rpo.org).

On April 13, Marian McPartland made an appearance on a special segment of The Today Show.  She returned to the jazz venue The Egg within the Center for the Performing Arts in Albany, NY, on May 21.  The Marian McPartland Trio performed during the Toronto Jazz Festival in the Montreal Bistro and Jazz Club on June 21. 

The JVC Jazz Festival in New York presented a concert in homage to Norma Deloris Egstrom, better known as singer Peggy Lee, on June 23.  The show was entitled 'There'll Be Another Spring'.  Marian McPartland was one of more than fifteen performers covering the pop-jazz spectrum, along with singers Nancy Sinatra, Rita Moreno, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Jane Monheit.  The reviewer opined that Shirley Horn came closest to capturing Lee's essence with her pensive balladry relying on understatement and emotional reflections (Holden, 2003: 4-5). 

From July 22 to 31, 2003, producer Hank O'Neal presented 'Piano Hands' as part of 'Jazz In July At The Y' in New York, and Marian McPartland was featured among the pianists.  In August, Marian made another appearance at the 2003 Tanglewood Jazz Festival.  She maintained the tradition of taping a live broadcast of Piano Jazz during the Festival, this time with singer/pianist Norah Jones.  

Not only did Jones appear on the list of stellar performers at Marian's 85th birthday celebration in March 2003, but Marian also arranged this live Piano Jazz appearance with her at Tanglewood's Ozawa Hall as part of the Boston Symphony Orchestra's annual Labor Day weekend jazz festival in Lenox, Massachusetts.  The session was scheduled for a later broadcast on NPR, and was publicized in The Hartford Courant.

On September 26, Marian McPartland was named the 'BET' Artist of the Month by Black Entertainment Television, and on October 10 and 11, she performed with the Jacksonville Symphony in Florida, conducted by Michael Butterman.  Marian then appeared at the 21st Annual San Francisco Jazz Festival from October 23 to November 9, programmed alongside jazz harmonica player Toots Thielemans, who was sponsored by the McPartlands when he immigrated to the United States many years before.   

A November 2003 concert entitled 'Here's To The Ladies' took place with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, with Wynton Marsalis's guests being singers Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dame Cleo Laine and Diane Ross, accompanied by pianist Marian McPartland.  

A gala evening celebrating the 'reigning queen of jazz piano', Marian McPartland, took place in the Chan Center for the Performing Arts, Vancouver, on November 21, 2003.   Marian received a standing ovation before she even began playing.  Naturally, she was interviewed on radio, an opportunity not to be missed with one of jazz's best known radio hosts present. 

On December 15, 2003, Marian McPartland returned to the jazz venue The Egg, in Albany, NY.  She was also nominated in 2003 to be inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame of the Museum of Broadcast Communications.

Piano Jazz highlights in 2003 included appearances by film-maker, actor and jazz buff, Clint Eastwood, award-winning singer/pianist Alicia Keys, and pianist Chick Corea.  On August 29, NPR released a two-hour Piano Jazz special with guests Norah Jones and Tony Bennett. 

As part of a policy to re-release seminal recordings at budget prices, Concord Records Inc chose two of Marian McPartland's earlier recordings to release in a 2-CD format, Marian McPartland: Contrasts, in 2003.  These two CDs combine Marian McPartland: Plays The Music Of Alec Wilder and Marian And Jimmy McPartland: A Sentimental Journey.  The two different repertoires are richly contrasting, and offer an excellent spectrum of Marian McPartland's stylistic scope.  Contrasts also pays tribute to two talented musical men who were inspirational in the career development of Marian McPartland.  

A Century CD, Women in Jazz, signed by Marian McPartland, was auctioned to the highest bidder in 2003.  Appearing on the ten tracks were Marian McPartland, Dianne Schuur, Keely Smith, Rosemary Clooney, Nnenna Freelon and the late Susannah McCorkle.

Marian McPartland ‘s devotion to the task of expanding her 1987 book All in Good Time led to the publication of the University of Illinois edition updating her book, entitled Marian McPartland’s Jazz World: All In Good Time released in March 2003.  In the preface to this edition, Marian McPartland shares her impressions of the various musicians she wrote about, and goes behind the scenes of her radio show Piano Jazz.   A testimonial from Richard M. Sudhalter says it all.  ‘I wonder if Marian McPartland fully realizes what an elegant prose stylist she is’ (Quoted from Dust Jacket).  The Illinois Edition is a volume in the series Music In American Life.

Marian’s reminiscences of her late husband, Jimmy McPartland, are particularly moving, and emphasize his strong influence on her entire career:

She writes with affection of the Hickory House where she opened in 1952, and of her husband, famous jazz trumpeter Jimmy McPartland.  It is with this warmth and affection that she is able to make compelling the descriptions of the musicians she writes about, breathing much understanding into their complex personalities.  Indeed, such is her depth of analysis one is drawn closer to them in the most private way; I felt I had known Mary Lou Williams personally.  Had Marian’s piano playing not paid the rent, a day job as a psychoanalyst would have been well within her grasp (www.jazznow.com)

 

Marian McPartland's 85th Birthday Celebrations:

The highlight of this decade for Marian McPartland was her 85th birthday celebration in March 2003 at Birdland.  The indefatigable octogenarian was onstage for the majority of the evening performing in duo, quartets and larger ensembles with many of her special guests. 

The celebration concert brought together vocalists Tony Bennett, Jackie Cain, Nnenna Freelon, Karrin Allyson, Norah Jones and Curtis Stigers; pianist/vocalist Barbara Carroll; pianists Billy Taylor, James Williams, George Wein, Jason Moran and Bill Charlap; original Hickory House bassist Bill Crow; violinist Regina Carter; guitarists Jim Hall and Jackie King; saxophonists Phil Woods, Ravi Coltrane, Chris Potter and Loren Schoenberg; trumpeters Jon Faddis, Roy Hargrove and Dave Douglas; and flugelhornist Clark Terry.  Throughout the evening Marian collaborated with the rhythm section of bassist Gary Mazzaroppi and drummer Glenn Davis, who worked together as a tight unit in support of her and her guests.  

According to a review in Village Voice, 'Marian McPartland spent the evening eavesdropping on her colleagues, accompanying them, and besting them with stacked, spacious chords' (King, 2003). 

The magazine Variety rated the octogenarian 'at the top of her game, playing richly harmonic lines with a distinctive and rare blend of elegance and subtlety' (Daniels, 2003). 

According to DownBeat magazine, 'during the course of the four-hour, hugs-and-kisses-filled tribute, dozens of jazz all-stars appeared onstage either with McPartland or in honor of her' (Ouellette, 2003). 

The NPR Website released the complete Set List from the celebration concert, containing eighteen selections from her variety of guests (www.npr.org).

The concert was recorded and highlights from the evening were broadcast in a special edition of Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz in June 2003.  The Baldwin Piano Company sent warm greetings, and a special segment of The Today Show with Marian McPartland went to air on Sunday, April 13 (www.gibson.com).

The atmosphere of the night was captured in this statement:

Marian McPartland's 25 years at Piano Jazz on NPR and 25 years at Concord Records cap her 65 years in the music business.  From the strength, humor and passion in her performance at Birdland on Friday night, it is obvious that this artist has what it takes to keep jazz real for many years to come (Robins, 2003).

Marian McPartland continued to support younger musicians, including Norah Jones, who released her second album in 2004.  Another young pianist, Eldar Djangirov, has received support from both Dr. Billy Taylor and Marian McPartland.  So impressed was Marian with the young pianist's virtuosic technique, she offered him the opportunity to appear as her youngest ever guest on Piano Jazz in April 1999.  She then showcased him in concert with her at the second Annual Jazz Concert Series at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY.  Media exposure widened when Djangirov was featured on one of pianist Billy Taylor's jazz bio segments on CBS Sunday Morning.  Soon after this moment of fame on television, Djangirov performed with a jazz ensemble on the Grammy Awards Show, and won the coveted first prize in competition at the 2001 Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival.

2004

During the 2004 International Association For Jazz Education (IAJE) Conference from January 22 to 24 in New York City, Marian McPartland appeared on a panel to discuss Newport at 50: Then & Now. Moderated by Dan Morgenstern, Director of the Institute of Jazz Studies, the other panellists included pianists Dave Brubeck, Michel Camilo and Marian McPartland, along with George Wein, Festival Productions Inc, founder of Newport Jazz Festival.  The panel examined the legacy of the world's first jazz festival at Newport, and its impact on jazz during its fifty year history (Conference Program, 2004: B52).

[Author's note: This researcher attended the Panel Discussion, after presenting a paper analyzing Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz theme as one of the Research Papers at the 2004 Conference in New York].

A 'Women In Jazz' column reported that FM radio station WBGO was issuing a 14-month 2004 calendar, featuring photographs of pianists Marian McPartland, Mary Lou Williams, Toshiko Akiyoshi; and vocalists Nancy Wilson, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Diana Krall, Cassandra Wilson and others (Kolb, 2004).

In February 2004, Marian McPartland was presented with a Special Merit Award by the Grammy Trustees during Grammy Week.  In his speech at the Awards ceremony, President of the Grammy Academy Neil Portnow said, 'The award recognizes music people who have made the greatest impact on our culture.Their outstanding accomplishments and passion for their craft have created a timeless legacy that has positively affected multiple generations and will continue to influence generations to come.' 

According to writer Bob Blumenthal:

Few jazz artists have enjoyed a more unlikely or a more diverse career than pianist Marian McPartland.  Over the course of seven decades, she 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 (Blumenthal, 2004).

Piano Jazz celebrated its Silver Anniversary in April 2004, a landmark that surprises nobody more than venerated host and pianist Marian McPartland.  According to reporter Mike Janssen, it ranks among public radio's most popular music programs, airing on 241 stations and reaching almost 400,000 listeners a week.  Since the show was first taped on October 8, 1978, with great pianist/composer Mary Lou Williams, Marian McPartland has collaborated with more than 500 exciting and talented jazz professionals (Janssen, 2003).

A 25th anniversary celebration took place on June 4, 2004, in Washington, D.C.  Marian McPartland teamed up with guest artist Peter Cincotti in the Terrace Theater of the Kennedy Center for a full hour of jazz collaboration, soloing, reminiscences and straight talk about influences and style.  According to a Baldwin review, Piano Jazz hits a perfect balance between historical perspective and sheer entertainment, and has been hailed as the definitive place to hear the greats of jazz (www.gibson.com).

Soon after that illustrious event, a concert billed as 'An Evening With Marian McPartland' took place on June 7 in Eastman Theater during Rochester University's Third International Jazz Festival.  The program was previewed in publicity material as follows:

Four of Eastman's finest join legendary jazz pianist and longtime friend of the Eastman School Marian McPartland in an incredible concert that's likely to become one of the Festival highlights.  The concert will open with McPartland accompanied by Eastman's Jeff Campbell, bass, and Rich Thompson, drums.  Then, audiences are in for a rare treat - a three-piano set - featuring Eastman's own Harold Danko and Bill Dobbins alongside McPartland.  The evening will close with selections featuring the entire group (www.rochesterjazz.edu).

Marian McPartland participated at the JVC Jazz Festival incorporating the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Newport Jazz Festival.  For her appearance on the Sirius Piano Stage on August 14, 2004, Marian invited Festival impresario George Wein to share the stage with her as the grand finale to her Saturday afternoon of on-stage interviews and Piano Jazz with pianists Peter Martin and Renee Rosnes (www.newportjazz50th.com).

Also in 2004 , Marian McPartland appeared as a guest on an NPR program named Portraits, moderated by Nancy Wilson.  The program surveyed Marian McPartland's career, and bassist Bill Crow was invited to comment.  Marian recalled a much earlier comment from Crow in the Canadian magazine Mayfair where he had implied that she didn't swing, so she said to the producer of the show, 'Ask Bill Crow if he thinks my time is better now.'   'I guess that incident has been in my head all those years.  I must be weirder than I thought to remember a thing like that' (Enstice and Stockhouse, 2004: 243).

Prior to her appearance at the 47th Monterey Jazz Festival in September 2004, Marian McPartland spoke about the level of interest in jazz, and its international reputation as a genre.   Jazz music has always involved creativity and innovation, and Marian McPartland opined that new trends are appearing all the time due to emerging musicians and contemporary musical ideas.

During the Monterey Jazz Festival from September 17 to September 19, the focus was on jazz piano, featuring trios led by superb pianists such as Uri Caine, Lynne Arriale, Jean-Michael Pilc, Bill Charlap and Marian McPartland.  According to Dr. Herb Wong, International Association For Jazz Education Team Member Radio/Recordings:

Add the appearance of a number of the current generation of gifted pianists to the experience quotient from young to veteran status, and the picture is very representative of modern piano jazz (Wong, 2004: C25).

On the final evening of the Festival, the Marian McPartland Trio was the attraction:

Marian McPartland's trio on tunes such as 'Ladybird,' 'Warm Valley,' 'Turnaround,' and 'Close Your Eyes,' [played] a rich mix.  She then played duets respectively with Lynne Arriale ('Bemsha Swing,' 'Blue 'n' Green,' and 'If I Should Lose You'), with Jason Moran ('Just You, Just Me,' 'Take The "A" Train,' and 'Stompin' At The Savoy') at which point McPartland said, 'I'm warmed up now,' and lastly with Bill Charlap on tunes like 'S'Wonderful' and 'You And The Night And The Music.'

Underlining the focus on jazz piano, a captivating interview with Bill Charlap prompted him to include a mini piano clinic on The Great American Songbook.  He was followed by another on-stage conversation between McPartland and Clint Eastwood, simply titled 'Piano Jazz,' for obvious reasons (Wong, 2004: C25).

A 2-CD retrospective, Marian McPartland: Windows, was released in 2004, combining earlier Concord albums of Portrait Of Marian McPartland and Marian McPartland: At The Festival.  She also duetted with George Shearing on some tracks of his 2004 album Duets, along with Hank Jones, Jim Hall and Mel Torme.

2005

Marian McPartland continued to be active as a performer in 2005, appearing at Berklee College of Music, Boston, and the Folly Theater, Kansas City in January.  She next appeared at the Philharmonic Center for the Arts in Naples, Florida, and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in February.  The February 17 event at the Kennedy Center was themed as 'Marian McPartland:"Memories Of 52nd Street"', at the Terrace Theater.

As one who occupied the piano chair at the famed Hickory House during most of the 1950s, Marian McPartland has a wealth of memories to share of the glory days of jazz, according to the Kennedy Center website:

Musical chameleon Marian McPartland can adapt to any style or situation and still sound like no one but herself.  For more than seven decades, the indefatigable jazz pianist, radio host, and educator has been one of the most important jazz ambassadors the world has ever known.  Originally from England, she moved to America shortly after World War II, overcoming resistance to her nationality and gender to establish herself as 'the First Lady of Piano Jazz' (New York Newsday).  Able to bring 'unexpected musical density to even the most familiar of melodies' (The New York Times), Marian McPartland comes to the Kennedy Center to reflect on meeting the jazz giants of the 1940s and perform some of their greatest hits (www.kennedy-center.org).

A timely release on the Savoy Jazz label, Giants Of Jazz: Marian McPartland, no doubt complemented this performance (www.bestprices.com).  The track list on Giants Of Jazz indicates that selections from Marian McPartland trio recordings in the 1950s have been reissued by Savoy Label Group.

An engagement in March took her to the Ritz-Carlton in Phoenix, Arizona, to benefit the piano program in the nationally ranked Arizona State University's Herberger College.  The gala fundraiser on March 11 featured KJZZ radio host Blaise Lantana joining Marian McPartland on stage in 'Keys To The Future' as the emcee for the festivities.  Publicity for the event read as follows:

Now in its seventh year, 'Keys To The Future' has charmed Valley music enthusiasts with an evening of great talent, wonderful ambience and the satisfaction of helping support the music of tomorrow...Joining McPartland for keyboard duets will be two veterans of the local jazz scene, Earle Weatherwax and Bob Ravenscroft, plus Mike Kocour, newly named Director of Jazz Studies in the ASU Herberger College School of Music (www.herbergercollege.asu.edu).

At the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, PA, on March 16, Marian McPartland performed with Dave Brubeck who has made appearances on Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz.

A recent release of photographs of jazz musicians features a portrait of Marian McPartland in 1961. The accompanying short biography pays tribute to Marian and to the influence of Jimmy McPartland on her career:

If there is anyone who deserves to be called the First Lady of Jazz Piano, it's Marian McPartland.  Nee Turner, she began her professional life as a member of a four-piano team playing in music halls in her native England.  While touring service camps during World War II, she met an American GI, the cornettist Jimmy McPartland.  Jimmy's jazz roots were in Chicaco during the Roaring Twenties.  They married, and at war's end she came to live in the United States. Traditional jazz was on the upswing, and Marian became the pianist in Jimmy's new band.

Seemingly lured by the call of more modern styles, she went out as a featured pianist heading a trio, with a long New York engagement at the Hickory House, where various musicians were welcome to join in the jamming.  Though she and Jimmy would eventually divorce, the break was never complete; they remained friends, even remarrying shortly before Jimmy's death in 1991 (Schiedt, 2001: 68).

Duncan Schiedt, the photographer, recalls first hearing Marian McPartland play:

I can always get a laugh when I relate where I first heard Marian play.  I loved some 78 rpm records she had done with Jimmy, and when I read of her upcoming appearance in Kokomo, I resolved to share my pleasure with friends.  Four of us traveled the forty miles to this Indiana 'metropolis' to catch Marian and her colleagues.  The name of the club was - hold your breath - the Pizza King!  Not to worry, for it was a class place in spite of the name, with a well-dressed clientele eager to hear the lady's music.  I do remember meeting and photographing her drummer, Jake Hanna (how young he looks in the photos!), as well as taking studies of Marian through the raised piano lid as she played.  A few years later, I reminded Marian of the session and the unlikely venue, and we enjoyed a laugh together. Long may she live - and play! (Schiedt, 2004: 68)

On January 11, 2005, Marian McPartland received an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, the premier learning institution offering studies in contemporary music.  She was visiting the Berklee Performance Center as the keynote speaker for the 2005 Berklee Teachers on Teaching Conference.  After donning her academic regalia, Marian accepted her award from Berklee president Roger H. Brown, and proceeded to play duets with professor of piano, Bob Winter, once himself a guest on Piano Jazz (www.berklee.edu).

During Marian McPartland's appearances at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola in the Lincoln Center in May 2005, memorabilia relating to her radio program Piano Jazz was displayed to complement the performances.

An Overview Of Film And Television Appearances

Marian McPartland is no newcomer to the screen.  During the 1950s, she appeared on the NBC's Morning Show, and the Steve Allen Show.  In May 1957, a live teleplay was taped on the lives of Jimmy and Marian McPartland, the producer being a John McPartland (Press Clipping, 1957).  This McPartland was no relation to the musical McPartlands. She also made appearances on Look Up And Live.  In the late 1950s, Marian McPartland made two television appearances on television shows in Detroit.

In 1961, Marian McPartland appeared on the BBC-TV's Showtime with David Nixon.  She was by then a frequent performer on the ABC's Piano Playhouse and Mike and Buff.  In October 1963, Marian appeared with Benny Goodman on The Tonight Show on NBC-TV to promote a show Goodman was about to tour The World Of Benny Goodman

A 1969 publicity release reveals that Marian McPartland had, by then, made television appearances with Steve Allen, Arthur Godfrey, Patti Page, Garry Moore, Jack Paar, Dave Garroway and Johnny Carson.  Marian McPartland also appeared on the Kate Smith Show and Celebrity Time.  Mike Douglas, Merv Griffin and Barbara Walters have also interviewed her on television, and she has made frequent and recent appearances on All That Jazz and The Today Show.

During the 1960s, Marian McPartland composed the music for an art film, Mark, which won awards at the Edinburgh and Venice Festivals (Feather, 1977).  Marian McPartland also composed the scores for educational films Mural and the prize-winning documentary The Light Fantastic Picture Show which won prizes at the Chicago Film Festival.   She wrote the piece ‘A Delicate Balance' for a film commissioned for a ballet school, and for a children's program she composed ‘The Key Of D Is Daffodil Yellow’.

Some time during the 1970s, it was reported that Marian McPartland, then working at The Composer, was chosen by Barbara Carroll to take over her TV commitment while Barbara endeavored to recover from the sudden and tragic death of her husband, Joe Shulman (Press Clipping, Unknown source). 

During the 1970s, Marian McPartland put together a group of women for a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) special At The Top, and made a pilot program for PBS called In The Key Of Jazz.  She appeared on a documentary featuring Alec Wilder on Rochester TV, discussing jazz with the composer, and this documentary was rebroadcast after Wilder’s death. 

For an independent production on Cable Television in the USA, Marian McPartland and Carmen McRae hosted a Women In Jazz series, a combination of film clips and live performances produced and directed by Burrill Crohn.  The series is inspirational in its message that gender is irrelevant in the expression of jazz music. [Author's note: Programs in this series were broadcast on Australian television during the 1990s].

Marian McPartland also made appearances on Charles Kuralt’s Sunday Morning, The Today Show and The Home Show.  Another PBS special was on the life of Bix Beiderbecke, and a program Live At The Wolf Trap featured Marian McPartland with George Shearing, Teddy Wilson and Eubie Blake.  Marian also appeared with fellow pianists George Shearing and Billy Taylor in Syncopation for Cable Television.

Having been in the jazz world for so many years, she has also taken part in programs honoring the likes of Maxine Sullivan and Bix Beiderbecke.   Of all her film work, the most exciting had to do with a very famous photo shoot in 1958 which inspired a documentary known as A Great Day In Harlem, produced in 1994.  As one of a handful of survivors, Marian has become a spokesperson for the historical significance of the documentary.

Marian McPartland has been involved in a number of historical overviews, such as Jazzmakers, Women in Jazz, and most recently, Millennium Evenings At The White House: Jazz, An Expression Of Democracy.

Despite making a pilot program for television, Piano Jazz has yet to be seen on the screen.  Marian McPartland was hopeful that a program with Dave Brubeck might appear on TV, but so far the idea of televising Piano Jazz has not come to fruition (www.allinfo-about.com).Marian McPartland did, however, appear in her first television commercial for Verizon Wireless with composer/pianist Eric Reed, during which they improvised a conversation about jazz.  Due to many appearances on television throughout her long career, Marian McPartland is highly regarded as an articulate spokesperson for jazz and jazz musicians.

 

According to the Piano Jazz Website, Marian McPartland's appearances for the first half of 2004 were as follows (www.npr.org):

Appearances 2004

February 10 - Marian McPartland, Jazz Insights: Silver Anniversary of New School University, New York

February 27 - Marian McPartland Trio, Von Braun Centre Concert Hall, Huntsville, Alabama

March 19 - 14th Annual First Energy Berks Jazz Festival, Reading, Pennsylvania

April 5 - Marian McPartland - one set alone, one with Benny Green, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire

April 16/17 - Marian McPartland Trio, Scullers Jazz Club, Boston, Massachusetts

April 24 - Marian  McPartland, Yale Cancer Center Benefit Concert, Southport, Connecticut

May 6-9 - Marian McPartland, Live at Jazz Alley, Seattle, Washington

May 21 - Marian McPartland, Empire State Plaza Performing Arts Center at The Egg, Albany , New York

May 27-29 - Marian McPartland Trio, Birdland, New York City

Marian McPartland signed with jazz agency Ted Kurland Associates on August 5, 2003.  The Website for that organization lists Marian McPartland's appearances for the second half of 2004 as follows (www.tedkurland.com):

June 7 - Marian McPartland, Rochester International Jazz Festival, Rochester, NY

June 13 - Marian McPartland, Ravinia Jazz Festival, Highland Park, IL

July 22 - Marian McPartland Trio, 92nd St. Y - Tisch Center For The Arts, New York, NY

July 24 - Marian McPartland, 12th Annual Suttons Bay Jazzfest, Suttons Bay, MI

August 8 - Marian McPartland, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Bay View, MI

September 4 - Marian McPartland, Tanglewood Jazz Festival, Lenox, MA

September 17-19 – Marian McPartland (performing with special guests and on guest panels) Monterey Jazz Festival, Monterey, CA

October 2 - Marian McPartland, Sheldon Concert Hall, St. Louis, MO

October 22 - Marian McPartland, University of Nebraska, Lied Center for the Performing Arts, Lincoln, NE

October 26 to October 31 - Marian McPartland, Jazz Bakery, Los Angeles, CA

November 20 - Marian McPartland, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark, NJ

December 3 – Marian McPartland, The Colony Hotel Royal Room, Palm Beach, FLA

Appearances 2005

January 11 - Berklee College Of Music, Boston, MA

January 22 - Folly Theater, Kansas City, MO

February 9 - Marian McPartland, Philharmonic Center for the Arts, Naples, FL

February 17 - Marian McPartland, Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.

March 11 - Marian McPartland Trio, ASU's Herberger College of Fine Arts, Phoenix, AZ

March 16 - Marian McPartland, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA

March 31 - Marian McPartland, Missouri Theater, Columbia, MO

April 16 - Marian McPartland Trio, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN

May 3 - 8 - Marian McPartland Trio, Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, Jazz At Lincoln Center, NY

May 20 - Marian McPartland Trio, Historic Tennessee Theater, Knoxville, TN

September 30 - Marian McPartland - University of Iowa, Hancher Auditorium, Iowa City, IA

October 7 - Marian McPartland, Wharton Center for the Performing Arts, East Lansing, MI

October 27 - Marian McPartland, University Of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC

[This researcher attended this sold-out concert, with Marian McPartland’s trio receiving tumultuous applause]

November 10-13 - Marian McPartland Trio, Manchester Craftsmen's Guild, Pittsburg, PA

November 19 - Marian McPartland, Invesco Field Ballroom, Denver, CO

References

Mergner, L. (2000) 'IAJE in NOLA', JazzTimes, May, pp. 36-37

Bernotas, B, (2000) 'Jazz & Gender', Piano & Keyboard, no. 202, January/February, pp. 28-36

McPartland, M. (2000) Quoted in Overheard, JazzTimes, vol. 30, no. 3, p. 19, April

McDonough, J. (2000), 'Marian McPartland: On The Witness Stand', DownBeat, vol. 67, no. 5, May, pp.46-49

Schoenberg, L. (2001) Program Notes to Jazz At The Penthouse, Marian McPartland Solo Piano

Kane, T. (2001) 'Marian McPartland: Lady Legend', Jazz Review, Available: http://www.jazzreview.com [November 13, 2003]

Bednar, M. (2002) 'Fourth Annual Marian McPartland/Eastman Jazz Series Spotlights Rising Star Of Jazz, Jason Moran', Available: http://www.rochesterjazz.edu [November 13, 2003]

Heckman, D. (2002) 'McPartland Displays An Ageless Agility', Available: http://www.latimes.com/archive [November 15, 2002]

Bourne, M. (2002) 'Songbook In The Round', DownBeat, vol. 69, no. 5, May, pp. 26-31

Leheny, J. (2002) 'Review of Marian McPartland In Performance', Caramoor Gardens, Katonah, NY

Gitelson, H. (2003) 'Photographs - IAJE Conference, Toronto, Canada), Available: http://www.tcjs.org/IAJE-2003 [November 13, 2003]

Steinblatt, J. (2003) 'ASCAP/IAJE Comissioned Works Honoring Marian McPartland Premiered at IAJE Conference in Toronto', Available: http://www.ascap.com [November 13, 2003]

Unknown author (2003) 'Jazz Great Marian McPartland Returns To Rochester To Perform', Available: http://www.rpo.org [November 13, 2003]

Holden, S. (2003) 'Paying Homage To A Departed Jewel, A Single Facet At A Time', The New York Times, June 23, pp. 4-5

McPartland, M. (2003) Marian McPartland’s Jazz World: All In Good Time.  Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press

Sudhalter, R. M. (2003) Quote from Dust Jacket of Marian McPartland’s Jazz World: All In Good Time.  Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press

Maylin, F. (2003) 'Marian McPartland - Review of Marian McPartland's Jazz World: All In Good Time', Available: http://www.jazznow.com [April 27, 2004]

King, D. (2003) 'Birthday Bop', Available: http://www.villagevoice.com [April 11, 2003]

Daniels, R. L. (2003) 'Marian McPartland: 85th Birthday Tribute', Available: http://www.variety.com [April 11, 2003]

Ouellette, D. (2003) 'A Bash for McPartland's 85th', DownBeat, June

Unknown author (2003) 'Marian McPartland's 85th Birthday Bash From Birdland - Show Song List', Available: http://www.npr.org [November 13, 2003]

Unknown author (2002) 'McPartland Rules Over Piano Jazz', Available: http://www.gibson.com [November 21, 2002]

Robins, M. (2003) 'Marian McPartland's 85th Birthday Bash Brought Out The Stars To Birdland On March 21st', Available: http:// www.kjzz91_fm2.htm [April 21, 2003]

(2004) IAJE Conference, New York, 'Newport At 50: Then And Now', Jazz Education Journal, vol. 36, no. 4, p. B52

Kolb, E. (2004) 'Women In Jazz', Unknown source

Blumenthal, B. (2004) 'Marian McPartland', Available: http://www.grammy.org [April 18, 2004]

Janssen, M. (2003) 'Dame At Jazz Crossroads', Available: http://www.current.org [April 27, 2004]

Unknown author (2004) 'Jazz Profiles From NPR - Marian McPartland', Available: http://www.npr.org [April 18, 2004]

Gibson Internet Group (2003) 'Baldwin Salutes Marian McPartland On Her Birthday', Available: http://www.gibson.com [November 13, 2003]

Unknown author (2004) 'An Evening With Marian McPartland', Available: http://www.rochesterjazz.com [May 15, 2004]

Bednar, M. (2004) 'Eastman Jazz Showcased In Third Rochester International Jazz Festival', Available: http://www.rochester.edu [January 4, 2005]

Author unknown (2004) 'JVC Jazz Festival Newport Celebrates 50 Years Of Newport Jazz', Available: http://www.newportjazz50th.com [January 4, 2004]

Enstice, W. and Stockhouse, J. (2004) 'Interview With Marian McPartland', in Jazzwomen: Conversations With Twenty-One Musicians, Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, pp. 230-251

Unknown author (2004) 'Piano Legend McPartland: Cool Jazz Still Hot', Available: http://www.cnn.com [September 24, 2004]

Wong, H. (2004) 'Handfuls Of Keys At Monterey Jazzfest', Jazz Education Journal, vol. 37, no. 4, p. C25

(2004) Marian McPartland: Windows, Concord Records Inc

Unknown author (2005) 'Marian McPartland: "Memories Of 52nd Street"', Available: http://www.kennedy-center.org [January 4, 2005]

Unknown author (2005) 'Giants Of Jazz: Marian McPartland', Available: http://www.bestprices.com [January 4, 2005]

Unknown author (2005) 'The First Lady Of Jazz Marian McPartland Performs At ASU's '"Keys To The Future" Gala Fundraiser', Available: http://www.herbergercollege.asu.edu [January 4, 2005]

Schiedt, D. P. (2004) Jazz In Black And White: The Photographs Of Duncan Schiedt, Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, p. 68

Roeder, J. (2005) 'British Airwaves: Jazz Radio Royal Visits Berklee', Available: http://www.berklee.edu [April 5, 2005]

Unknown author (2005) 'Marian McPartland's Upcoming Appearances', Available: http://www.npr.org [January 8, 2005]

Kurland, T. (2004) 'Marian McPartland', Available: http://www.tedkurland.com [April 18, 2004]

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