Marian McPartland facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Marian McPartland
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McPartland playing at St. Joseph's Villa near Rochester, New York, in 1975
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Margaret Marian Turner |
| Born | 20 March 1918 Slough, England |
| Died | 20 August 2013 (aged 95) Port Washington, New York, US |
| Genres | Cool jazz, bebop, mainstream jazz, swing, post-bop |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, radio host, writer, composer |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | 1938–2013 |
| Labels | Halcyon, Concord Jazz, Jazz Alliance, Bainbridge, Savoy, Capitol, RCA |
Margaret Marian McPartland (born Margaret Marian Turner; March 20, 1918 – August 20, 2013) was a famous English-American jazz pianist, composer, and writer. She was best known for hosting Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz on National Public Radio (NPR). This popular show ran from 1978 to 2011.
After marrying trumpet player Jimmy McPartland in 1945, she lived in the United States. She traveled the world to perform her music. In 1969, she started her own record company called Halcyon Records. She was honored as a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 2000. In 2004, she received a special Grammy Award for her lifetime achievements in music. She was also added to the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2010, she was recognized by the British government as a member of the Order of the British Empire.
Contents
Early Life and Music Talent
Margaret Marian Turner was born on March 20, 1918, in England. Her parents were Frank and Janet Turner. She had one younger sister named Joyce. From a young age, Marian showed a natural talent for playing the piano. She later discovered she had perfect pitch, meaning she could identify musical notes just by hearing them.
She started learning violin at age nine, but she didn't enjoy it much. She also trained as a singer and received good reviews in local newspapers. Her mother didn't let her have a piano teacher until she was 16. By then, Marian was already very good at learning songs by ear. Because of this, she preferred to learn music by listening rather than reading sheet music.
Marian attended several schools, including Miss Hammond's School and Stratford House for Girls. At Stratford House, she met Doris Mackie, a teacher who greatly influenced her. Mackie encouraged Marian to apply to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Marian was accepted in 1935. The school noted her "rampant enthusiasm" and "God-given faculty" for music.
Early Career in Europe
At the Guildhall School, Marian studied to become a concert pianist. She also took vocal lessons. Her skills in making up music on the spot (improvisation) and writing songs were noticed early. She won several awards for her compositions in 1936 and 1937.
Despite her family's wishes, Marian fell in love with American jazz music. She admired artists like Duke Ellington and Mary Lou Williams. In 1938, she left Guildhall to join Billy Mayerl's Claviers, a group that performed with four pianos. She started using the stage name Marian Page. She promised her family she would finish her degree later, but she never did.
During World War II, Marian volunteered for the Entertainment National Service Association (ENSA). This group performed for Allied troops. In 1944, she joined the United Service Organizations (USO), which paid more. She even learned to play the accordion in case a piano wasn't available for performances.
In Belgium, in October 1944, Marian met Jimmy McPartland, a cornet player from Chicago. They met at a jam session. Jimmy was in the army but was asked to form a band to entertain the troops. He invited Marian to be his pianist. They quickly fell in love and married on February 3, 1945, in Germany. Their military wedding even featured them playing music. Her marriage to an American meant she also became a U.S. citizen, keeping her British citizenship. Jimmy helped Marian learn more about jazz. They made their first recording together in London in 1946 before moving to New York City. Marian lived in the U.S. for the rest of her life.
Building a Career in the U.S.
After the war, Marian and Jimmy moved to Chicago to be near his family. In June 1946, Marian made her American debut. Jimmy's group, with Marian as pianist, played regularly at clubs like the Rose Bowl and Brass Rail. Marian thrived in Jimmy's band and played with stars like Billie Holiday.
In 1949, the McPartlands visited France for the Paris Jazz Festival. This trip was important because it marked the start of Marian's writing career. Her story about the festival was published in DownBeat magazine.
In 1949, they settled in Manhattan, New York. In 1950, she decided to stop using her stage name, Marian Page. She began performing as Marian McPartland. With Jimmy's support, Marian formed her own trio. They started playing at The Embers club in 1951. Here, she learned how to lead her own group. She played with musicians like Roy Eldridge and Coleman Hawkins. She soon settled on a trio of piano, bass, and drums, which became a common setup in jazz.
Her performances led to a positive article in DownBeat by Leonard Feather. He praised her as a "fine, swinging pianist." In 1951, she signed her first record deal without Jimmy, with Savoy Records.
On February 2, 1952, McPartland began a long-running performance at the Hickory House. This lasted until November 1962. During this time, Duke Ellington often came to watch her play. Ellington influenced her piano style, telling her she played "too many notes." She took his advice to heart.
Drummer Joe Morello joined her trio in 1953. He stayed until late 1956 when he joined Dave Brubeck's Quartet. In December 1953, Bill Crow became her bass player. This trio of McPartland, Morello, and Crow became very successful. Metronome magazine named them "Small Group of the Year" in 1954. Their success led to McPartland signing with Capitol Records for five albums. This trio is considered McPartland's most famous group.
Marian continued writing for jazz journals. In the late 1950s, she began writing about being a woman in jazz. She wondered if women could contribute to jazz by playing "like women" while still keeping the true spirit of jazz. In 1958, Marian McPartland was part of a famous photograph called "A Great Day in Harlem." This picture showed 57 important jazz musicians in front of a building in Harlem, New York City.
Marian and Jimmy divorced in 1972. However, they remained close friends and remarried in 1991, shortly before Jimmy passed away.
Mid-Career and New Directions
After her long run at the Hickory House ended, Benny Goodman invited Marian to join his band for a 1963 tour. However, Goodman didn't like her more modern style of playing. Marian ended up playing mostly in the trio parts of the show. The tour was stressful, and Marian sought counseling afterward.
Her counseling helped her make important life choices. She decided to separate from Jimmy in 1967. Even after their divorce, they remained very good friends. They even remarried in 1991, just weeks before Jimmy's death.
In the late 1960s, Marian started reviewing albums for DownBeat magazine. She reviewed 34 albums between 1966 and 1969. Her reviews were unique because she wrote from her experience as a fellow musician. She also hosted a weekly radio show called A Delicate Balance starting in 1966. This show began to include interviews, which was a step towards her famous Piano Jazz series.
Marian became very interested in jazz education. In 1956, she did a workshop at a high school in Rochester, New York. She realized that young people knew very little about jazz. In 1964, she began teaching at jazz workshops organized by Clem DeRosa, a former drummer of hers. She continued to work in jazz education for many years. In 1974, she even taught in less wealthy neighborhoods in Washington D.C. She received the Jazz Educator of the Year award in 1986. She continued to teach and judge jazz festivals for young people throughout her life.
In 1967, Marian met Alec Wilder, a composer, at a New York club. They became great friends, and he encouraged her to write and compose more. In 1974, Marian recorded an album called Marian McPartland Plays the Music of Alec Wilder.
In 1969, McPartland co-founded her own record label, Halcyon Records. She started it with Sherman Fairchild and Hank O'Neal. Their goal was to release music by talented jazz artists who weren't getting enough attention. Their first album was Interplay, a duet album with Marian and bassist Linc Milliman. After Fairchild passed away in 1971, Marian took over the label. The last Halcyon album was released in 1979. Later, she had a long partnership with the Concord Records label.
By 1977, Marian became a strong supporter of women in jazz. She was a main performer at the first Women's Jazz Festival in Kansas City in 1978. She performed internationally in the late 1970s. While she didn't often have women in her own bands, she helped many young women get started in the jazz world.
In 1978, McPartland performed Grieg's Piano Concerto with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Even though some critics didn't like her performance, she played the piece with many other orchestras. She learned the piece mostly by ear because she wasn't strong at reading music quickly.
Piano Jazz and Later Career
In 1964, Marian McPartland started a weekly radio show on WBAI-FM in New York City. It featured recordings and interviews with guests. This show led to Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz, an NPR series. The first episode was recorded in October 1978 and aired on April 1, 1979. Marian's friend Alec Wilder suggested her for the show.
Piano Jazz became the longest-running cultural program on NPR. It was also one of the longest-running jazz shows on public radio. The show's theme song, "Kaleidoscope," was written by Marian herself. On the show, Marian played the piano with her guests. Most guests were pianists, but she also had singers, guitarists, and other musicians. The first guest was Mary Lou Williams. Many Piano Jazz programs have been released as CDs.
Piano Jazz won the Peabody Award for broadcasting excellence in 1984. It also won the Gabriel Award and NY Gold Medal Awards in 1986.
In 2011, NPR announced that Marian was stepping down as host of Piano Jazz. She asked her friend, jazz pianist Jon Weber, to continue the show. As a result, Piano Jazz: Rising Stars, hosted by Weber, began in 2012. Later, Piano Jazz returned to the air with repeat broadcasts of Marian's shows.
Because of her success with Piano Jazz, Marian became more famous. She started getting more important shows and recording more often. She was loved for bringing new audiences to jazz clubs. She also used her fame to support young artists and feature them in her bands.
In 1979, Marian received a grant to write a book about women in jazz. She focused on The International Sweethearts of Rhythm. She also received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1980 for this project. Although she published an essay in 1980, she found it hard to finish the book. Many other books about women in jazz came out around that time. She eventually published a collection of 13 essays called All in Good Time in 1987. She also tried to write her autobiography for many years but never finished it.
Legacy and Awards
DownBeat magazine gave Marian McPartland a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994.
In 2004, she received a Grammy Trustees' Lifetime Achievement Award. This was for her work as an educator, writer, and host of Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz. Marian was excellent at adapting to her guests' musical styles. She was known for her beautiful and rich ballads. She also wrote many of her own songs, including "Ambiance" and "Twilight World."
Just before her 90th birthday, Marian composed and performed a symphonic piece called A Portrait of Rachel Carson. She wrote it to honor the 100th birthday of the famous environmentalist.
In 2010, Marian McPartland was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). This award was for her contributions to jazz and for helping young musicians in the USA.
Marian was known for her vast knowledge of jazz songs. She had a very musical ear and experienced over 60 years of jazz music changing. Her musical style was described as "flexible and complex." She was a creative improviser, meaning she could make up new music on the spot. People said she was always improving and could easily switch between different musical keys.
Marian McPartland also had synesthesia. This means she associated different musical keys with colors. She once said, "The key of D is daffodil yellow, B major is maroon, and B flat is blue."
Marian McPartland passed away on August 20, 2013, at her home in Port Washington, New York. She was 95 years old.
Discography
- Jazz at Storyville (Savoy, 1951)
- Lullaby of Birdland (Savoy, 1952)
- Marian McPartland Trio (Savoy, 1952)
- The Magnificent Marian McPartland at the Piano (Savoy, 1952)
- Moods (Savoy, 1953)
- Jazz at the Hickory House (Savoy, 1953)
- Marian McPartland at the Hickory House (Capitol, 1954)
- Marian McPartland After Dark (Capitol, 1956)
- The Marian McPartland Trio (Capitol, 1956)
- Marian McPartland Trio with Strings: With You in Mind (Capitol, 1957)
- Marian McPartland Trio: At the London House (Argo, 1958)
- Marian McPartland Plays the Music of Leonard Bernstein (Time, 1960)
- Jimmy and Marian McPartland Play TV Themes (Design, 1960)
- Marian McPartland: Bossa Nova + Soul (Time, 1963)
- She Swings with Strings (Marian McPartland with the Frank Hunter Orchestra) (Sesac, 1964)
- My Old Flame: Marian McPartland Performs the Classic Hits of Sam Coslow (Dot, 1968)
- Interplay (Halcyon, 1969)
- Elegant Piano: Solos and Duets by Teddy Wilson and Marian McPartland (Halcyon, 1970)
- Marian McPartland: A Delicate Balance (Halcyon, 1972)
- Live at the Monticello: Jimmy and Marian McPartland (Halcyon, 1972)
- Swingin': Marian and Jimmy McPartland and Guests (Halcyon, 1973)
- Marian McPartland: Plays the Music of Alec Wilder (Halcyon, 1974)
- Marian McPartland: Solo Concert at Haverford (Halcyon, 1974)
- Let It Happen (RCA, 1974) as the Jazz Piano Quartet with Dick Hyman, Hank Jones and Roland Hanna
- The Maestro and Friend: Marian McPartland and Joe Venuti (Halcyon, 1974)
- Concert in Argentina: Earl Hines, Teddy Wilson, Marian McPartland, Ellis Larkins (Halcyon, 1974)
- Marian McPartland: Plays the Music of Alec Wilder (Halcyon, 1974)
- Live in Tokyo: Marian McPartland and Hank Jones (TDK, 1976)
- Now's the Time (Halcyon, 1977)
- Tony Bennett, the McPartlands, and Friends Make Magnificent Music (Improv, 1977)
- From This Moment On (Concord, 1978)
- Marian McPartland: Live at the Carlyle (Halcyon, 1979)
- Ambiance (Jazz Alliance, 1970)
- At the Festival (Concord, 1979)
- Portrait of Marian McPartland (Concord, 1980)
- Marian McPartland: At the Festival (Concord, 1980)
- Marian McPartland and George Shearing: Alone Together (Concord, 1982)
- Personal Choice (Concord, 1982)
- Willow Creek and Other Ballads (Concord, 1985)
- Marian McPartland Plays the Music of Billy Strayhorn (Concord, 1987)
- Marian McPartland Plays the Benny Carter Songbook (Concord, 1990)
- Marian McPartland: Live at the Maybeck Recital Hall, Volume Nine (Concord, 1991)
- In My Life (Concord, 1993)
- Marian McPartland Plays the Music of Mary Lou Williams (Concord, 1994)
- Live in Tokyo: Marian McPartland and Hank Jones (Concord, 1994)
- Live at Yoshi's Nitespot (Concord, 1995)
- Marian McPartland with Strings: Silent Pool (Concord, 1997)
- Marian McPartland: Just Friends (Concord, 1998)
- Marian McPartland's Hickory House Trio: Reprise (Concord, 1999)
- Marian McPartland: Portraits (NPR, 1999)
- Marian McPartland: The Single Petal of a Rose, The Essence of Duke Ellington (Concord, 2000)
- Marian McPartland and Willie Pickens: Ain't Misbehavin' – Live at the Jazz Showcase (Concord, 2001)
- Windows (Concord, 2004)
- Marian McPartland Trio with Joe Morello and Rufus Reid – Live in New York (Concord, 2005)
- Marian McPartland & Friends: 85 Candles – Live in New York (Concord, 2005)
- Twilight World (2008)
With Helen Merrill
- Merrill at Midnight (EmArcy, 1957)
Awards and Honors
Honorary Degrees
Marian McPartland received special honorary degrees from many universities, including:
- Bates College
- Berklee College of Music
- Bowling Green State University
- City University of New York
- Eastman School of Music
- Hamilton College
- Ithaca College
- Union College
- University of South Carolina
Other Awards
- 2007 – National Radio Hall of Fame
- 2006 – Long Island Music Hall of Fame induction
- 2004 – Grammy Award Trustees Award from the Recording Academy
- 2004 – Sapientia et Doctrina award, from Fordham University, NYC
- 2001 – American Eagle Award from the National Music Council
- 2001 – Gracie Allen Award from the American Women in Radio and Television
- 2000 – NEA Jazz Masters Award
- 2000 – Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Award
- 1994 – Down Beat Lifetime Achievement Award
- 1991 – ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award
- 1986 – International Jazz Association of Jazz Education Hall of Fame induction
- 1983 – Peabody Award
See also
In Spanish: Marian McPartland para niños
