42 Facts About Marian McPartland

1.

Marian McPartland was the host of Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz on National Public Radio from 1978 to 2011.

2.

Margaret Marian McPartland Turner was born on 20 March 1918 to Frank and Janet Turner.

3.

Marian McPartland demonstrated early aptitude at the piano, and would later realize that she had perfect pitch.

4.

Marian McPartland trained as a vocalist and received a number of favorable reviews in the local paper.

5.

Marian McPartland studied with Orlando Morgan, who taught Myra Hess.

6.

Marian McPartland promised her family that she would one day return to finish her degree at Guildhall.

7.

In 1944, her friend Zonie Dale recommended that Marian McPartland join the United Service Organizations because they paid more and played with American men.

8.

Marian McPartland was assigned to a group called the Band Wagon, which followed the Allied forces after the D-Day invasion.

9.

In St Vith, Belgium, on 14 October 1944, Marian met a Chicago cornetist named Jimmy McPartland at a jam session.

10.

Marian McPartland had volunteered for the army and was serving active duty when his superiors realized that he could do better work as an entertainer, since he was well known among the troops.

11.

Marian McPartland was reluctant to tell her parents of the marriage, and had Jimmy's commanding officer tell them when he had lunch with them in England in early 1945.

12.

Jimmy and Marian McPartland did their first recording together on 6 January 1946 in London before leaving for the US.

13.

In June 1946, Marian McPartland made her American debut at the Moose Lodge.

14.

Soon, Jimmy's group, which now included Marian McPartland, landed a standing gig at the Rose Bowl through the end of 1946.

15.

Marian McPartland flourished in Jimmy's group, and by her association with him.

16.

On 2 February 1952, Marian McPartland opened a gig at the Hickory House that continued regularly through November 1962.

17.

Marian McPartland continued writing testimonial pieces for journals such as Down Beat after the favorable reception of her first piece in 1949.

18.

In 1958 a black and white group portrait of 57 notable jazz musicians, including Marian McPartland, was photographed in front of a brownstone in Harlem, New York City.

19.

Marian McPartland's perspective was unique, because she approached the review from her background as a peer musician.

20.

Marian McPartland struggled to connect to the avant-garde jazz of the late 1960s, though she did endeavor to learn and adapt the free jazz style for her own use.

21.

Marian McPartland was not in high demand as a performer through the 1960s, and her focus shifted to focus on jazz education.

22.

Marian McPartland became aware of the need for jazz education when she was convinced to do a workshop at a high school in Rochester, New York, in 1956.

23.

Marian McPartland realized that the adolescents were totally unaware of jazz, and utterly enamored with the new rock and roll sweeping the country.

24.

Marian McPartland continued to work in jazz education throughout the following decade.

25.

Marian McPartland would be recognized for her work in jazz education in 1986, when she received the Jazz Educator of the Year award.

26.

Marian McPartland would continue to teach and judge jazz festivals for young people for the rest of her life.

27.

In 1974, Marian recorded an album, Marian McPartland Plays the Music of Alec Wilder, which was released by Halcyon Records.

28.

Fairchild died in 1971, and Marian McPartland bought out O'Neal in order to maintain the label for self-distribution or other projects.

29.

Marian McPartland rarely used women in her combos, but she helped many young women find their feet in the jazz business such as Mary Fettig and Susannah McCorkle.

30.

In 1978, Marian McPartland performed Grieg's Piano Concerto in A Minor with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.

31.

In 1964, Marian McPartland launched a new venture on WBAI-FM, conducting a weekly radio program that featured recordings and interviews with guests.

32.

Marian McPartland was offered the opportunity primarily on the recommendation of her friend Alec Wilder, who hosted American Popular Song until his health prevented him from continuing the program.

33.

Marian McPartland celebrated the 25th anniversary of the NPR series with a live taping at the Kennedy Center for which Peter Cincotti was the guest.

34.

Marian McPartland then asked her long-time friend, jazz pianist Jon Weber, to carry on with the show.

35.

Marian McPartland was beloved for bringing in an underrepresented demographic to jazz clubs.

36.

Marian McPartland used her celebrity to champion young artists and feature them in her combos.

37.

In 1979, Marian McPartland received an NEH grant to write a book about women in jazz, focusing specifically on The International Sweethearts of Rhythm.

38.

Marian McPartland eventually published a collection of 13 essays, All in Good Time, in 1987.

39.

Marian McPartland attempted to write her autobiography for many years, with the encouragement of Alec Wilder, but never completed the project.

40.

Just before her 90th birthday, Marian McPartland composed and performed a symphonic piece, A Portrait of Rachel Carson, to mark the centennial of the environmental pioneer.

41.

Marian McPartland was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2010 New Year Honours, "For services to jazz and to aspiring young musicians in the USA".

42.

Marian McPartland died on 20 August 2013 of natural causes in her home in Port Washington, New York.