Marian McPartland

Pianist and songwriter Marian Turner was born in England in 1920. She was born into a proper English family. Her uncle, Sir Frederick Dyson, was not only a fine celloist but mayor of Windsor. Many other members of her family were excellent classical musicians. Understandably, the family believed that the only worthwhile music was classical. As a child, Marian took violin lessons for five years from a private tutor. As a teenager, she won a scholarship to the famed Guildhall School of Music, where she studied classical violin and piano.

Much to her parents' dismay, she developed a love for jazz and popular music and began working in a music hall with Billy Mayerl's Claviers. During World War II, she toured England and Europe with Mayerl entertaining the troops.

In 1944, near the end of the war, Marian met dixieland trumpeter, Jimmy McPartland, who was playing USO shows in Belgium. They were married in Germany in 1945. McPartland was Marian's opposite in many ways. She was a well bred, classically trained English girl; he was a rough kid from the south side of Chicago. They shared an interest in jazz, however, and for a time were beneficial for each other's careers.

Marian came to the United States with her new husband and began to find work as a jazz pianist. She became the most well known female jazz musician of the decade. Among other things, she played solo intermission piano at the famed New York jazz club, Condon's. She also led her own trio at the Embers, the London House and the Hickory House. Marian was a regular at the Hickory House for eight years where many of the biggest names in jazz congregated to hear her play.

The 1960's were an unsettling time for many jazz musicians, including Marian McPartland. Her marriage failed, and a brief relationship with Benny Goodman ended unhappily. By the end of the decade, however, Marian's career was on the rebound. She had a new record label, Halcyon, and found new success in clubs, concert halls and college workshops. In 1978, she began recording for Concord records and has carried on busily playing and recording, including classical pieces such as Grieg's piano concertos.

Besides being an important jazz pianist, Marian McPartland is a writer, an educator, a composer and a radio host. Her collection of essays, All in Good Time, is very informative about her music and her career experiences. For years she has conducted jazz workshops at colleges and universities across the country. In fact, her early work with black students in Washington D.C. in the 1950's pre-dated other jazz workshops by several years. Marian has written many songs that have been recorded by numerous artists. Among her most well known songs are "In the Days of Our Love," "With You in Mind," and "Ambience."

Marian McPartland is best known as host of National Public Radio's popular and award winning, Piano Jazz. This weekly program has been running for over twenty years. During that time, Marian has interviewed and played with many of the greatest names in jazz. Many of the best Piano Jazz programs have now been issued on CD by the Jazz Alliance label.

Bibliography

Atteberry Music Database: Accessed March 18, 1999, Feb 19,1999.

"McPartland, Marian." The New Encyclopedia of Jazz. Leonard Feather, editor. New York: Bonanza Books, 1960: 329.

"Marian McPartland." Jazz: The Rough Guide: The Essential Companion to Artists and Albums. Carr, Ian et al., eds. London: The Rough Guides, Ltd, 1995: 431.

McPartland, Marian. Willow Creek. New York: Warner Brothers Publications, 1985: 14-17.

McPartland, Marian. All in Good Time. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987: 103.