( soft piano jazz) ♪ (Narrator) Marian McPartland was a true minority in the jazz world of the '50s: English, White, and female.

Not only did she master the art, she took jazz to new heights and became its biggest advocate.

Marian McPartland is recognized worldwide for her knowledge and skills in presenting one of America's greatest art forms.

♪ (male announcer) So ladies and gentlemen, without further ado please join me in welcoming Ms. Marian McPartland.

[applause] ♪ (narrator) Marian McPartland has performed professionally since the 1930s, delighting audiences with her artistry in clubs and concert halls around the globe and on scores of recordings.

To millions of radio listener, she is also the lively host of "Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz," the popular, Peabody Award-winning National Public Radio series, which has celebrated more than 30 years on the air.

Additionally, Marian has mentored countless musicians, spearheaded efforts in jazz education, and served as one of the best ambassadors of jazz the world has ever known.

♪ ♪ The fact that Margaret Marian Turner, a middle-class girl from a small town in England, would become one of the leading proponents of America's greatest musical idiom is not as ironic as it may seem to be.

Jazz had already crossed the pond in 1933 when Margaret, then 15, was among the music's biggest fan.

(Marian McPartland) When I was younger and, um... listening to the BBC, I had a boyfriend who brought records over so I could hear Benny Goodman and I could hear Teddy Wilson and James P. Johnson and Fats Waller.

But as time went by, then I heard other people: Mary Lou Williams and Hazel Scott.

I wanted so desperately to meet these people if I ever came to America.

(narrator) Margaret was a musical prodigy who could play just about anything by ear from the time she could sit at the piano.

♪ >> Some tunes I just know, um, sort of by osmosis.

I've never seen the music.

I know thousands of tunes that I learned years ago off the BBC, and they just stayed with me.

(narrator) It was evident at the Guildhall School of Music in London that Margaret preferred jazz over the classics and was headed for a career after the likes of Mary Lou Williams, Lil Hardin, Cleo Brown, and Hazel Scott.

♪ Billy Mayerl, a popular English music hall performer, asked her to join the Claviers in 1938, his four-piano act, and the young pianist assumed the stage name Marian Page and hit the Vaudeville circuit.

♪ World War II intervened.

♪ Marian volunteered, entertained the troops in her home country, and eventually found herself wading ashore at Omaha Beach a few days after D-Day to perform with USO shows on the continent.

♪ In Belgium, she met Jimmy McPartland, a Dixieland cornet player from Chicago who was 11 years her senior.

♪ The two musicians fell in love, and in 1945, they were married at a military base in Germany.

As the couple played gigs in Europe before and after VE Day, Marian got her first taste of playing ensemble jazz and some tips from her new husband.

(Jimmy McPartland) When you're playing, just hold it steady.

Don't get excited.

Jazz has got to get a good beat, It's got to swing.

>> Yeah.

It's got to swing or else forget it.

(narrator) Marian and Jimmy returned to a new American landscape exploding with jazz talent.

♪ (Marian McPartland) When Jimmy and I arrived in New York, it was all I could do to not go racing around to all the clubs to see the people that I heard about so much... Louis Armstrong, a friend of Jimmy's from childhood, and Mary Lou, and, oh, everybody.

(narrator) Jimmy McPartland's English bride was quite a novelty as they played in Jimmy's hometown of Chicago, as well as in Boston and Philadelphia, finally settling in Manhattan for good in 1949.

♪ Because there was already a jazz artist named Marian Page in New York, there was one final name change.

♪ Marian McPartland was a true minority in the jazz world of the '50s- English, White, and female-- and she heard it said more than once, "You play like a man."

(McPartland) I guess years ago, I was so happy to get what I thought was a compliment, I just would be pleased.

But then afterwards, I started to think, Gosh, does that mean they think I'm very forceful and strong?

Maybe there's something not too complimentary there.

But gradually people stopped saying that.

The other one was, "You play good for a girl."

That's another one.

But those things seemed to have gone away.

Nobody... but there may be somebody thinking it, but they don't say it any more.

I mean, when you think of Lil Armstrong, Lovie Austin, all the people who were such wonderful players years ago and the bands, like the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, I'm happy that they have been able to come into their own, and there will be more women musicians coming up continually.

♪ (narrator) Marian and Jimmy divorced in 1970, but they continued to work together, remained friends, and eventually remarried.

♪ ♪ From 1952 to 1960, Marian McPartland led a trio at the Hickory House on Manhattan's legendary 52nd Street.

♪ The pianist grew in stature among legions of jazz fans and among her peers.

♪ On any given night, those in attendance to hear her play might include Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Steve Allen, Oscar Peterson, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw.

♪ (McPartland) Duke would, once in a while, get up and play with my trio.

He was really a mentor to me in many ways.

♪ (narrator) The 1954-through-1956 edition of Marian's combo included Bill Crow and Joe Morello.

♪ McPartland's style during this time moved from traditional to modern jazz.

She made a careful study of artists such as Thelonious Monk and Dave Brubeck and hung out after hours at Charlie Parker's Birdland- the Jazz Corner of the World-- and other New York clubs.

♪ She honed her extensive repertoire and was acclaimed by all as a superb interpreter and forceful improviser.

It was said that she never played a song the same way twice.

♪ (McPartland) If you're playing jazz, I think it's... at least from my thinking, you're supposed to try to do it in a fresh, new way every time.

But of course, that's hard to do.

You do tend to drop into certain habits and cliches.

I like to change key a lot so I can get away from that.

So in a way, I think I'm happy that I haven't fallen into some really... well-known style.

This way, I can keep changing around and jumping from place to place.

♪ ["Twilight World"] (narrator) In addition to playing music by other composers, Marian wrote many songs which have became jazz standards, such as "Twilight World," "With You in Mind," "In the Days of Our Love," and "Ambience."

♪ In 1958, Marian was invited to participate in the now famous "Great Day in Harlem" photo shoot for "Esquire" magazine.

♪ (McPartland) Actually, I was at the Hickory House, and Nat Hentoff came by in a great hurry and said, "There's going to be a wonderful photograph "taken in Harlem tomorrow, and if you want to be there, you've got to be at 125th"-- whatever it was; I forget the address-- "But you've got to be there at 10:00."

♪ Well... that wasn't a very good hour.

[laughter] Some musicians were heard to say that they didn't know there were two ten o'clocks.

[laughter] (narrator) Marian McPartland had truly paid her dues.

In spite of being English, white, and female, she was now a shining star in the world of jazz.

(music fades) (Elvis) ♪ You ain't nothin' but a hound dog, ♪ ♪ cryin' all the time.

♪♪♪ (narrator) With the emergence of rock and roll in the 1950s, jazz surrendered a lot of its audience.

That's when Marian became an advocate for jazz in the schools.

(McPartland) When I started playing in a school in the 1950s, and I asked for requests from the kids, one kid hollered out, "You Ain't Nothin' but a Hound Dog"!

(host laughs) And I thought, My goodness, if this is all they listen to, I should try to let them know there's Duke Ellington and Coleman Hawkins and Count Basie and all the other great jazz people.

♪ I would say to anybody that can play an instrument, you can have somebody teach you certain aspects of jazz, and then if you're motivated enough, you can go on and discover more for yourself.

I suppose part of it's a selfish reason.

I mean, it's our new audience coming up, and I really feel that they should be exposed to jazz in the same way as they are to ballet and opera.

I mean, for kids these are considered obligatory outings because it's cultural, but so is a jazz concert.

So if they don't take them out to a jazz concert, I'd just assume, bring one into the school.

Could you guys call out some notes for me?

(students) C... A flat.

B... G... E. (McPartland) Oh!

[laughter] ♪ (McPartland) C, A flat, B, G, E. ♪ [playing improvised song] (narrator) Jazz education has been an important aspect of Marian McPartland's life ever since.

♪ ♪ (narrator) Another way Marian extended her musical influence was by performing with orchestras in concert halls.

>> For a while, I was doing some classical things.

I was doing "Rhapsody in Blue" as part of my program, or I would do the Grieg concerto.

But I have other things, like Gershwin, Duke Ellington, and some pieces of my own arranged for symphony orchestra.

♪ (narrator) Her interest in larger performing venues continued.

In 2007, McPartland premiered her "Portrait of Rachel Carson" with the University of South Carolina Orchestra.

This symphonic piece pays tribute to the author who jump-started the environmental movement in 1962 with her book, "Silent Spring."

♪ In the '60s and '70s, Marian advanced the cause of jazz by starting her own record label and writing music reviews.

♪ All of this prepared her to become the host of "Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz," a radio program developed and produced by South Carolina Educational Radio that has been heard on NPR since April 1979, with over 700 shows reaching listeners worldwide.

♪ (McPartland) Alec Wilder had an extremely successful series, "American Popular Song," and that ended, and I think, a few people-- I don't know who exactly-- were sort of thinking it'd be nice to have something to follow that.

So the easiest--and possibly the least expensive, too-- thing that we could think of to do was two pianos, something which I considered myself pretty good at.

♪ (narrator) Marian had played with most of the jazz greats.

(McPartland) I could think of ten people I wanted right off the bat-- bang, bang, bang-- you know, Hazel Scott, Mary Lou, Bill Evans, George Shearing, Oscar Peterson, and John Lewis and so on.

The list was never ending.

Play, another blues in another key.

What's your favorite key?

(Williams) It doesn't matter.

It's according to what mood I'm in.

(McPartland) What mood are you in now?

Are you in a B-flat mood, or are you in a D-flat mood?

(Williams) I don't know.

I could just be flat, period.

(laughs) ♪ (McPartland) When I started, I thought it was just going to be 13 shows and that's it.

All of a sudden, they say, "We want you to do another one," and time went on, and another one and another one.

It's got to the point now where, if I didn't do it, it would be terrible!

♪ (narrator) Very quickly, the series became a favorite with listeners and a desired destination for every important jazz artist.

"Piano Jazz" was a perfect fit for Marian's conversational skills and ability to complement the guest musically.

♪ ♪ ♪ (McPartland, voice-over) I was very nervous, and that's one of the things I think I've learned, was a skill in interviewing, although I had, had a- like a disc jockey show on another station years before, which I guess got me started.

♪ You're not, quote, "on."

You know you can just sit there and be relaxed, try and be natural, or, actually, as being natural as I can.

And the thing is, I am really interested in the other person.

>> You know I was thinking about "A Child Is Born."

Would you like to play that?

(McPartland) I'd love to.

(Mulgrew) Yeah, let's play that.

(McPartland) I know how I'd feel if I was sitting there.

I like to make them feel as good as possible.

But then sometimes, to sit there and play a solo as I do on the show, I play two or three solos myself- to have to sit there to play a solo while somebody like Oscar Peterson is watching me, you know, that's not my favorite moment.

But it has so it's taught me to think up a lot of tunes, how to play them, and how to... really simply relax about a thing like that.

♪ What makes a good show?

Well, a mixture of things.

If you get a guest that talks, that will be a good conversationalist, I mean, the one with Clint was good because he talked, and I played his pieces, and everything went very smoothly.

♪ (Narrator) South Carolina native Dizzy Gillespie was a memorable guest.

(McPartland) Having Dizzy was a great experience for me.

He's such a funny guy and such a sweet guy.

I did write a great piece for him...really nice.

(narrator) Marian is known for composing musical portraits of her guests.

(McPartland) Well, it's funny because it started with Chick Corea years ago, and he said, um, "I've decided I'm going to do a musical portrait of you."

(Chick Corea) I'm not gonna use words.

I'll just try a sound portrait.

I hear a melody.

(McPartland) Please keep my nose out of this picture.

(Corea) No nose.

This is about you, not your nose.

♪ (McPartland) So he played a... a really nice piece, and I'd never thought of such an idea.

And I said, "Well, maybe I should return the compliment and try to play a portrait of you," which I did.

♪ And that gave me the idea of doing that for certain guests.

You know what I'd like to do, and maybe this is taking a chance, but that is to do a kind of improvised portrait of you right now.

(Brubeck) I'll bet you don't know what you're gonna do.

(McPartland) I haven't the faintest idea.

(audience laughter) (Brubeck) But that's great!

(McPartland) I just hope that it'll, it'll, um... please you, that you'll like it.

(Brubeck) Already I'm pleased!

(McPartland) All right, here goes.

♪ ♪ (narrator) Far from being exclusive, Marian enjoys inviting up-and-coming young musicians to be on the show.

(McPartland) Hi, I'm Marian McPartland, and my guest today on "Piano Jazz" is pianist/composer Julian Waterfall Pollack, a young man, and I do mean young.

♪ ♪ (McPartland) Yeah!

(Ray Charles) ♪ Am I blue?

♪ (McPartland) Okay, okay, in that key?

♪ (Charles) ♪ Am I blue?

♪ (narrator) And Marian includes all types of jazz in her programs.

(Charles) ♪ Ain't these tears in these eyes ♪ ♪ ♪ tellin' you, baby?

♪ ♪ (McPartland, voice-over) I know that there are so many different kinds of fans out there, some who like more traditional music, and we have somebody for them, like Norma Teagarden or Jess Stacy, somebody who loves Bill Evans.

We were fortunate enough to have Bill Evans before he passed away.

(Bill Evans) Now we've got to get back to C... see what's dominant ♪ [piano music] ♪ [piano music] ♪ (McPartland) I suppose I'm probably the all-time Bill Evans fan of the world.

That's not to say that I don't enjoy and appreciate other styles.

I mean, you know, there's so much in music, and there's so much that's different in all these people.

To be able to absorb some of it myself, you know, it's really an education for me.

(Tony Bennett) ♪ When skies are cloudy and gray, ♪ ♪ ♪ they're only gray for a day... ♪♪♪ (narrator) Marian has hosted many non-piano players, such as Tony Bennett, Lionel Hampton, and Nnenna Freelon.

(McPartland) What key do you do it in?

(silence) Oh, you're playing it in the right key.

>> In D?

(McPartland) D...yeah.

♪ ♪ (narrator) Later, she branched out to include artists who are not usually associated with jazz but count it as one of their primary influences.

(Elvis Costello) ♪ ...they're only made of clay, ♪ ♪ but our love ♪ ♪ is here... ♪ ♪ to... ♪ ♪ stay.

♪ ♪ (song ends) ♪ ["There Will Never Be Another You"] ♪ (narrator) Marian celebrated the 25th anniversary of "Piano Jazz" with a live taping at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on June 4, 2004, with special guest Peter Cincotti... ♪ and her 90th birthday with a special "Piano Jazz" at Lincoln Center.

(Bill Clinton) Marian McPartland, as you all know, plays improvisational jazz piano and has now been playing it quite wonderfully for over seven decades... [laughter] with just as much energy and enthusiasm-- I should not have said that!

I should have... [laughter] I should...

I had the chart here.

That's the part where I should have ad-libbed, but I didn't.

[laughter] ♪ (song fades) ♪ (narrator) Accolades followed Marian McPartland wherever she goes.

"Piano Jazz" earned the coveted Peabody Award, and Marian received a Special Merit Award at the Grammys.

She even is an Officer of the British Empire.

Presenter> This is in recognition of the valuable services rendered to jazz and aspiring musicians in the U.S.A. that Her Majesty the Queen has appointed you, Marian to be an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

And I conclude by saying, It is with great, great pleasure that on Her Majesty's behalf, and her instructions I present you with the badge of the Order.

May I congratulate you on this well deserved honor.

[applause] [applause] (silence) ♪ (narrator) Marian McPartland's contribution to the world of jazz is unfathomable.

From her beginnings as an obscure English piano player, not only did she master the art, but took jazz to new heights and became its biggest activist.

♪ Marian is recognized and appreciated for her knowledge and skills in presenting one of America's greatest art forms, jazz, to anyone who listens.

♪ (Brubeck) What you have to do is say your name in this rhythm: ♪ Mar-i-an Mc-Part-land.

♪ (audience) ♪ Mar-i-an Mc-Part-land.

♪♪♪ ♪ ♪ Captioned by: CompuScripts Captioning ♪ ♪ (silence) [applause]