Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz

[peter rh]

I thought Marian's regular programme merited a thread of it's own - I only wished I could listen.
Future programme :
December 9
Sue Mingus and Boris Kazlov
Celebrating the life and music of the late bassist and avant garde composer, Charles Mingus, Piano Jazz welcomes his widow, Sue Mingus. A prolific composer, Mingus wrote over three hundred scores and recorded over one hundred albums. His technical command of his instrument set the standard for the avant-garde scene, while his forceful stage presence was a testament to his passion for the music. In the late '70s, Mingus was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease and was confined to a wheel chair. He continued composing, however, singing his last works into a tape recorder. Carrying her husband's flame, Sue Mingus continues to manage the Grammy-nominated Charles Mingus Big Band. Featured Songs: "Good Bye Pork Pie Hat" and "Portrait of Charles Mingus"
All the usual links at :
http://www.npr.org/programs/pianojazz/

[Bev Stapleton]

Boris Kazlov is a marvellous player. I've seen him a couple of times open with a lengthy solo for the Mingus Big Band. Very impressive.

[peter rh]

NPR is avaible worldwide (particularly in Europe) by satellite/cable
and digital radio.To check methods for your own country see :
http://www.npr.org/worldwide/carriage.html
(might be a good excuse to buy a digital radio ;) )

[jazzcritic]

Concord Jazz issued around 32 Piano Jazz programs before temporarily halting their release. Many of these titles are now out of print, though they've reissued a few of them under different covers with the guest's name more prominent, probably in hopes that CD stores will merchandise them under the guest's bin rather than McPartland's.

When will they ever get around to issuing Gerry Mulligan (who sticks to piano throughout the show)?

[peter rh]

I think there were about 7 reissues done in 2002/3 - Bill Evans -
Oscar Peterson - Chick Corea - Carmen McRae - Dizzy -Dave Brubeck and Rosemary Clooney.All still available(as far as I know)
on The Jazz Alliance (Concord) label
I'd love to see the Lee Konitz reissued

[peter rh]

The Piano Jazz show featuring Mary Lou Williams as guest, is due
for reissue (in UK) on Feb. 10th - I assume it will also be available
elsewhere

[peter rh]

AAJ interview - Marian McPartland at 86
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=14191

[xricci]

peter, thanks for posting the link. :)

[peter rh]

I can't imagine Marian being very difficult to interview (no disrespect to
Lazaro Vega ). She seems to be able to express herself without any fancy
musicians language, whether talking about the past or present jazz world.
I guess it also helps when you get to an age where you are not interested
in impressing people. :)

[tkeables]

Concord has a sale of its existing Piano Jazz CD catalog for $9.95 through 7/31/04. See www.concordrecords.com for details.

[peter rh]

Anyone checking the Concord website might find it "not user friendly".
In order to find Marian's discs you need to follow the link from labels -Jazz
Alliance (although they all not all JA)- then M McP -list of cds. They don't
show up on 18 pages of Jazz sale items in the web store links!

[jazzcritic]

I can vouch that Marian McPartland is a very satisfying interview subject, but I imagine she would have been for those who talked to her during her long running gig at the Hickory House decades ago. I've interviewed her on a number of occasions over the years, and I'm always learning new things and laughing along with her. But its the times chatting with her before or after the concert and informally on the phone when I sometimes wish I had a tape recorder running! What a great sense of humor!

Of course, most jazz artists are easy to interview provided that you do your homework ahead of time, don't pepper your subject with the same old tired questions, yet take time to follow up on unexpected subjects that pop up in conversation. We had a local talk radio bozo (not a true jazz fan) who called up Dave Brubeck early one morning and managed to get the hotel to patch him through at an horribly early hour. The sleepy artist (who had been up late working the night before) was not forewarned, yet agreed to answer a question or two, not realizing his conversation was being broadcast live. After the usual inane and overly long focus on "Take Five," Brubeck replied "Why don't you ask me about an album other than 'Time Out?' I've done a hundred albums since then. I can only imagine Marian's reply to such a call....

[peter rh]

from Jazz Times -
Berklee Honors McPartland With Doctorate
Date: January 18, 2005
Written By: Emily Zemler

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Berklee College of Music President Roger H. Brown bestowed an honorary doctorate of music degree upon 86-year-old jazz pianist and composer Marian McPartland (pictured) at the Berklee Performance Center on January 11, 2005. McPartland, best known as the host of NPR’s longest-running cultural series, “Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz,” was in town to address faculty at the annual Berklee Teachers on Teaching conference. McPartland told stores about her long life in jazz, including anecdotes about her friends Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.
“I know so many people from Berklee that to receive this honor is beyond belief,” she said in her acceptance remarks.

McPartland followed the award by performing a piano duet with Berklee professor Bob Winter.
©1999-2005 JazzTimes, Inc. All rights reserved.
http://jazztimes.com/columns_and_features/news/detail.cfm?article=10292

[FabJazz]

I love Marian. My favorite Marian quote: "No, I never had any children, but I had drummers and bassists!"

[jazzcritic]

My favorte Marian McPartland quote comes from a pre-concert soundcheck last year, when Baldwin provided her with a very substandard sounding baby grand: "This piano doesn't have any BALLS!"

[peter rh]

Concord new release on March 15th (from last years birthday celebration)
Anybody have more details ?

[jazzcritic]

Two CDs worth of material from the event were broadcast on NPR awhile back, though I'm sure not everying played that evening was aired. I would guess that quite a few of the vocal guests will appear, along with pianists and other instrumentalists. No final word on the tracks selected from Concord. They originally planned its release for last September, then postponed it.

[jazzcritic]

News flash: I just received the Marian McPartland's 85th Birthday Bash, which is titled 85 Candles - Live in New York. It will be issued by Concord on March 15th. I haven't taken the opportunity to compare the selections to the one in the broadcast, but it looks like they included a lot of the best stuff. Guests include: Karrin Allyson, Regina Carter, Bill Charlap, Ravi Coltrane, Jon Faddis, Jim Hall, Roy Hargrove, Nnenna Freelon, Norah Jones, Jackie King, Jason Moran, Chris Potter, Curtis Stigers, Dr. Billy Tyalro, Phil Woods and others.
It is a 2 CD set.