MARIAN Mcpartland, JAZZ PIANIST: an OVERVIEW of a MUSICAL CAREER
MARIAN McPARTLAND, JAZZ PIANIST: AN OVERVIEW OF A MUSICAL CAREER
By CLARE HANSSON BA (UQ), MFA (QUT) Associate of the Trinity College of London Licentiate of the Trinity College of London
A Thesis submitted for the Award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy - 2006
Creative Industries Faculty (Music Discipline) Queensland University of Technology, Australia
© Clare Hansson, 2006
KEYWORDS
• Marian McPartland (1918 - )
• Marian Page (early stage name)
• Margaret Marian Turner (maiden name)
• American Jazz History (1946 - 2005)
• Biography
• Discography
• Halcyon Records – Jazz Recording Company
• Halcyon Music – Music Publishing Company
• Jazz Advocacy
• Jazz Analysis
• Jazz Broadcasting
• Jazz Composition
• Jazz Education
• Jazz Entrepreneurship
• Jazz Journalism
• Jazz Performance
• Jazz Recording
• Piano Jazz Radio Program
• Web-Based Resource
i ABSTRACT
This, the first study at doctoral level of any white female jazz instrumentalist, provides an overview to the long, active and enduring musical career of British-born, New York-based jazz pianist, Marian McPartland (born 1918). For over six decades, besides being a pianist and a composer, she has been prominent in the professional roles of educator, writer, record producer and recording artist, radio broadcaster and advocate. The scope and impact of this multi-layered career are conveyed through the medium of a Website profiling significant aspects of her professional life through textual, aural and visual presentation. Although not claiming to be exhaustive, this Website brings together a comprehensive collection of data covering all aspects of Marian McPartland’s career. Data have been gathered and collated from material in the public domain, and all such sources are acknowledged and referenced.
The Website is navigable through three links at the bottom of the Home Page – 1) Historical Perspective; 2) Selected Analyses; and 3) Marian McPartland In Context. Part One of the Website provides access to Marian McPartland’s various professional roles in jazz, as well as public profiles, and is consolidated by listings of support material. Part Two of the Website contains formal analyses of four of her compositions, each preceded by a short introduction. The analyses are based on scores transcribed from her recorded improvisations. A discussion of her stylistic approach follows the analyses. Part Three of the Website contextualizes Marian McPartland as a woman in jazz during its major historical and stylistic movements.
An Introduction and a Conclusion provide the academic framework for this study. The Introduction outlines the rationale for the study, the dimensions of the study, the methodologies used, and the research process. The Conclusion provides critical commentary on Marian McPartland’s musical career, and deductions are made about her significance in and contribution to jazz, based on the evidence presented in the Website. A CD of the entire Website completes the presentation of this thesis, included under Supplementary Material in the back pocket of the thesis. This overview of Marian McPartland’s entire career makes an original contribution to knowledge on this jazz artist, and, in a broader sense, provides an important resource for future research in the area of jazz music and musicians.
ii TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page
Keywords…………………………………………………………………………i Abstract…………………………………………………….…………………….ii Table of Contents……………………………………………...………………...iii List of Illustrations: Examples: Excerpts of Scores Used for Analysis...... ……...vi Photographs, Art Work……………………………...……………………....viii List of Supplementary Material One CD of Website….………………………………………………….…....xv List of Abbreviations and Acronyms.……………………….…...... …...……xvi Statement of Original Authorship ……………………………...…………… xlii Acknowledgments ………………………………………….…………………xliii Introduction and Conclusion to the Thesis ………………………….…..1 – 30 Appendix 1: List of Publications by Clare Hansson
Bound Volume and Website This manuscript provides the academic content of the Thesis. The Website on Marian McPartland’s career is presented on CD – launched by double clicking on ‘index.htm’
WEBSITE HOME PAGE Index and Navigation Pages – no page numbering 1. Historical Perspective Meet Marian McPartland: 'That First Fine Careless Rapture' Pianist - 1950s: 'Reigning Jazz Queen Of 52nd Street’ Pianist - 1960s: ‘To Benny And Back’ Pianist - 1970s: ‘All The Things You Are’ Pianist - 1980s: ‘Festivals, Symphony Orchestras, Book - All In Good Time’ Pianist - 1990s: ‘A Lifetime Achievement’ Pianist - 2000+: ‘Sophisticated Lady’
iii TABLE OF CONTENTS continued Title
Historical Perspective (cont’d) Educator - 1960s: ‘Jazz Goes To Grade School’ Educator - 1970s: ‘I Was Indignant That Rock Reigned Supreme’ Educator - 1980s+: ‘I Never Thought Of Myself As A Teacher’
Writer 1949 – 2003: 'Penning The Sound Of Jazz’
Recording Artist: Other Labels 1946 – 1969 - ‘Early Recordings’ Recording Artist: 1970+ Founder Of Halcyon Label - 'The Halcyon Years' Recording Artist: 1978 – 2005 - 'The Concord Years'
Radio Program: Piano Jazz ‘The First Decade’ Radio Program: Piano Jazz ‘The Second Decade' Radio Program: Piano Jazz ‘The Show Must Go On'
Public Profiles: Awards 'Contributions Rewarded' Public Profiles: Reviews ‘A Sense Of Jazz History’ Public Profiles: A Great Day In Harlem - 'Two Ten O'Clocks In One Day?’ Public Profiles: Advocate ‘Everybody Needs Encouragement’
Sources: Compositions: The Process Sources: List Of Sources: Marian McPartland's Writings, Liner Notes by Marian McPartland, References, Internet Articles Sources: Discography: Early Labels, Halcyon, Other, TJA, Concord, NPR, Miscellaneous Sources: Website Music Table File name, CD Title, Title of Sound Sample
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS continued Title
2. Selected Analyses: Compositions & Analyses Index and Navigation Pages Composition - #1: ‘Willow Creek’ About ‘Willow Creek’ Formal Analysis Score Composition - #2: ‘Kaleidoscope’ About ‘Kaleidoscope’ Formal Analysis Score Composition - #3: ‘Twilight World’ About ‘Twilight World’ Formal Analysis Score Composition - #4: ‘Threnody’ About ‘Threnody’ Formal Analysis Score A Discussion of Marian McPartland’s Style: ‘I Don’t Really Feel As If I Ever Really Got A Style Of My Own’
3. Marian McPartland in Context: ‘Marian McPartland In The Context Of Jazz And Women In Jazz In America – 1946 To The Present’
v LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
EXAMPLES: EXCERPTS OF SCORES USED FOR ANALYSIS
• Title of Section
Example Number Example Title
• Formal Analysis: ‘Willow Creek’:
Example 1: Bars 10-17 of ‘Willow Creek’ Example 2: Bars 18-25 of ‘Willow Creek’ Example 3: Bars 41-49 of ‘Willow Creek’ Example 4: Bars 1-9 of ‘Willow Creek’
• Formal Analysis: ‘Kaleidoscope’:
Example 5: Bars 1-4 of ‘Kaleidoscope’ Example 6: Bars 5-16 of ‘Kaleidoscope’ Example 7: Bars 21-24 of ‘Kaleidoscope’ Example 8: Bars 102-106 of ‘Kaleidoscope’ Example 9: Bars 115-120 of ‘Kaleidoscope’
• Formal Analysis: ‘Twilight World’:
Example 10: Bars 11-12 of ‘Twilight World’ Example 11: Bars 13-18 of ‘Twilight World’ Example 12: Bars 27-34 of ‘Twilight World’ Example 13: Bars 34-42 of ‘Twilight World’ Example 14: Bars 11-12 of ‘Twilight World’ Example 15: Bars 54-61 of ‘Twilight World’ Example 16: Bars 71-78 of ‘Twilight World’
vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
EXAMPLES: EXCERPTS OF SCORES USED FOR ANALYSIS continued
• Title of Section
Example Number Example Title
• Formal Analysis: ‘Threnody’:
Example 17: Bars 9-16 of ‘Threnody’ Example 18: Bars 16-20 of ‘Threnody’ Example 19: Bars 21-24 of ‘Threnody ’ Example 20: Bars 41-56 of ‘Threnody’ – Improvised Chorus
• A Discussion of Marian McPartland’s Style: Example 21: Main Motif – ‘Willow Creek’ Example 22: Main Motif –‘Twilight World’ Example 23: Main Motifs – ‘Kaleidoscope’ Example 24: Phrase One – ‘Threnody’ Example 25: Phrase Three – ‘Threnody’
vii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PHOTOGRAPHS, ART WORK
All photographs reproduced with the permission of Marian McPartland and subject to approval by the copyright holders.
• Title of Section Photograph Title
• Introduction to the Web Site Home Page Marian McPartland, 1999, outdoor shot for Baldwin Revue, New York, Baldwin Piano Company, vol. 2, no. 3, photographer James Salzano
• Banner for Each Web Site Frame Marian McPartland, 1950s, head shot, photo Savoy Jazz Archive
• Historical Perspective Main Frame Marian McPartland, 2000, photographer Ronald Heard
• Historical Perspective 1918-1949 Meet Marian McPartland 'That First Fine Careless Rapture'
Marian And Jimmy McPartland, ca 1945, During World War II, courtesy of the collection of author Max Jones, published in Talking Jazz, 1987, London: Papermac, photographer unnamed
• Historical Perspective Pianist - 1950s ‘Reigning Jazz Queen Of 52nd Street’
Marian McPartland, 1950s, At The Hickory House, photo Savoy Jazz Archive
viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PHOTOGRAPHS, ART WORK continued
• Title of Section Photograph Title
• Historical Perspective Pianist - 1960s ‘To Benny And Back’
Jimmy McPartland and Marian McPartland, photo from Simitar Entertainment Inc CD cover 1998, Jimmy And Marian McPartland: Thanks For Dropping By’, reissue of 1960 Design Compatible Fidelity (Pickwick Communications Inc 1960, 1968), cover photo Marian (Savoy Jazz Archives) Jimmy (photographer unnamed)
• Historical Perspective Pianist - 1970s ‘All The Things You Are’
Marian McPartland, 1979, from ‘A Song I Can See’ – Great Women In Jazz, Color Portraits for a Calendar by photographer Barbara Bordnick
• Historical Perspective Pianist - 1980s ‘Festivals, Symphony Orchestras – Book, All In Good Time’ Marian McPartland, 1987, front cover of Jazz Journal International, March, vol. 40, no. 3, photographer, David Redfern
• Historical Perspective Pianist - 1990s ‘A Lifetime Achievement’
Marian McPartland, 2000, Down Beat Magazine, May, vol. 67, no. 5, page 46, photographer Ronald Heard
• Historical Perspective Pianist - 2000s ‘Sophisticated Lady’
Marian McPartland, 1997, front cover JazzTimes Magazine, October, vol. 27, no. 8, Silver Spring, MD, Jazz Times Inc, photographer Gene Martin
ix LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PHOTOGRAPHS, ART WORK continued
• Title of Section Photograph Title
• Historical Perspective Educator - 1960s 'Jazz Goes To Grade School'
Marian McPartland, 'Jazz Goes To Grade School' written by Marian McPartland for Down Beat magazine, September 28, 1961, reprinted in Down Beat July 1994, page 70, photograph attributed to ‘Popsie’, and Marian McPartland With Eastman School Students, The Times Union, November 1, 1972, photographer unnamed
• Historical Perspective Educator - 1970s ‘I Was Indignant That Rock Reigned Supreme’ Marian McPartland - Jazz Classroom Marian McPartland with Third and Fourth Graders at P.S. 59, Manhattan, People Weekly, January 13, 1975, page 67, photographer Joel Yale
• Historical Perspective Educator - 1980s+ ‘I Never Thought Of Myself As A Teacher’ National Endowment For The Arts Chairman Bill Levy with 2000 Jazz Masters Awards Honorees David Baker, Donald Byrd And Marian McPartland, Jazz Educators Journal, July 2000, vol. 23, no. 1, page 11, photographer unnamed
• Historical Perspective Writer 1949 – 2002 'Penning The Sound Of Jazz’
Two cover photos of Marian McPartland for her book first published in 1987 then revised and updated in 2003, a compilation of articles, reminiscences and anecdotes: All In Good Time, 1987, New York: Oxford University Press, photographer Barbara Bordnick; and Marian McPartland’s World Of Jazz: All In Good Time, 2003, Chicago: University of Illinois Press, photographer Barbara Bordnick
x LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PHOTOGRAPHS, ART WORK continued
• Title of Section Photograph Title
• Historical Perspective Recording Artist 1946 – 1969 ‘Early Recordings’ Two CD Covers: Timeless: Marian McPartland, 2002, Savoy Jazz reissue of 1953 recording, portrait of Marian McPartland by artist Miguel Angel Reyes
Marian McPartland: On 52nd Street, 2000, Savoy Jazz reissue of 1953 recording, photo of Marian McPartland from Savoy Jazz Archive, photographer unnamed
• Historical Perspective Recording Artist / 1970+ 'The Halcyon Years’ Founder of Halcyon Label Four LP or CD covers: Interplay: Marian McPartland, 1969, with bassist Linc Milliman, Halcyon Records, photographer DePaolo & Janson Associates
Marian McPartland: Ambiance, 1970, with bassist Michael Moore and drummer Billy Hart, Halcyon Records, photographer Brad Bliss
Marian McPartland: Plays The Music Of Alec Wilder, 1992, The Jazz Alliance reissue of 1973 Halcyon recording, photo montage, photographer unnamed
Elegant Piano: Teddy Wilson And Marian McPartland, ca 1972, released on Halcyon Records, later on Australian Swaggie label, photographer Brad Bliss
xi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PHOTOGRAPHS, ART WORK continued
• Title of Section Photograph Title
• Historical Perspective Recording Artist 1978 – 2005 'The Concord Years’ Four LP or CD covers of Concord Releases: Marian McPartland and Piano, 1999, photo for Concord Records CD cover of Marian McPartland’s Hickory House Trio: Reprise, photographer Gene Martin
Mary Lou Williams and Marian McPartland, 1994, portrait for Concord Jazz CD cover of Marian McPartland: Plays The Music Of Mary Lou Williams, painting by artist Sylvia Rogers
Marian McPartland: From This Moment On, 1979, with bassist Brian Torff and drummer Jake Hanna, Concord Jazz, LP cover photo David Fischer
Marian McPartland, 1991, photo for Concord Jazz CD cover of Marian McPartland: Live At Maybeck Recital Hall Volume Nine, photographer James Gudeman
• Historical Perspective Radio Program Piano Jazz ‘The First Decade’ 1978 On
Keyboard and Hands, 1985, Brochure cover of Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz National Public Radio Series Broadcast Tapes presented by South Carolina Educational Radio Network to Rodgers & Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound, The New York Public Library, Lincoln Center, photo SCETV Archive
xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PHOTOGRAPHS, ART WORK continued
• Title of Section Photograph Title
• Historical Perspective Radio Program Piano Jazz ‘The Second Decade’ 1986 On Pen and Ink Sketch for Friday Review, Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz With Guest Bill Evans, The Jazz Alliance, Original recording 1978, re-release 2002, artist unnamed
• Historical Perspective Radio Program Piano Jazz ‘The Show Must Go On’ 1990 On Close up of Keyboard, CD cover for Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz With Guest Carmen McRae, The Jazz Alliance, Original recording 1985, re-release 2002, cover design Andrea R. Nelson
• Public Profile Awards 'Contributions Rewarded’
Marian McPartland, with Derek E. Gordon, Kennedy Center Vice President for Education and Jazz Programming, and Dr. Billy Taylor, receiving the 2000 ‘Mary Lou Williams Women In Jazz Award’, Jazz Educators Journal, July 2000, vol. 23, no. 1, page 15, photographer unnamed
• Public Profile Reviews ‘A Sense Of Jazz History’
Marian And Jimmy McPartland, ca 1945, During World War II, courtesy of the collection of author Max Jones, published in Talking Jazz, 1987, London: Papermac, photographer unnamed
xiii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PHOTOGRAPHS, ART WORK continued
• Title of Section Photograph Title
• Public Profile A Great Day In Harlem 'Two Ten O'Clocks In One Day?' A Great Day In Harlem, at 17 West 126th Street, New York August 12, 1958, Art Kane photographer, taken for the centerfold of Esquire’s January 1959 issue - The Golden Age Of Jazz
A Great Day In Harlem, survivors February 1996, Gordon Parks photographer, taken for February 1996 issue of Life Magazine to recreate history with the surviving 11 of the original 57 musicians in the original 1958 photograph
A Great Day In Harlem, re-enacted February 1996, Joe McNally photographer, Life Magazine invited 80 jazz musicians to pose, 156 showed up
• Public Profile Advocate ‘Everybody Needs Encouragement’ Marian McPartland, 2000, ‘Three Jazz Jewels’, front cover of Piano & Keyboard, no. 202, January/February, San Anselmo, CA, Sparrow Hawk Press, photographer Barbara Bordnick
• Sources Compositions The Process Marian McPartland with Baldwin Piano (circa 1990), photo courtesy of Marian McPartland, photographer unnamed
• Compositions and Analyses Marian McPartland, 1961, Jazz In Black & White: The Photographs Of Duncan Schiedt, Indiana University Press: Bloomington and Indianapolis, 2004, photographer Duncan Schiedt
xiv LIST OF SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL NOT FORMING PART OF THE BOUND TEXT
Title Location
Marian McPartland, Jazz Pianist: An Overview Of A Musical Career
CD of Website……………..…….………………………Back Pocket
xv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
Acronym/ Abbreviation Meaning
ARP American Association of Retired Persons is an organization for mature adults 50 and above in the United States
AARP Bulletin American Association of Retired Persons Bulletin serves the needs and interests of people 50 and over with topics including health, money, food, family, Medicare, entertainment and retirement
ABC (USA) American Broadcasting Company, US radio and TV network. NBC Blue radio network was purchased from RCA in 1943 by Edward J. Noble, ‘Life Savers’ candy magnate. The network became the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in 1946 when Mr. Noble purchased the name from broadcaster George Storer. Today the ABC network is owned by The Walt Disney Company
ABC (AUS) Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster in Australia. The ABC commenced operation in 1932 as a collection of 12 radio stations operating as the Australian Broadcasting Commission, but changed its name to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1983. It is government-funded and run by a government-appointed board, but programming and editorial decisions are made at arm’s length from the government of the day. Despite government funding, the ABC is largely independent. It has influenced many aspects of the national culture through its radio and television programming. Ten programs of Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz were broadcast on ABC (AUS) in 1986
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A & E Television Arts and Entertainment Network (USA)
AETN A & E Television Networks (AETN), a joint venture of the Hearst Corporation, ABC Inc., and NBC, is an international media company involved in television programming, magazine publishing, web sites, music CDs, home videos/DVDs, as well as supporting nationwide educational initiatives. AETN is comprised of A & E Network, The History Channel, The Biography Channel, History International and AETN Enterprises
AFM American Federation of Musicians is a labor union of professional musicians in the United States and Canada founded in 1896, taking over from an older organization of local musicians’ unions, the National League of Musicians. One of the most famous actions by the AFM was a ban on all commercial recording by members in the 1940s in order to pressure record companies to make a better arrangement for paying royalties to recording artists
AGSM Associate of the Guildhall School of Music, City of London, United Kingdom. AGSM is one of Marian McPartland’s professional qualifications, awarded 1938
A & R Artist and Repertoire. Within the music industry, record company A & R staff are often labeled as people who are only looking for sales figures and have little real interest in the actual product. However, A & R managers actually develop ‘career artists’ and are responsible for the songs (repertoire) of the artist in order to convince the label to invest in the artist. They are responsible for maintaining excellent relations and communication between the artist and the label. Traditionally, an A & R Manager was purely responsible for the recording
xvii portion of a musician’s career, and would generally come from a Production background, thus producing recordings in studio as well as helping with sequencing and remixing. This still happens in some parts of the world. Today, it is an all- encompassing position which can involve overseeing an entire project from working with label managers on marketing to taking part in promotions and sales set-up. Ways of finding acts are through word of mouth from other artists, talking to managers, booking agents, publishers and checking out live gigs. In the past a traditional way of approaching a record company would be sending through a demo tape or CD. These days it is difficult to get companies to accept ‘unsolicited’ material, ie, anything that hasn't been formally requested
ASCAP American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Founded on February 13, 1914, by a group of prominent, visionary music creators. For songwriters and composers, this monumental event would forever change music history. As the world’s most powerful advocate, ASCAP's primary purpose is to assure that music creators are fairly compensated for the public performance of their works, and ensures that the rights of creators are properly protected, by licensing and distributing royalties for the non-dramatic public performances of their copyrighted works. ASCAP's licensees encompass all who want to perform copyrighted music publicly. ASCAP is the only US performing rights organization still 100% member- owned, and is committed to nurturing music makers throughout their careers. ASCAP does more than represent its members – ASCAP is its members. Through agreements with affiliated international societies, ASCAP also represents hundreds of thousands of music creators worldwide. Marian McPartland is a member of ASCAP, and was sponsored for membership by composer Harold Arlen
xviii ASU Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, founded in 1885 as a territorial normal school, the institution has gone through several name and purpose changes before becoming a state university in 1958. ASU's main campus is in Tempe, Arizona, at the site of the original school. The Herberger College of Fine Arts at Arizona State University is one of the nation's leading places for the study, practice and development of the arts. Jazz Studies is one of the programs offered. The School of Music's Jazz Complex consists of two faculty studios, a teaching assistant studio, two combo rehearsal rooms and a practice room for transcriptions and play-alongs. The complex houses Ravenscroft Hall, a large jazz rehearsal hall featuring a seven-foot Yamaha Diskklavier, and the JazzBird Electronic Studio that includes a fully equipped digital recording facility and an extensive MIDI lab. The college provides a vibrant, innovative and accomplished environment, one focused on collaboration and community. Academic programs - housed in the Schools of Art and Music and the Departments of Dance and Theatre - are complemented by two distinguished research units: the ASU Art Museum and the Institute for Studies in the Arts. On March 11, 2005, Marian McPartland performed at a ‘Keys to the Future’ fundraiser held at the Ritz-Carlton in Phoenix, Arizona for the ASU Herberger College Of Fine Arts School of Music.
AWRT American Women in Radio & Television. Founded in 1951, AWRT is a national, nonprofit organization that extends membership to qualified professionals, women and men, in the electronic media and allied fields. AWRT's mission is to advance the impact of women in the electronic media by educating, advocating, and acting as a resource to its members and the industry. AWRT historically has provided a voice for women in the electronic media, and for the advancement of women in the communication industry. Marian McPartland
xix received the Gracie Allen Award in 2001, when she was judged ‘Best Radio Personality’ by this organization for her hosting of Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz radio program
AZ State of Arizona in the United States of America
BBC, BBC-TV British Broadcasting Corporation, UK radio and TV, is primarily a national publicly-funded broadcaster based in the United Kingdom, which also has some international services. Some of the international services (such as BBC cable TV in the United States, Canada and elsewhere) are commercially funded, making the BBC also a multinational corporation. Before the introduction of Independent Television in 1955 and subsequently Independent Radio in 1973, it held a monopoly on broadcasting. More recent de-regulation of the British television broadcasting market has produced analogue cable television and satellite broadcasting and later digital satellite, digital cable and digital terrestrial television (DTT). Today the BBC broadcasts in almost all media and operates an award- winning internet service, bbc.co.uk, itself indicative of the corporation’s continued ability to move with the times. Marian McPartland was influenced by jazz broadcasts on the BBC during her formative years as a musician in the UK
BET Black Entertainment Television – Marian McPartland was declared ‘BET Artist of the Month’ in September 2003 ca (about a certain date) as in ‘ca 1970’= about 1970 (Latin circa)
CA State of California in the United States of America
CBS Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) is a major commercial radio and television network in the United States. CBS was one of three commercial television networks that dominated
xx broadcasting in the United States before the rise of cable television
CD-ROM Compact Disc – Read Only Memory. A compact disc that is used with a computer (rather than with an audio system); a large amount of digital information can be stored and accessed but it cannot be altered by the user
CPB Corporation For Public Broadcasting, USA, created on November 7, 1967, is a private non-profit corporation which is chartered and funded by the United States Federal Government to promote public broadcasting. CPB initially collaborated with the pre-existing National Educational Television network, but in 1969 decided to start its own network, PBS. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting provides some funding for the Public Broadcasting System and member stations of National Public Radio. A Marian McPartland fan, and employee of CPB, played a role in setting up the Piano Jazz series, still distributed by National Public Radio
CUNY City University of New York, USA. (CUNY; acronym usually pronounced ‘kyoo-nee’ or ‘coo-nee’), located in New York City, a public institution which receives funding from New York State. CUNY's history dates back to the formation of the Free Academy in 1847. The school was fashioned as a Free Academy for the purpose of extending the benefits of education gratuitously to persons who have been pupils in the common schools of the city and county of New York. The Free Academy later became The City College, the first CUNY college. From this grew a system of seven senior colleges, four hybrid schools, six community colleges, as well as graduate schools and professional programs. CUNY was established in 1961 as the umbrella institution of the municipal colleges of New York City. It is the largest urban university, and the third-
xxi largest university system, in terms of enrollment, in the United States. On May 5, 1999, CUNY awarded Marian McPartland an Honorary Doctorate
DAR National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution. Non-profit, women's organization for the descendants of individuals who aided in achieving American independence. Engaged in historic preservation
DAR Auditorium DAR Auditorium in DAR’s Constitution Hall is located at 311 18th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. The DAR is a volunteer women’s service organization dedicated to promoting patriotism, preserving American history, and securing America’s future through better education for children. It was fitting that DAR auditorium was chosen by Marian McPartland for the final concert of her January 1974 pilot Jazz in Schools education program, with the Navy band entertaining a huge audience of children
D.C. District of Columbia in the United States of America
D-Day June 6, 1944 - the date the Allied forces landed on the Normandy coast to commence the World War II invasion that liberated Europe from Axis control. The D in D-Day merely stands for Day. This coded designation was used for the day of any important invasion or military operation. For military planners (and later historians), the days before and after a D- Day were indicated using plus and minus signs: D-4 meant four days before a D-Day, while D+7 meant seven days after a D- Day. Marian McPartland waded ashore on Omaha Beach in Normanby on July 23, 1944, to begin her war service entertaining the troops on the European front
xxii DB Down Beat Magazine, as in DB Music Workshop. Based in suburban Chicago, one of the world's foremost jazz magazines for over half a century. Now online at website: http://www.downbeatjazz.com Over the decades, the magazine has instructed, recommended, criticized, praised, condemned, advocated and, in the aggregate, honored the most dynamic American music of the twentieth century. Millions have been led to records and artists on the strength of a Down Beat review, news tip, or profile. It has shaped young tastes in need of guidance and challenged older ones in need of a wake- up call. In the 1930s, before any important book on jazz had yet been written, Down Beat collected the first important body of pre-1935 jazz history. It became a monthly, then semi- monthly, a diary of the swing era as it happened, then tracked the progression of bop, pop, rock, freedom, fusion, and nineties neoclassicism, all from the perspective of the musician. Dan Morgenstern, now Director, Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University, NJ, was editor of Down Beat Magazine for many years. Marian McPartland was awarded Down Beat Magazine's ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ in September 1994
DCF Design Compatible Fidelity, recordings produced by Design Records, a budget division of Pickwick Sales Corp of Long Island, NY, later Pickwick International. The first albums under the Design imprint came out in 1957. When stereo was introduced Design claimed that their records were compatible mono/stereo, and could be played on either mono or stereo players, reissuing or simultaneously issuing about 50 of their albums on a new series, the DCF-1000 Series. This included DCF-1032 –the 1959 LP Jimmy And Marian McPartland: Thanks For Dropping By, a tribute to the famous theme from The Garry Moore Show (CBS, 1966 - 1967), as well as other popular TV themes – re-released in 1998 on Simitar Entertainment Inc
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DMA Doctor of Musical Arts - degree granted by the University of Texas (as in Roberts, J. DMA Dissertation on the music of Alec Wilder)
DVD Digital Video Disc. A high-density compact disk for storing large amounts of data, especially high-resolution audio-visual material. Holds far more information than the CD-ROMs that are used for storing music files. A DVD can hold a minimum of 4.7 GB, enough for a full-length movie. MPEG-2 is used to compress video data for storage on a DVD. DVD drives are backward-compatible and can play CD-ROMs
DVD Digital Versatile Disk is an optical disc storage media format that is used for playback of movies with high video and sound quality and for storing data. DVDs are similar in appearance to compact discs
ENSA Entertainments National Service Association, United Kingdom, was set up one year before WWII began. It toured with camp shows in every theatre of operations during World War II to provide amusement for troops both at the front abroad and on the home front. ENSA provided a training ground for many artists and writers, and its influence outlasted the conflict by many years. A host of show business legends built up their careers in barracks, mess halls, fields, and on the back of military trucks – names such as Vera Lynn, Gracie Fields, George Formby, Sir Harry Secombe and Spike Milligan. Actor Joyce Grenfell regarded her time with ENSA as an education for her as a performer, and she later described how the experience helped her to develop her ‘working muscles’, teaching her how to think on her feet and put on a good show no matter how adverse the circumstances. The Association was phased out along with National Service in 1958, and replaced
xxiv with Combined Services. Marian McPartland, then using the stage name, Marian Page, joined ENSA to contribute to the war effort in Britain as a musician and musical director et al (and others) indicates a work has several authors (Latin et alii)
ETV Educational Television
FL State of Florida in the United States of America
GI Government Issue. Originally an abbreviation for Galvanized Iron, in common American usage GI is either an adjective used to describe government-issued products such as those used by the armed forces, or as a noun referring to American soldiers, especially US Army enlisted personnel. During World War II American soldiers became known as GIs, meaning an enlisted person in, or a veteran of, any of the US armed forces (Army, Navy, Air Force or Marines), especially a person enlisted in the army. The term now more generally refers to any matter relating to Americans serving in the armed forces, as in GI Bill of Rights
GSM / GSMD The Guildhall School of Music (UK) was the first municipal music college in Great Britain. It opened on 27 September, 1880, with 62 students. Initially, all tuition was on a part-time basis, but full-time courses were introduced by public request in 1920. Departments of Speech, Voice and Acting were added, and in 1935 it became a music and dramatic arts school and was renamed The Guildhall School of Music and Drama (GSMD). It is an internationally renowned conservatoire with the purpose of artistic development, education and professional training. The School is committed to providing a learning environment in which the most gifted teachers and students can pursue performance, teaching and research with enthusiasm,
xxv energy and capacity. Marian McPartland was accepted as a student in 1935. No doubt she is pleased that, unlike in her day, when her piano teacher called jazz ‘drivel’, her old alma mater now has Jazz Studies on offer
HAL Halcyon Records catalogue number eg, HAL100
IA State of Iowa in the United States of America
IAJE International Association for Jazz Education (USA). Founded in the United States in 1968 as the National Association of Jazz Educators (NAJE), the organization was originally formed to ensure inclusion of jazz in music education programs at all levels, and to build respect for, and awareness of, the art form. The organization formally changed its name to the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE) in 1989 to more accurately reflect the true scope of the association and its global commitment to jazz education. In 2001, the name was changed to the International Association for Jazz Education to reflect the scope of the membership. Presently, members include teachers, musicians, students, music industry representatives, and enthusiasts in 35 countries. It fosters an understanding and appreciation of jazz and its heritage, provides leadership to educators regarding curricula and performance, assists teachers and practitioners with information and resources, and takes an active part in organizing clinics, festivals and symposia at local, regional, national and international levels. With the launch of its first annual conference in 1972, NAJE continued to grow and expanded its programs to include talent recognition programs, annual commissions, scholarships, an approved festivals program, and a network of state units and voluntary leaders, including many of the field's top artists and educators. In the 1990s, the Jazz Educators Journal (now named the Jazz Education Journal) was published bimonthly, formerly
xxvi quarterly, and a series of new programs was created including the Teacher Training Institute, the Artist Outreach Network, and Sisters in Jazz. The IAJE Annual Conference also saw significant expansion during this period and grew to attract in excess of 6,000 from all facets of the global jazz community. [This researcher presented papers at the 2001 and 2004 IAJE conferences in New York]. IAJE partners with a number of other non-profit organizations to present programs and services to the field, including the National Association for Music Education - MENC, the National Endowment for the Arts, the European Jazz Festivals Organization, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, ASCAP, BMI, and the Music Teachers National Association. Marian McPartland was the first woman to be awarded ‘Jazz Educator of the Year’ by NAJE in 1986, was awarded an ‘NEA Masters Award’ at the 2000 IAJE Conference in New Orleans, and has performed and participated in Panel Discussions at many annual conferences of the association
IL State of Illinois in the United States of America
IMPROV Improv Records label formed by businessman Bill Hassett and singer Tony Bennett
IN State of Indiana in the United States of America
Inc Incorporated, united or combined together to form one body ie, formed into a corporation as a legal entity and registered with a government body as such, as in Da Capo Press Inc
JVC Victor Company of Japan (or Japan's Victor Company), is a large international corporation headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, which produces audio, video, and consumer electronics products. ‘The Victor Company of Japan’ was founded in 1927
xxvii as a subsidiary of the United States' leading phonograph and record company, the Victor Talking Machine Company. In 1929, majority ownership was transferred to RCA-Victor. In 1939, JVC debuted Japan's first televisions. The Japanese company severed relations with its foreign partners during World War II. Since 1953, JVC has been owned by Matsushita. JVC was the inventor of the VHS system of video tape, with the first home machines debuting in 1976. JVC is mostly known in Japan by the Victor name, preceded by the Nipper dog, His Master's Voice logo
KHPR-FM Radio station KHPR-FM 88.1 in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA covering music entertainment. It began broadcasting Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz program in November 1988, making its first aural commitment to jazz
KJZZ Radio station KJZZ 91.5 FM, a National Public Radio Member Station, is a service of Rio Salado College, and Maricopa Community Colleges. It broadcasts news, interviews, acoustic jazz, comedy and blues in Phoenix, Arizona
KOOL New York KOOL Jazz Festival, sponsorship by Brown & Williamson, as a tobacco promotional event through KOOL cigarettes in the 1970s and 1980s as part of a strategy to establish itself as a ‘responsible corporate citizen’ in providing the financial support to continue a tradition of high quality entertainment to millions of Americans. Marian McPartland appeared as part of an All-Women Jam at Carnegie Hall in 1981 as part of the KOOL Jazz Festival
KQED Radio Station KQED 88.5 San Francisco 88.6, 89.3 Sacramento Public Radio (US). On KQED on December 6, 2000, Marian McPartland demonstrated a variety of jazz moods, and offered insights into her career
xxviii
LGSM Licentiate of the Guildhall School of Music, London, United Kingdom, a teaching qualification. By joining up with Billy Mayerl’s Claviers, Marian McPartland left her studies at the Guildhall before the qualification was officially awarded to her. However, she has a certificate acknowledging her work
LI Long Island (as in LI Students)
LP Long playing phonograph record; designed to be played at 33.3 rpm. eg, 2-LP set
MA State of Massachusetts in the United States of America
2MBS-FM Australia's first FM station, 2MBS-FM, Sydney's classical music broadcaster. A review of a Savoy Jazz reissue, SV0202 Marian McPartland: In Concert, appeared in the station magazine in 1993
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, or MGM for short, is a large media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of cinema and television programs. Its principal subsidiaries are MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios), United Artists Corporation, and Orion Pictures Corporation. It was acquired by Sony Pictures Entertainment for $US2.9 billion in September 2004. The name is taken from the three companies that formed a corporate merger to create MGM Studios in 1924; Metro Picture Corporation (formed in 1915), Goldwyn Picture Corporation (1917), and Louis B. Mayer Pictures (1918), under the control of movie theater magnate Marcus Loew
MI State of Michigan in the United States of America
xxix MIS More Informal Sessions recording label
MO State of Missouri in the United States of America
MPS Recording label in Germany
MScEcon Master of Sc Econ (as in Wilson, J, University of Wales, Swansea, MScEcon Dissertation)
NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is one of the oldest and most influential civil rights organizations in the United States. It was founded in 1909 to work on behalf of black people. Members of the NAACP have referred to it as The National Association, confirming NAACP's pre-eminence among organizations active in the American civil rights movement; little need was felt to specify which ‘national association’. The NAACP's headquarters are in Baltimore, Maryland, and it has regional offices in California, New York, Michigan, Missouri, Georgia, Texas, and Maryland. Each regional office is responsible for coordinating the efforts of state conferences in the states included in that region. Local, youth, and college chapters organize activities for individual members. The NAACP is governed nationally by a 64-member board of directors led by a chairman. The board elects one person as the president and chief executive officer for the organization. As of 2004, the organization's president is Kweisi Mfume, who has served as the leader since February 1996, and the chairman is Julian Bond. Departments within the NAACP govern areas of action. Local chapters are supported by the Branch and Field Services department and the Youth and College department. The Legal Department focuses on court cases of broad application to minorities, such as systematic discrimination in employment, government, or education. The Washington, D.C. bureau is
xxx responsible for lobbying the U.S. Government. Marian McPartland performed for the NAACP Legal Defense on November 8, 1998
NAJE National Association of Jazz Educators (now named The International Association For Jazz Education - IAJE)
NBC National Broadcasting Company (US radio and TV network)
NBC-TV National Broadcasting Company Television Network (USA)
NC State of North Carolina in the United States of America n.d. no date of publication
NE State of Nebraska in the United States of America
NEA National Education Association, USA, teachers' union
NEA National Endowment for the Arts, USA, is a federal agency created in 1965 to support American arts and artists. NEA Grants and Fellowships provide Federal Government funding for the Arts and Humanities. Marian McPartland projects were the recipient of a $20,000 fellowship grant in 2000, which she used to produce Piano Jazz radio programs in New Orleans
NEC New England Conservatory of Music, established in 1867 in Boston, Massachusetts. In April 2001, Marian McPartland was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the New England Conservatory of Music
NJ State of New Jersey in the United States of America
NMC National Music Council, United States of America
xxxi
NOLA New Orleans, Louisiana, US. ‘IAJE in NOLA’ refers to The International Association of Jazz Educators Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana in 2000
NPR National Public Radio (USA), distributor of Piano Jazz. Through NPR and NPR Satellite Service Worldwide, Piano Jazz is beamed throughout the United States and to places further afield
NY State of New York in the United States of America
OPB Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) is the primary public broadcasting network for most of Oregon as well as southern Washington. It consists of six television stations, dozens of VHF or UHF translators, and over 20 radio stations. Broadcasts include local programming as well as programs from PBS, National Public Radio, Public Radio International, and the BBC World Service. Funding cuts have meant that Piano Jazz is no longer heard in the Oregon area
PA State of Pennsylvania in the United States of America
PACE Performing Arts Curriculum Enrichment public schools program, utilizing musicians, actors, singers and dancers as artists-in-residence to develop creativity. Marian McPartland developed innovative educational programs in the 1970s under the PACE program, when she was given free reign in Long Island schools to interact with students’ classroom subjects through improvisation
PBS Public Broadcasting Service (USA) was formed in 1969 to distribute public TV programming nationally. PBS operates these program distribution services: NPS (National Program
xxxii Service), SIP (Station Independence Program, for fundraising specials), ALS (Adult Learning Service, for college telecourses), PBS Select (individually syndicated programs) and PBS Plus (fully underwritten programs). PBS also manages the public TV satellite interconnection system used by most distributors of programming for public TV stations. In new media, PBS operates PBS Video (videocassettes for schools and colleges), PBS Home Video (in collaboration with Turner Home Entertainment) and PBS Online
QRS Quintessential Record Session. Marian McPartland recorded pianist Earl Hines for her Halcyon Records label in 1970, the album entitled Quintessential Record Session (HAL 101)
R & B Rhythm and Blues, as in ‘R & B vocalist, Alicia Keys’. R & B is a musical marketing term introduced in the United States in the late 1940s by Billboard magazine. It replaced the term ‘race music’, which was deemed offensive. To some extent, the kind of music it is attached to has changed to whatever form of contemporary music is popular with African-American pop musicians and audiences. In its first manifestation, rhythm and blues was a black version of a predecessor to rock and roll. It was strongly influenced by jazz and jump music as well as black gospel music, and influenced jazz in return (hard bop was the product of the influence of rhythm and blues, blues, and gospel music on bebop). Musicians paid little attention to the distinction between jazz and rhythm and blues, and frequently recorded in both genres. Numerous swing bands also recorded rhythm and blues, bands such as those of Jay McShann, Tiny Bradshaw and Johnny Otis. Count Basie had a weekly live rhythm and blues broadcast from Harlem. Most of the studio musicians in R & B were jazz musicians and vice versa. It was not in the US but through the thriving UK pop scene of the early 1960s that R & B reached the height of its popularity.
xxxiii Without the same kind of racial distinctions that refused it acceptance in the USA, white British performers and listeners adopted this novel style of music without question, and groups such as The Rolling Stones and Manfred Mann brought it to a wider audience. The term fell into disfavor in the 1960s being replaced by soul music and Motown, but has re-emerged in recent years indicating black popular music encompassing pop heavily influenced by hip-hop, funk, and soul music. In this context, only the abbreviation R & B is used, not the full expression. It is gaining popularity nowadays
RCA The Radio Corporation of America. A trademark used by three unrelated companies to brand products and services descended from a common ancestor, The Radio Corporation of America Record Company. During World War I the patents of the major companies involved with radio in the United States of America were merged to facilitate the war effort. All production of radio equipment was for the military. The seizure of the assets of Italian-owned American Marconi by the United States Navy and the cooperation between General Electric, United Fruit and Westinghouse Electric laid the groundwork for the Radio Corporation of America, RCA. After the war many saw radio as a ‘natural monopoly’. In 1929, RCA purchased the Victor Talking Machine Company, then the world's largest manufacturer of phonographs (including the famous ‘Victrola’) and phonograph records (in Britain, ‘gramophone records’). The company then became RCA-Victor. With Victor, RCA acquired use of the famous trademark of the dog Nipper listening to His Master's Voice in the New World and other various other countries (European and Commonwealth rights to the logo were retained by Victor's independent British partner HMV). RCA-Victor produced many radio-phonographs. The company also created new techniques for adding sound to film. In 1949, RCA-Victor
xxxiv developed and released the first 45 rpm record to the public, answering CBS/Columbia's 33 rpm LP. In 1953, RCA's color- TV standard was adopted as the standard for American color TV. RCA cameras and studio gear became standard equipment at many American network affiliate television stations rpm Revolutions per minute (as in 78 rpm records). The revolution per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM or r/min) is a unit of frequency, commonly used to measure rotational speed. Examples: Gramophone (phonograph) records typically rotate at 16, 33, 45, or 78 rpm (CAV). Audio CD rotation rates vary from about 500 rpm when reading the innermost CD track, to 180 rpm when reading tracks near the outer edge (CLV)
SBS Special Broadcasting Service, Australia, multicultural and multilingual Television, Radio, Online and Language services. Offers music, documentaries, sport, education, lifestyle, comedy. Its language services cover translation, voiceover, subtitling, recaptioning in over 60 languages for print and electronic media. Under its Charter, it offers services that provide a credible source of international analysis for all Australians, reflect Australia’s cultural diversity, and encourage a shared sense of belonging and harmony. Despite its relatively small size, SBS has positioned itself at the leading edge of Australia’s new digital broadcasting industry and continues to meet the challenge of adapting to a changing media environment despite a significantly smaller resource base than other Australian media players. The film A Great Day In Harlem, featuring Marian McPartland among other musicians, was shown on SBS Television in Australia in 1994
SCERN South Carolina Educational Radio Network
xxxv SCETV/Radio South Carolina Educational Television and Radio. In 1958 South Carolina began an experiment in teaching by television at a local high school. The project was a great success and the General Assembly formally created the South Carolina Educational Television Commission in 1960. With this strong support, South Carolina ETV rapidly emerged as one of the nation’s leading educational broadcasting systems. Recognized as a major Public Broadcasting Service Production Center in the South East of America, ETV is a provider of public television nationwide and for National Public Radio supplying the educational and personal enrichment needs of teachers and students from Kindergarten to Year 12. This organization, now known as SCETV, established and has produced Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz radio program since 1978
SECA Southern Educational Communications Association, once one of the four major regional public TV networks, was succeeded by the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) in 1997. The National Educational Telecommunications Association was organized in July 1997 by members of Southern Educational Communications Association (SECA) and the Pacific Mountain Network (PMN). NETA provides representation, program acquisition and distribution, and professional development services to member stations and educational institutions across the country. Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz received a SECA award in 1992
TDK TDK was founded in Japan in 1935 to manufacture ferrite, which had been recently invented by Yogoro Kato. It later diversified to become a company that manufactures electronic materials, electronic components, and recording and data- storage media. On January 27, 1976, Marian McPartland recorded Solo Duo With Hank Jones: Live In Tokyo for ‘Piano
xxxvi Play House’ at Yuhbin Chokin Hall, Tokyo, for TDK, and the album was distributed by Trio Records
TN State of Tennessee in the United States of America
UCSB University of California, Santa Barbara, California
USO United Service Organizations, United States of America (troop entertainment during World War II). In the United States, the United Service Organizations (USO) was established to provide support to U.S. military personnel around the world. The USO is made up entirely of volunteers. Its goal is to make life easier for US soldiers. Its most publicized focus is ‘USO tours’ that include top-billed celebrities; Bob Hope was prominent throughout his career for his USO appearances. Jimmy McPartland enlisted with USO during World War II, first as a foot soldier, then being transferred to the Second Special Service Company as a musician. Marian McPartland, having transferred from ENSA to USO, met her future American husband in Belgium during war service vol. Volume, as in a bound volume comprising several issues of a series eg, a scholarly or professional journal; or a book forming one of a related set or series eg, an encyclopedia. Transcriptions of Marian McPartland’s compositions appear in published volumes
WBAI-FM New York radio 99.5. The origin of this frequency can be traced back to W75NY, which went on the air on 11/1/42 on a frequency of 47.5MH; its owner was the Metropolitan Television Corp. On November 1, 1943, the call letters changed to WABF, and in 1946 the station moved to 98.5 on the new FM dial, moving again to 99.5 in 1947. WABF went off the air in October 1953. The frequency was revived in June
xxxvii 1955 when WBAI signed on as a music station; owner Lewis Schweitzer of Broadcast Associates, Inc., donated the station to the Pacifica Foundation in January 1960. Marian McPartland's A Delicate Balance radio program was broadcast on WBAI, New York, in the 1960s and 1970s. She played records and interviewed many jazz figures on her show
WBFO Buffalo radio WBFO 88.7 FM Buffalo, New York, USA, covering general entertainment
WBGO-FM Radio station WBGO/88.3 FM, the Newark-based jazz outlet, the premier jazz radio station in the New York area. Jazz is played exclusively, and Marian McPartland’s radio program Piano Jazz, is broadcast weekly on this frequency on Thursday nights
WFIU-FM Radio station operating from the Indiana University, Bloomington. Public Radio Serving the State of Indiana
WKCR Columbia University-owned radio station WKCR 89.9, which from 1971 ran Jazz Alternatives, the oldest jazz program in the United States of America. Its assistant program director was quoted as saying, ‘Commercial radio and honest jazz programming are pretty much incompatible.' Initially broadcast on the Columbia University campus as CURC, named for the ‘Columbia University Radio Club’ in 1941. The call letters WKCR were adopted in 1947, and off-campus broadcasting began in 1956
WMAQ Radio station in Chicago, United States of America. WMAQ was originally licensed to the Chicago Daily News and the Fair Store (a Loop department store). The station was purchased by NBC in 1931 (the network's second Chicago acquisition). WMAQ became, by default, Chicago's oldest radio station in
xxxviii 1934 when Westinghouse transferred the license of KYW to Philadelphia. (WGN remained - and still remains-the city's oldest station under its original ownership). WMAQ celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary in 1997. From 1946 on, Marian McPartland absorbed jazz sounds on Dave Garroway’s famous radio show on station WMAQ in Chicago.
WNYU New York University radio station. WNYU-FM 89.1, Variety- Music, on the air since May 3, 1973
WOR Radio station WOR-AM 710 in New York, United States of America. Boasting the oldest continuously-used call letters and the only remaining three-letter calls in the NY area, WOR first went on the air on February 22, 1922, broadcasting from Bamberger`s Department Store in Newark, NJ. The WOR studios moved to NYC in 1926 and the station settled in at 710kc in 1927. Bambergers/Macy’s sold the station to General Tire (later RKO-General) in 1952, which held on to the station until 1987. The current owner Buckley Radio, Greenwich, CT, purchased the station in 1989. During 1952-1960 the Marian McPartland Trio was heard three nights a week through remote broadcasts on WOR
WPBX-FM Radio station WPBX-FM 88.3 at Southampton College of Long Island University WPBX-FM is a full power class ‘B’ radio station. One of 2 stations forming the university’s Public Radio Network. Both originate their own jazz and news programming and provide opportunities for students and community volunteers as a community service offering jazz and public radio programs. It is a valuable resource in educating students in communication arts and media, operating around the clock, 365 days a year, supported primarily by contributions from members and by underwriting grants from businesses and
xxxix individuals. Marian McPartland received a ‘Lifetime Award’ from WPBX-FM in 2002
WRTI Radio station WRTI FM 90.1 a service of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, (USA) covering music entertainment. WRTI was founded in 1948 as a campus-limited ‘carrier current’ AM radio station by Professor Emeritus John Roberts (long-time news anchor at Philadelphia’s Channel 6), who helped form the School of Communications and Theater at Temple University. The station was originally intended as a student laboratory and its call letters, RTI, stand for ‘Radio Technical Institute’. In 1953, WRTI became a licensed FM radio station, reaching out to the nearby community with limited power. In 1968, WRTI adopted an all-jazz format. When Philadelphia’s only full-time classical music station, WFLN, switched formats in 1997, WRTI added the classics just one week later, with classical music during the day and jazz in the evening and through the night, becoming the top-rated public radio station in the area, and one of the highest-rated in the nation
WVET Radio station WVET-1280 Veterans Broadcasting Company in Brighton, set up by three World War II veterans. It first went on the air on November 1947. It was part of the Mutual Broadcasting System. In 1953, WVET changed to the ABC radio network and the ownership began time-sharing with the owners of WHEC Radio for television station TV10. In 1956, Will Moyle, a disk jockey on station WVET in Rochester, NY, came to a Marian McPartland Trio concert to beg the trio to play an afternoon concert at his son’s school
WXXI-TV Radio and television network, Rochester, NY (USA), servicing the Greater Rochester area for nearly four decades. In the last several years, WXXI has developed from broadcasting one
xl television channel and two radio stations to six television channels while its community reach in radio has also expanded. FM Classical 91.5 broadcasts classical music all day, every day, plus specialty programs such as Fascinatin' Rhythm. WRUR-FM 88.5 – WXXI entered a partnership with the University of Rochester to provide NPR news and eclectic music programming. Educational Resources delivers education and information to the community through instructional programming, Ready To Learn, GED on TV, Video-on Demand, college telecourses, outreach initiatives and local educational productions
YMCA Young Men's Christian Association or the ‘Y’ is an ecumenical Christian organization founded in London, England on June 6, 1844, to provide support for young people and their activities. The YMCA now provides support for both young women and men. In many regions nowadays, the local YMCA is almost exclusively a community sports facility, having little to do with its religious roots. The ‘Y’ expanded to Australia in 1850. The first YMCA in North America opened in Montreal, Quebec on November 25, 1851, and the first in the United States on December 29, 1851. Today, YMCAs are present in 122 countries. ‘Jazz At The Y’ concert series in New York coordinated by pianist Dick Hyman has featured Marian McPartland on many occasions
xli STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP
The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted for a degree or diploma at any other higher education institution. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made.
Signature:
Date:
xlii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• I wish to acknowledge the many sources of support which I have received during the eventful journey of discovery and scholarship for this project, and without whom this work would not have reached its successful culmination.
• Foremost, for her unflagging support, pithy commentary and enthusiastic co- operation with interviews, books, music and recordings, the subject of this research, Ms Marian McPartland, (born Margaret Marian Turner, also known by the early stage name of Marian Page which she used later as a journalistic byline).
• Secondly, her overseas colleagues and sidemen who gave so generously of their time for interviews and who provided valuable material in the form of anecdotes reminiscences, personal files of correspondence, clippings and reviews: Whitney Balliett, Jazz writer/critic The New Yorker, and many books; Perce Bull, Attendee at the Hickory House during the 1950s; Joe Corsello, Drummer with Marian McPartland in the 1970s; Bill Crow, Author, Marian McPartland's longtime bass player; Jean Bach, Film producer, treasured friend of Marian McPartland; Frank Driggs, Former record producer, jazz photographer; Leslie Gourse, Author of books on jazz and women in jazz; Tad Hershorn, Archivist, Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University, NJ; Chloe Irby, Source of a wealth of career clippings on Marian McPartland; Stanley King, New York bandleader, for contact with interviewees; Dame Cleo Laine, Jazz singer UK, colleague of Marian McPartland; Joe Leheny, Jazz writer, attendee at the Hickory House during the 1950s; Les Lieber, Musician, coordinator ‘Jazz At Noon', New York; James T. Maher, Author, critic, wrote Forward to All In Good Time; Jim McNeeley, leader Vanguard Big Band, jazz pianist/arranger; Linc Milliman, Marian's bass player when she launched the Halcyon label; Dan Morgenstern, Director, Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University, NJ; Frank Nostro, Student, Marian McPartland's Long Island education programs;
xliii George Shearing, Fellow-Briton, jazz pianist colleague of Marian McPartland Rick Petrone, Broadcaster, bass player with Marian McPartland in the 1970s; Bobby Short, Jazz singer/pianist, colleague of Marian McPartland; Dr. Billy Taylor, Jazz pianist, educator, colleague of Marian McPartland; Studs Terkel, Social historian, author, longtime friend of Marian McPartland; Toots Thielemans, Jazz harmonica, colleague of Marian McPartland; George Wein, Pianist, Festival Productions, Newport Jazz Festival; Sunny Wilkinson, Sisters in Jazz Coordinator, IAJE.
• Thirdly, pianists who were willingly interviewed and generously shared their opinions on Marian McPartland’s extensive contribution to jazz music. In the USA: Joanne Brackeen, Jazz pianist, composer, recording artist, educator, guest on Piano Jazz; Barbara Carroll, Jazz pianist, composer, recording artist, guest on Piano Jazz; Ellen Rowe, Jazz pianist, composer, recording artist, educator, arranger for Marian McPartland, guest on Piano Jazz; Ellyn Rucker, Jazz pianist, recording artist, guest on Piano Jazz; Joyce DiCamillo, Jazz pianist/Steinway, recording artist, guest on Piano Jazz; Ursel Schlicht, Jazz pianist, composer, arranger, recording artist, educator. In Australia: Judy Bailey, Jazz pianist, composer, arranger, recording artist, educator; Jo Bloomfield, Jazz pianist, recording artist; Margie Fullerton, Jazz pianist, arranger, recording artist, educator; Sue Johnson, Jazz pianist, composer, recording artist, educator; Helen Jowsey, Jazz pianist, arranger, recording artist, educator; Merle Stevens, Jazz pianist, recording artist.
• Most importantly, my supervisory team (which underwent several changes due to resignation, transfer and promotion) who have expertly guided my project through its various ‘incarnations’, in particular my current Principal Supervisor:
xliv ¾ Current Principal Supervisor: Adjunct Professor Richard Vella, Creative Industries Faculty, QUT;
¾ Former Principal Supervisors: Dr Dolly McKinnon, now Department of History, University of Melbourne; Associate Professor Adrian Thomas, Creative Industries Faculty, QUT;
¾ Current Associate Supervisor: Professor Rod Wissler, Director of Research and Research Training, QUT;
¾ Former Associate Supervisor: Dr Don Batchelor, retired.
• Associate Professor Brad Haseman, Coordinator Postgraduate Research Studies, Creative Industries Faculty, for his invaluable advice and staunch support.
• The academic and general staff of Music and Sound, Faculty of Creative Industries, and the staff in the former Faculty of Arts with whom I commenced my research, especially Alison McCallum for her strong encouragement, belief in my project, expertise, and generous appraisals of my work in the final stages.
• The dedicated Librarians, Reference and Document Delivery Staff in the Kelvin Grove QUT Library, in particular Ms Alice Steiner, Music & Sound Liaison Librarian, and Ms Jill Hottes, both of whom have supported me since 1995.
• The archivists at The Rodgers & Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound within the Annex of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, in the Lincoln Center, New York; and jazz authorities at the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, for interviews, expertise, advice and assistance.
• Staff of the QUT Research Students Centre for their unsung, behind the scenes support and many kindnesses:
Ms Lois McLaughlin, Scholarships Officer;
Ms Kathy Scorah and Ms Michelle Norman, Thesis Examinations Officers;
xlv Ms Lisa Reyes, Admissions and Enrolments Officer;
Ms Stella Winn and Mr Lyle Matheson, Candidature Officers.
• Gavin Thiesfield for the Web Design, Tina Westaway for activating the Website with all its intricacies, and Simon Joslin for finalization of the Website structure.
• Finally, my family, friends and colleagues for their wholehearted support and understanding of my passion for this research project, and without whose encouragement and caring during difficult and trying times, it would not have been possible to keep going:
¾ my son Philip Hansson
¾ my New York hostess and friend, Dr Julia Ballerini
¾ American jazz friends, Dr. Neall and Arlene Strand
¾ UK jazz collector, Peter Cook
¾ For a 1970 interview tape, Norman Douglas
¾ For assistance with discography, Peter J. F. Newton
¾ For access to early recordings, Jim Barlow
¾ For access to early recordings, Rex Bruce
¾ For her academic wisdom and helpful input, Helen Yeates
¾ For making this Research Website possible, Deb Polson
¾ For her time and interest in the topic, Dr. Barbara Piscitelli
¾ For ongoing technological assistance, Peter Freeman
¾ For energetic and creative brainstorming, Jan Gillies
xlvi
I dedicate this thesis to my grandmother, Bertha Celestina Oxenham, who gave me the gift of music; to my son, Philip Hansson, for his enthusiasm and understanding of my abiding commitment to this journey; to my grandchildren, Phoebe and Jake, that they may inherit my love of learning.
xlvii Introduction:
Dimensions Of The Study: Marian McPartland was born in 1918, and to the date of the completion of this study she has been performing professionally for sixty-five years. To establish manageable dimensions for the study, it was decided to focus the research lens on the time period between 1946 (Marian McPartland’s entry into American jazz) and 1999 - the end of the twentieth century. However, to properly situate her career in the context of musical developments of the era, it was necessary to broaden the overall scope of this career overview to include Marian McPartland’s beginnings as a musician which led to her interest in jazz. For continuity, it was also necessary to survey ongoing professional engagements from the year 2000 through to 2005, as she is still actively involved in the music and many associated activities.
Marian McPartland’s career as a jazz musician is multi-dimensional. Although she is first and foremost a pianist, she has taken her music into other areas of jazz. She has been a tireless jazz educator, an outspoken advocate, a keen writer on jazz matters, and remains a major figure in the recording and broadcasting industries. All of these endeavors have attracted reportage, reviews and awards throughout her career. The dimensions of this study cover the broad range of these involvements, reinforced by comprehensive listings of support material, including a bibliography and a discography. This overview of Marian McPartland’s musical career is presented through the medium of a Website, bringing together all aspects of her history in jazz.
An Introduction and a Conclusion provide the academic framework for the Website presentation of this career overview of Marian McPartland’s career. Marian McPartland has given her consent and co-operation for this inquiry into her professional career to take place, with no focus on personal or private details.
Research Questions: In undertaking this overview of the professional career of Marian McPartland, jazz pianist, two essential questions emerged:
• Why is there a need for research into the musical career of British-born New York-based jazz pianist, Marian McPartland?
1 • In what ways has Marian McPartland made a significant or unique contribution to American jazz?
Why Marian McPartland? Interviews with Marian McPartland and a literature review revealed that her jazz career offers a valid, diverse, and comprehensive body of information which can be placed under scrutiny for the following reasons:
• Marian McPartland’s jazz career, although surveyed in interviews, industry publications and articles, has never been the ‘subject’ of doctoral research;
• Marian McPartland’s situation was unique in that she was the only British- born, white, female jazz musician on the scene when she first gained entry to American jazz in New York, and arguably still maintains that position;
• There exists a gap in literature on women in jazz, in that no doctoral study of the career of any white, female, jazz instrumentalist has been undertaken;
• Marian McPartland’s career extends over more than six decades, paralleling most stylistic movements in jazz, thus representing a continuum for a comprehensive, chronological, critical, and musical overview of such a career.
As the research developed, and facts were accumulated on Marian McPartland’s jazz career, it became obvious that this research project could make the following claims:
• That this study makes an original contribution to knowledge about Marian McPartland, jazz musician, by accurately rendering in an historical, musical and critical context, the facts on her career held in the public domain;
• That this study, through focusing on Marian McPartland’s roles in different facets of American jazz, collates the known facts of her musical career in the one place and for the first time. Hopefully, this will lead to a more in-depth knowledge of Marian McPartland, jazz musician, and to a more accurate acknowledgement of the true significance of her contribution;
• That this study, through analyses of four compositions/improvisations, will provide an insight into Marian McPartland’s style and musical thinking;
2 • That this study, through examining Marian McPartland’s musical career from an historical perspective, will provide contextualization and an understanding of her role as a woman in American jazz.
Research Steps: The rationale behind the research was to present, as clearly and as accurately as possible, the facts of Marian McPartland’s career, then to provide a critical commentary. With the aim of consolidating and validating the research, analyses and a discussion of Marian McPartland’s pianistic style, and contextualization of her situation as a woman in the jazz scene, provide evidence for an assessment of her significance in, and contribution to, the field of jazz music.
The research process can be viewed as a series of steps:
• Step One: Provide a comprehensive collection of all sources available to the author on the defining moments of Marian McPartland’s musical career;
• Step Two: Provide links between Marian McPartland’s various career roles as a pianist, composer, educator, writer, recording artist, broadcaster and advocate;
• Step Three: Provide insights into Marian McPartland’s pianistic style through analyses of four compositions, as well as a discussion of her musical approach;
• Step Four: Contextualize Marian McPartland, as a jazz pianist and as a woman in jazz, against the historical backdrop of jazz music as it evolved across the decades of her career;
• Step Five: Provide an assessment of the individual significance of Marian McPartland as a jazz musician, and draw conclusions about her broader contribution within the context of American jazz.
3 Research Methodology: To examine Marian McPartland’s long career span in detail, it was necessary to establish a methodology capable of doing justice to this artistic journey. What emerged as the study proceeded was a three-way methodology allowing for her interlocking career pathways to be documented, acknowledging Marian McPartland’s individual voice as a musician, and contextualizing her as a pianist and as a woman in jazz. Conclusions could then be drawn about Marian McPartland’s significance and her contribution to jazz.
This methodology involved data collection, musical analyses and contextualization.
1. Data Collection Ongoing contact with Marian McPartland had previously been established in 1986 as part of my networking as a professional jazz pianist, and during earlier postgraduate research in 1995-96. Over that period, documentation had also been gathered in the form of correspondence, jazz memorabilia, career clippings, books and recordings. Of particular importance were ten sessions of Marian McPartland’s radio program Piano Jazz, broadcast in 1986 on the ABC in Australia. These provided background information to her long career, which was later supplemented in the 1990s when further programs became available on CD. In 1987, Marian McPartland’s book on jazz, All In Good Time, was acquired for first-hand accounts of her representation and observations of musicians and musical trends of the time.
In 1998, when this doctoral research began, searches were conducted through libraries to augment material already in my personal collection. Further data collection continued during a visit to New York in 1999. This research trip included observation of several recording sessions of Marian McPartland’s radio program Piano Jazz, and an appearance as the first Australian guest on the program. Many days were spent at the Rodgers & Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound in the Annex of the New York Public Library listening to archived tapes of Piano Jazz interviews with other jazz musicians. Visits to Marian McPartland’s home for in-depth interviews were backed up by telephone and personal interviews with influential jazz figures recommended by her for validation of career information.
In 2001, presenting a paper on Marian McPartland at the International Association of Jazz Educators Conference again offered research opportunities in New York. During
4 visits to the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, files were made available relevant to Marian McPartland’s career. These included newspaper clippings, journal articles, correspondence and liner notes to recordings. Further observation of Marian McPartland’s professional practice as both a jazz pianist in concert, and as a pianist/broadcaster in the studio, gave insights into her performing and interviewing styles. Investigation into Marian McPartland’s status in the jazz world was further broadened through extensive library and internet searches.
A second paper on Marian McPartland was presented at the 2004 IAJE Conference in New York. This trip to the USA enabled additional research to be undertaken at the Institute of Jazz Studies, and follow-up interviews to be conducted with both Marian McPartland and her colleagues. CDs obtained in New York in 2004 provided retrospective examples of Marian McPartland’s recorded output, and the purchase of her 2003 book, Marian McPartland’s Jazz World: All In Good Time, provided further insights into her jazz milieu. This volume updated and expanded her 1987 book.
Thus, this methodology progressively accumulated material held in the public domain, adding up to a comprehensive body of work. However, access to Marian McPartland’s personal archives was not possible, and access to complete records of Piano Jazz at South Carolina Educational Television was not available for research. Public domain material was gathered from jazz repositories, published material, anecdotal sources, music transcriptions, liner notes, correspondence, and taped radio broadcasts of Piano Jazz, as well as printed and web-based sources. Besides documentation of Marian McPartland’s career in terms of her various professional roles, critiquing the significance of her body of creative work as a musician offers a musical perspective on this long and enduring career.
2. Musical Analyses:
The approach to this musical perspective involves formal analyses of four of Marian McPartland’s compositions, and a discussion of her style. Marian McPartland’s musical contribution, although reviewed in countless journals and newspapers, has never been formally analyzed in depth to this author’s knowledge. As many of her improvisations have been transcribed and published, it was decided to focus on and analyze four interpretations of her own compositions. These improvisations on four pieces are representative of different periods of her musical career and are contrasting
5 in style, and the four analyses will pinpoint essentials of her stylistic approach to these pieces. A discussion of Marian McPartland’s approach to improvising will complement the analyses, and identify characteristics that are central to her approach as a pianist. From the piano, Marian McPartland has created an opus significant in its style, quality and quantity. Her individuality as a jazz pianist can be identified through these analyses, and a discussion of her style will give insights into what makes Marian McPartland significant as a jazz pianist.
3. Contextualization: To understand the role of Marian McPartland as a woman in the context of jazz, it is essential to situate her career within the jazz scene as it unfolded around her from the time of her entry into American jazz. As many woman musicians, and particularly instrumentalists, were excluded or overlooked in historical surveys, contextualization of Marian McPartland’s participation as a woman in jazz is examined against the historical backdrop of jazz during times when attitudes towards women’s involvement in the music were gradually changing. As Marian McPartland positioned herself at the forefront of jazz through her pianism and associated activities, this contextualization defines her success and significance as a jazzwoman in the field.
Why A Website? The approaches of data collection, musical analyses and contextualization evolved into a blueprint for surveying the fluidity and spontaneity of Marian McPartland’s jazz career in the format of a Website. This concept emerged as the ideal medium for the perspective of this research, portraying and linking the themes which form the total picture of a musical life. A Website, with its different frames, had the capacity to present Marian McPartland’s career in text, images and sound, and to contain large amounts of data. Options for scrolling down, linking, enlarging images and scores, and cross-referencing the textures of different career strands were available within a Website design. These options offered the opportunity to highlight the diverse achievements of Marian McPartland, to present analyses of four of her compositions, discuss her style, and to examine her situation as a jazzwoman in American jazz.
Therefore, a Website design was chosen for two reasons:
6 • The Website provides an overview to all stages of Marian McPartland’s jazz career, her pianistic style, and her position in the context of American jazz;
• The Website brings together all available sources of information on Marian McPartland’s long and varied career in the one place and for the first time.
The three-part Website is structured to convey a series of career ‘portraits’ or ‘profiles’, thus presenting a creative overview of significant episodes and turning points in Marian McPartland’s musical career. It also contains the four analyses, a discussion of Marian McPartland’s style, and a critical essay situating her in the context of women in jazz against the historical background of the music as it evolved.
Part One of the Website surveys the various professional roles of Marian McPartland’s career. The central professional role is that of Jazz Pianist, but she has also been visible and active as a Composer, Educator, Writer, Recording Artist, Broadcaster and Advocate. The medium of a research Website enables these different phases of a complex jazz career to be cross-referenced and navigated. These different categories are structured across the decades, clarifying the peak years of activity in each area. The interlocking layers of Marian McPartland’s career on the Website frame an overall picture of the course of her musical career, drawn from interviews, literature on or by her, reviews, publicity material, anecdotes, liner notes, correspondence and radio programs. These facts are presented on the Website with minimal interpretation. Complementary to the career history is the category Public Profiles, acknowledging four of Marian McPartland’s associated roles and honors. All Sources are acknowledged, and organized by category for ease of reference, including Compositions, a comprehensive Bibliography, a Discography, and a Music Table of all Sound Samples.
Part Two of the Website provides the musical perspective for this study. It consists of formal analyses of Marian McPartland’s improvisations on four of her compositions – ‘Willow Creek’, ‘Kaleidoscope’, ‘Twilight World’ and ‘Threnody’, preceded by short descriptions of each piece containing sound and score samples. The works were chosen to represent contrasting examples of Marian McPartland’s compositional achievements and recorded output. These analyses focus on identifying Marian McPartland’s methods of transforming the building blocks of her compositions, through her various approaches to, and techniques of, improvisation. The complete
7 recording of each piece, along with the score, is embedded in each analysis. A discussion of Marian McPartland’s style follows, and gives an appraisal of her pianistic influences and stylistic development from various perspectives.
Part Three of the Website contextualizes Marian McPartland as a female instrumentalist in jazz. This critical essay on Marian McPartland’s position in the world of jazz addresses gender issues, and the ways in which she adapted to changing conditions for women in jazz as the music itself evolved across the decades.
A CD of the entire Website completes the presentation of the thesis.
Presentation of Thesis: The thesis is presented in three parts - an Introduction, a CD of the Website surveying Marian McPartland’s entire career, and a Conclusion drawn from the research.
The Website is able to accommodate different writing styles. A lively, readable style is judged best suited for narration of the fluidity of a jazz career, whereas objective, scientific language is adopted for the musical analyses. In contrast, the critical essay on Marian McPartland’s situation as a woman in jazz is more formal in style.
Throughout the thesis, the Author/Date system of referencing is used. Part One of the Website contains reference to a large volume of archived material on Marian McPartland. As many photocopied pages and press clippings had been filed without details of author, date, title and page numbers, references to these incomplete bibliographic sources are acknowledged as accurately as possible within the text as Author, Year, and Page Number, if available. Reference to Internet material is as accurate as possible, noting the date of access to each site by this researcher.
At the end of each Web document, the full citation of each reference is appended in the order of appearance in the document for clarity, rather than ordered alphabetically. Links inserted at the top of each document give easy navigation to each set of references. A complete set of References in alphabetical order is to be found in the Bibliography at the end of the Website, along with a section on Compositions, a Discography, and a Table of Sound Samples. The essay contextualizing Marian McPartland is an exception to this, adopting a formal referencing system in alphabetical order. The Introduction and Conclusion have references appended also.
8 As the subject of this research is based in the United States, American spelling is used throughout the Website, and the American convention of month/day is followed. It has been pointed out that some archival sources are missing details such as author, date, title, or page reference. This reflects the difficulties of unearthing material worthy of inclusion in the study of Marian McPartland’s long musical career. This applies particularly to some newspaper clippings or magazine articles which were removed without recording any source details then filed in jazz archives.
The author acknowledges the value of gaining access to the ‘Marian McPartland File’ and the ‘John S. Wilson File’ at the Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, USA. The author is indebted to the generous contribution of many interviewees from the jazz milieu, people of influence in the industry, and observers of her work and approach. These interviews were especially valuable as Marian McPartland is engaged in writing her autobiography, and her personal collection of career memorabilia was not available for this research as a resource. This study offers one perspective on Marian McPartland’s musical career, culled from material available to a long-distance researcher.
Summary: It is acknowledged that all available sources on Marian McPartland in the public domain have been accessed, collated, referenced, and presented in the interests of the research. As far as can be known, this thesis compiles for the first time an accumulation of rich detail on the musical career shaped by Marian McPartland across the decades. Marian McPartland’s assistance, co-operation, permission, generosity and guidance throughout this study is gratefully acknowledged. The multiplicity, scope, breadth and varied nature of Marian McPartland’s achievements in jazz are best served by presenting this overview to her jazz life in the form of a multi-part Website that includes musical analyses and contextualization. The Introduction outlines the research journey, and the Conclusion provides an evaluation of Marian McPartland’s individual significance as a jazz musician, as well as her broader contribution to jazz throughout her career. This study, then, makes a contribution to knowledge on an important figure in American jazz, pianist Marian McPartland. It also provides a model for further study in the area of jazz music and jazz musicians through this comprehensive body of research.
9 References: Data Collection:
(1986 – 2005) Personal Accumulation of Career Memorabilia on Marian McPartland
(1986) Broadcasts of Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz, Australian Broadcasting Corporation McPartland, M. (1987) All In Good Time, New York: Oxford University Press and its 2003 updated sequel, Marian McPartland’s World Of Jazz: All In Good Time, Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press (1999) Broadcasts of Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz, accessed at the Rodgers & Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound, Annex of the New York Public Library (2001 & 2004) ‘Marian McPartland File’ and ‘John S. Wilson File’, accessed at the Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey Hansson, C. (2001) ‘Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz: A Model For Jazz Education’, Jazz Research Proceedings Yearbook, International Association Of Jazz Educators Conference, New York. Analyses: (1985) Marian McPartland: Willow Creek And Other Ballads, Concord Jazz Inc (1985) Marian McPartland: Willow Creek And Other Ballads, Transcription by Ellen Rowe, Miami, Florida: Warner Bros. Publication (1991) Marian McPartland: Live At Maybeck Recital Hall Volume Nine, Concord Jazz Inc (1996) Marian McPartland: Piano Jazz, Volume 2, Transcription by Gary Versace, Miami, Florida: Warner Bros. Publications (1991) Marian McPartland: Live At Maybeck Recital Hall Volume Nine, Concord Jazz Inc (1993) Marian McPartland: Piano Jazz, Volume I, Transcription by Ellen Rowe, Miami, Florida: Warner Bros. Publications (1994) Marian McPartland: Plays The Music Of Mary Lou Williams, Concord Jazz Inc (1995) ‘“Threnody” – In Its Entirety’, Transcription by Gary Versace, Down Beat Magazine, September 1995 Hansson, C. (2004) ‘”I Hear A Rhapsody”: Essentials Of Marian McPartland’s Pianistic Approach’, Jazz Research Proceedings Yearbook, International Association For Jazz Education Conference, New York Contextualization:
(1998-2005) Literature Review on the situation of Women Instrumentalists in American Jazz, and on the Career of Marian McPartland
10 Conclusion:
The conclusion to this thesis looks back to the research questions to assess the effectiveness of the methodologies of data collection, musical analyses and contextualization in portraying Marian McPartland’s musical career in a Website.
The research was driven by two questions:
• Why is there a need for research into the musical career of British-born New York-based jazz pianist, Marian McPartland?
• In what ways has Marian McPartland made a significant or unique contribution to American jazz?
The benefits of this investigation as a means of portraying Marian McPartland’s musical career on a Website can now be defined as follows:
1. To this researcher’s knowledge, this is the first time a comprehensive collection of information on Marian McPartland’s career has been documented in the form of an academic enquiry;
2. It is also the first time her entire career to date has been put under scrutiny, and opened up to critical commentary from a diverse range of people in the industry, and from a range of media sources such as print, audio and broadcasting;
3. This Website on Marian McPartland’s musical career makes information on her range of jazz activities accessible, potentially, to a world-wide circulation;
4. Within the frames of reference of the entire PhD, the Website - as an entity - provides an adaptable model for analyzing, evaluating, and mapping the scope and impact of a musical career within the jazz world.
The value of this Website as a creative project on a jazz artist is that it represents a fluid and vibrant repository of information on Marian McPartland’s musical career. It is hoped that the Website will eventually be open to commentary world- wide, encouraging other musicians and jazz fans to engage in dialogue and debate.
11 However, although a large amount of information has been gathered, this study gives only a partial account of Marian McPartland’s musical journey over the last six decades. Research was limited to collecting and collating information available in the public domain from a long-distance perspective, without access to archives in Marian McPartland’s personal possession. Three research trips to New York offered the opportunity to add to material already gathered on this artist. It should be noted though that, however willing Marian McPartland, her jazz colleagues, and industry figures were to assist with the research, opinions obtained from unstructured telephone or personal interviews may have been distorted by memory or bias.
There was also the difficulty of accessing and compiling complete records of all Piano Jazz radio programs and guests without personally conducting research at South Carolina Educational Television/Radio in Columbia, South Carolina. This important aspect of Marian McPartland’s broadcasting career, although limited by availability of exact chronological details, has been portrayed as accurately and comprehensively as possible from information contained in books, feature articles, and Internet searches. The information provided is in the nature of a general overview of Marian McPartland’s twenty-five years of broadcasting Piano Jazz.
Archived tapes of broadcasts held at the Rodgers & Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound within the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts were a rich resource in examining and evaluating Marian McPartland’s body of work within the broadcasting industry. Career clippings and liner notes filed under ‘Marian McPartland’ and contained within the ‘John S. Wilson’ file (jazz critic for The New York Times) at the jazz archives of the Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, were of enormous value in terms of piecing together the total picture of a jazz career acted out over so many decades. These resources supplemented data already collected, particularly in the area of Marian McPartland’s early activity in jazz, and filled in gaps in what was available through library and Internet searches on Marian McPartland’s musical career.
The two questions driving the research can now be addressed from two perspectives:
• The first question raises the issue of Marian McPartland’s individual achievements, and focuses on the scope of her career;
12 • The second broader question relates to Marian McPartland’s spheres of influence, and focuses on her impact on jazz through the range of professional roles she chose to play out during her career.
Individual Achievement: The first perspective, arising from the first question, focuses on Marian McPartland’s musical career as a jazz pianist, and justifies the need for a study on her particular musical career. What emerged from the enquiry was a pattern of career growth that can now be analyzed through focusing on the scope of Marian McPartland’s individual achievements. The young Margaret Marian Turner was the least likely candidate for a career in jazz music, coming from a very proper English upper middle class family background. Elemental to her upbringing was a communal attitude to learning, and doing things properly and correctly. Family expectation was that Margaret would be trained in an occupation such as nursing or employed as a bank teller. However, through a teacher recognizing her musical potential, she embarked on classical music studies instead. As a teenager, she developed a passion for jazz music, which in the eyes of her family was extremely ‘improper’, even ‘unsavory’.
However, in her twenties and using the stage name Marian Page, she defied convention and parental expectations and began to realize her inherent potential. Following marriage to an American musician, Jimmy McPartland, in 1945 during war service in Europe, she absorbed and assimilated different styles of jazz. As Marian McPartland, she entered the jazz scene in America, and from 1946 she instinctively channelled her impressive classical technique into mastery of the jazz idiom. By 1956, she had attained a nation-wide reputation in American jazz. One critic described the phenomenon of Marian McPartland’s rising popularity:
For this tall, attractive, and quite modest English girl to be creating so much of a jazz impact in America represents an unusual triumph of personality and musical ability. Marian first had to conquer stiff family resistance to her becoming a jazz musician, and then she had the extremely difficult task of making her presence audible in the highly competitive American jazz field where even native Americans of considerable talent wait years (and frequently lifetimes) for recognition to come (Hentoff, 1956: 26).
13 In the climate of the 1950s, Marian McPartland’s reputation was based on leadership of her trio of piano, double bass and drums at the Hickory House. Recognition was one thing, but Marian McPartland proceeded to consolidate this acclaim by projecting her ability as a performer into the recording industry. Although she had made earlier recordings, she took advantage of this critical acclaim as a pianist and trio leader to record frequently with her trio of the time, building up the group’s reputation. Through her persistence in recording her trio over the decades, she is acknowledged as a pianist who has creatively used the trio format, and the repertoire she draws from, as a platform for her musical ideas and to move the mainstream forward.
Persistence was also the key to Marian McPartland’s policy of keeping her trio fresh and contemporary. After the heady days of 52nd Street in New York, jazz music was no longer fashionable. When The Marian McPartland Trio broke up through her sidemen taking other offers, she was at a loose end. She reacted against this by freelancing, setting up touring and solo engagements. An invitation to join clarinettist Benny Goodman in 1963 seemed a golden opportunity, given Goodman’s status in swing music, but he found Marian’s style too modern. His unaccommodating attitude could have derailed Marian McPartland’s career, but, after therapy, she regarded this rejection as a learning experience. She returned to the scene again as a trio leader or solo performer in a variety of venues, sometimes performing with her husband, Jimmy McPartland, in Chicago-style jazz. After an amicable divorce, Marian McPartland consolidated the career path which has defined her ever since, the role of a jazz pianist leading a trio of similar musical minds and hearts. George Wein, producer of the Newport Jazz Festival, rates the Marian McPartland Trio as a model of success in the context of the jazz trio format for the following reasons:
She’s also in a field where there’s great competition; there are a lot of trios. But her presentation, her choice of tunes, and her awareness of what might be attractive to her audience makes her very special. She is always prepared (Zych, 1997: 36).
Since 1951, Marian McPartland has consistently maintained her trio as a working group in various settings. Changes of sidemen over the years have brought different dynamics to the group, and this jazz trio endures to the present day anchored by the pianist leading a cohesive, swinging blend of musical partners performing modern jazz standards and original compositions. The trio became Marian McPartland’s
14 instrument, her ‘voice’, as Duke Ellington’s instrument was his orchestra. This implies that as well as being the pianist and the leader, she was also a band member. Her musical thinking as a band member created a sense of ensemble, three musicians playing together as one. This became Marian McPartland’s contribution to the concept of jazz trio playing, an innovation in the art of chamber jazz in the mid-1950s. The New York Times critic later put into a nutshell the quality that set Marian McPartland apart from other jazz pianists and trio leaders:
Marian McPartland is a double rarity in jazz. Not only is she one of the very few women who have made a place for themselves as jazz instrumentalists (she plays piano) but she leads a trio of piano, string bass and drums that works primarily as an ensemble rather than, as is usually the case, a setting for a virtuoso pianist. She exhibited these two unique facets early last evening in a concert at the Library and Museum of the Performing Arts in the Lincoln Center (Wilson, 1969).
From this opinion, it can be seen that Marian McPartland had not only made a name for herself as a woman in jazz, but that as a leader of a trio she had developed the concept of a jazz trio as a solid musical unit working seamlessly as an ensemble.
Marian McPartland achieved this ensemble unity with her sidemen, Bill Crow on double bass and Joe Morello on drums, when in 1955 they were awarded the honor of Best Small Group of the Year by Metronome Magazine (Simon, 1955). Jazz writer, James T. Maher, also confirmed that Marian McPartland’s years at the Hickory House laid the foundation for her sophisticated concept of allowing the ideas of the bassist and drummer to come to the foreground in musical dialogue with her pianistic ideas in true ensemble fashion. Her playing also encapsulated stylistic developments in jazz, as she tapped into her acquired musical experience:
From the Hickory House years, she has been changing and developing. Her playing is a reflection of what was happening in jazz, through her trio, through the years (Hansson, Interview of James T. Maher, November 4, 1999).
The combination of the jazz policy of the Hickory House, musically-attuned sidemen, and a receptive audience, challenged Marian McPartland to use the trio as a vehicle for experimenting with repertoire by playing jazz standards or compositions not usually featured on the piano, and by creating unusual arrangements:
15 Miss McPartland chose an interestingly adventurous program, including works by John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman that are not usually heard on the piano, which gave her challenging opportunities without distracting from the tight unity of her group (Wilson, 1969).
Again, The New York Times critic drew attention to Marian McPartland’s sense of adventure in programming. Through expanding upon the jazz trio repertoire by going beyond The Great American Songbook to hard bop jazz originals, to contemporary popular tunes, Marian McPartland could interpolate arrangements ranging from classical piano nuances to free improvisation.
In terms of individual achievement, it is useful at this point to examine some of the qualities that Marian McPartland projected into her playing. For a jazz pianist, an improvising musician, certain stylistic devices make up a solo. Some of these jazz techniques can be identified as character traits that propelled Marian McPartland’s musical growth. In the 1980s, she personally identified one aspect of her personality as a desire to ‘live dangerously’:
Jazz is improvisation of a theme, and I consider myself a jazz musician…I enjoy changing songs around – the tempo, the phrasing, any part of it really. I live dangerously – in a musical sense. It’s worth making an occasional mistake, otherwise it’s all so repetitive. If you keep playing the same thing every night it’s no longer improvisation, it’s a piece (Chemerka, 1980).
This sense of adventure is at odds with Marian McPartland’s conservative English upbringing, yet it is one of the contradictions that drives her to accommodate her experience in the way she lives her life and shapes her career. Her desire to ‘live dangerously’ motivates her to find new ways to interpret the tunes she plays so that a fresh creation emerges with each rendition. She makes a point of never playing the same tune in the same way twice. This aspect of her psyche, what might be called the risk-taking factor, means that she is fearless about modulating to different keys or experimenting with different tempos while improvising. This has challenged many of her sidemen, and is at the heart of her drive to try new things on stage. By taking musical risks, she gives a piece new life, and stimulates her mind and her fingers. This energy is contagious, and in turn inspires her musical partners to respond. Spontaneity is the essence of this approach, embedded as it is in the jazz language.
16 This spontaneous approach to music and life is at the heart of Marian McPartland’s musical career, a career ripe with improvised turning points, or musical spaces called cadences. Just as an improviser creates phrases that move towards musical goals, Marian McPartland uses her forward-thinking ability to set career goals and move positively towards new directions as a pianist. An example of this was her decision to move from a noisy environment to star as a soloist playing concertos with symphony orchestras. However, after mastering classical concertos and performing them at a high level, she decided to concentrate on playing arranged medleys of works by Duke Ellington or Leonard Bernstein, and orchestral settings of her own compositions.
It is in the nature of an improviser to know when a musical phrase has served its purpose, and it is time to let go of the idea. In the late 1970s, Marian McPartland began researching material for an encyclopedia on women in jazz, but after gathering reams of biographical detail, was forced to abandon the project when her commitment to Piano Jazz dominated her free time. However, some of the material found its way into her 1987 book, All In Good Time (McPartland, 1987). In Marian McPartland’s case, when an idea needed to be abandoned or adapted, she reached for a new goal, whether harmonic or career-changing, with no sense of having failed in the attempt.
Like any skilled improviser, Marian McPartland is adaptable to change. Just as she can divert from a musical idea mid-flight, she is flexible about taking on a new direction, and comfortable letting go of a previous pattern. She was as challenged by the opportunity to work in tandem with a double bassist at The Cookery in New York in the 1970s because of noise regulations as she was by the dynamics of a trio. Rather than remain in the safety of a home base environment, Marian McPartland’s piano performances have attracted a wide range of audiences through varied musical settings and through forays into national and international arenas. Through her career choices, she has expanded the range of her audiences and musical environments for her performances, whether in the classroom, the most intimate nightclub, or a large concert hall, or whether in the broadcasting studio, onstage with symphony orchestras, or headlining huge outdoor jazz festivals such as Nice Jazz Festival in Europe or Newport Jazz Festival in the United States.
These examples of Marian McPartland’s adaptability lead to ways in which she has known how and when to recognize and seize opportunities, or to overcome obstacles.
17 She knew instinctively that when she and Jimmy McPartland parted stylistically, it was time to branch out as leader of her own trio. She also knew when the time was right to leave Benny Goodman’s group when Goodman had difficulty communicating his expectations. Both of these decisions were made at crucial turning points in her development, and, rather than leading to abandonment of a promising career, opportunities opened up as a result. As well as seizing opportunities, Marian McPartland also regarded obstacles as challenges. When her Hickory House tenure came to an end, and her sideman left to pursue other avenues, she developed and nurtured a separate career as a solo pianist. When cigarette smoke and noisy customers in a high-class cocktail lounge became unbearable, she carved out a new career as a concerto performer with symphony orchestras. Marian McPartland demonstrated the ability to move with the times, and had the confidence to rethink her goals when opportunities or obstacles arose.
Stylistically, her compositions have also moved with the times, and since the 1960s Marian McPartland has created an opus of original works, encouraged by fellow composer, Alec Wilder. According to writer J. Tevere MacFadyen:
McPartland is a modern player, in that she neither composes nor performs within the confines of any historic genre, yet she has nothing in common with the experimental fringe (MacFadyen, 1985).
This freedom from stylistic confines brings an element of the unknown to Marian McPartland’s compositions, and she recognizes a similarity with the music of Wilder:
As for a key to Alec’s music, I don’t know. It’s rather elusive with a now- you-hear-it, now-you-don’t quality. His music doesn’t go where you’d expect it to go. It’s just Alec’s way and it’s different from anything else (Morrison, 1974).
Marian McPartland’s way is to compose pieces with enticing melodies and interesting spaces for improvisation, and her pieces play an important part in her creative approach to her repertoire. Solo, or with her trio, she has performed her material live and on recordings, to critical acclaim. The fact that other artists like Peggy Lee and Johnny Mercer have collaborated with lyrics, and singers like Tony Bennett and Sarah Vaughan have recorded her tunes, has popularized her work. Arrangements of her pieces for big bands have also given wider audience exposure to her creativity, and performances by other musicians bring new life to tunes that have been admired for
18 their structure and complexity. In the 1990s, she set a goal to co-ordinate the arranging and recording of several of her pieces on her Concord Jazz album Marian McPartland With Strings: Silent Pool, later released on SACD format. Through this recording, her enriched and enhanced compositions have been circulated widely and given airplay, and this may have influenced younger musicians to include her challenging pieces in their repertoires.
To get to this point, Marian McPartland demonstrated a pattern of constantly challenging herself, as well as a sense of purpose and persistence during fluctuations in the jazz performing and recording industries. She steered her own career so that both she as a soloist, and her trio as a group, steadily maintained a high profile within the jazz fraternity and in the music industry. It could be claimed that many jazz pianists have found a style, composed, recorded, and forged a successful career. However, it is Marian McPartland’s concept of her trio as a ‘voice’ for expressing musical ideas, along with her imaginative and innovative approach to her repertoire that adds up to the body of creative work that is uniquely hers. This is verified by the variety, volume and quality of her recorded output over the years.
Marian McPartland has never sounded like any other pianist, and her individual style is a subtle distillation of all the influences and experiences that have shaped her stylistically. It could be said that she is ‘an exemplar in using her musical experience creatively’ (Hansson, Interview of James T. Maher, November 4, 1999). These two aspects go hand in hand – the creative approach to articulating a repertoire, and the artistic approach to orchestrating a musical career.
Diversification: A model, or pattern, of individual achievement has emerged from surveying Marian McPartland’s musical career as a pianist. The four attributes of risk-taking, goal- setting, adaptability, and decision-making at turning points, sum up her profile as an improvising musician, and are the guiding pillars of her career. From this profile, it is possible to identify ways in which she projects these qualities into other areas of jazz involvement, and some of the themes that emerged from this study can now be revisited. Just as Marian McPartland branches out as a pianist by keeping current with new musical trends and unusual repertoire, she has transformed her career over
19 the decades by becoming involved in education, jazz writing, and in the recording and broadcasting industries.
Many jazz musicians have spent their entire lives perfecting their art on their instrument without expanding into other areas. Other musicians have been devoted to composing, arranging or private studio teaching, but largely within their own environment. Several educator/pianists have abandoned performing in public to concentrate on jazz education in schools and academies. However, Marian McPartland has extended her musicianship into the community, while still actively performing. Two aspects of her approach to a multi-dimensional career are:
1. Marian McPartland was able to identify a need for action in areas of jazz education and the recording industry, and by writing about and broadcasting jazz she reached out to the wider community;
2. Marian McPartland took the innovative approach of using her music to set up a relationship between what she does at the piano and how she projects that musicianship into other areas of jazz activity.
Through these career moves, Marian McPartland developed a lifelong engagement with the jazz music industry at large. She has become an expert at balancing the interlocking layers of her career, allowing them to flex and flow. Being what was once described as a ‘one-woman industry’ she draws on the power of networking with other musicians and persons of influence, constantly keeping her career buoyant. She accepts the responsibility of going beyond the instrument into different contexts to perpetuate her legacy as a musician. She devotes herself to developing a broad range of talents beyond music performance, and has proved over the years that she has the vision to command these processes and retain artistic control.
In this way, she goes beyond the scope of many other jazz musicians, including her husband, Jimmy McPartland, who stayed well within his comfort zone. Yet Marian McPartland has strengthened rather than dissipated the power of her musical career by diversifying. She has built up an entrepreneurship in a sense, and, through that managerial role, has been able to influence her own career path, and launch many promising careers. According to bassist Michael Moore:
20 When I was working with her, we’d go to a concert in, say, Rochester, and the place would be packed – not because she was Marian McPartland, but because she is so smart about business. Everyone has mailing lists nowadays, but then, when she had her own label, she had a mailing list for every town she played in. She’d send notices out in advance and the place would be packed, she’d spend all her breaks talking to everyone. Marian did all of this promotion by herself. Most musicians at that time expected the labels to do the promotion, but Marian took it upon herself and she worked very hard. She could help a lot of young people with the business end of the music. She’s a natural promoter and very straightforward (Zych, 1997: 36).
Marian McPartland represents a role model for musicians who want control over their own careers, and seek to create and develop their own audiences. Once on that multi- dimensional path, Marian McPartland demonstrated her influence on a public scale through her input to education, writing, recording and broadcasting.
In the field of jazz education, Marian McPartland was a pioneer. Her whole approach to classroom jazz began after a casual invitation to perform with her trio at a school in Rochester, New York. This event was the catalyst for her entry into jazz education at a time when programs introducing jazz into schools had not yet been formalized. Marian McPartland immediately identified a need for children of all ages to be exposed to music through the visual, oral and aural impact of jazz. She inaugurated a series of jazz programs and workshops across all levels of education, from kindergarten to university. On an entertainment level, her approach was to take jazz into the classroom to introduce the students to the ‘beat’ and the ‘feel’ of music that was new to them. This policy came about through her realization that rock’n’roll on radio was a very poor musical diet for American youngsters, both black and white. Later, at a more advanced educational level, she and her fellow-musicians began improvising on classroom subjects like literature, drama, typing, languages, and even science, to bring the school curriculum to life in creative ways that transformed teaching and learning. Through her groundbreaking programs in schools and colleges, Marian McPartland incorporated jazz music into education in a way that made the music come alive, through recognizing the power of jazz to inspire creativity. She also developed potential future audiences, many of whom still acknowledge her influence (Nostro, Class of 1973).
21 In the area of journalism, Marian McPartland has been a jazz scribe since 1949 (McPartland, 1949). She wields her pen to influence people’s thinking by profiling jazz as a music of choice. Through her writings on women in jazz, she has developed a powerful platform for jazz emancipation. She weighs in to debates by drawing attention to circumstances preventing jazz musicians from doing their best work, by pleading for jazz as a force for good in young people’s lives, and by railing against funding cuts for jazz broadcasting. Marian McPartland writes from two perspectives – musical knowledge and shrewd observation of human nature. She ‘hears’ inside the music like a jazz musician, and recounts events and personalities anecdotally like a jazz fan and sideline observer. Author of two books, she has portrayed the times as she has experienced them, from the Hickory House days, to her time with Benny Goodman, to painting an historical picture of the lives of women in jazz. Her writings have encapsulated jazz history, and brought to vivid life the venues, the musicians, their lives and times, from her privileged point of view. Marian McPartland’s writing skills elevate her into the echelon of select jazz journalism within the publishing industry. Her pieces have appeared in trade papers, magazines, newspapers, liner notes, books and encyclopedias, and have enlightened readers and jazz fans world wide. As well, she established a publishing company for her own compositions, as an arm of her record company, Halcyon Music.
In the 1960s, when rock’n’roll was rampant, jazz musicians were no longer regarded as commercial money-spinners by large record companies. Several jazz musicians, among them pianists George Shearing, Blossom Dearie and Mary Lou Williams, overcame this rejection by forming their own labels. Marian McPartland joined in this defiant resistance movement by forming her own company, Halcyon Records, and she has produced an impressive catalogue on this label. As a record producer, Marian McPartland identified the need for what is now called a ‘boutique’ label to provide opportunities no longer available from the big record companies. While other jazz artists established their own labels as a survival mechanism, what was distinctive about Halcyon Records was that Marian McPartland had a wider purpose and a vision beyond recording herself. Her stated aim for the label Halcyon was to give exposure to artists who had been dropped from major catalogues so that a recorded history of these artists would be perpetuated. Some of these were pianists Earl Hines, Willie ‘The Lion’ Smith, Dave McKenna and Jimmy Rowles.
22 Marian McPartland also saw the need to showcase artists who may have fallen into obscurity, and a special project Now’s The Time was set up to record women musicians in 1977 and to shine the spotlight upon their achievements (the first Women’s Jazz Festival did not take place until 1978). At the helm of Halcyon Records, Marian McPartland gave opportunities to musicians, both established and emerging, both male and female, who needed the exposure she was in a position to give through her recording company. As a company, Halcyon Records still exists, and Marian McPartland signed up with the Concord Jazz Inc label in 1978, a move that further consolidated her performing and recording career.
As a jazz broadcaster, Marian McPartland continued her role as an advocate for the music. When asked in 1978 to host the radio program, Piano Jazz, she began by interviewing a selection of major jazz pianists, and playing duets with them. Her personally chosen guest list expanded in 1986 to include musicians other than pianists, and the program continues today with a diverse range of guests. Despite funding cuts to some areas, through Marian McPartland’s stewardship, Piano Jazz is beamed to thousands of listeners each week throughout the United States, and further afield through satellite broadcasts. Marian McPartland possesses a range of practical, technical, analytical, critical and musicological skills which she uses to draw out her guests naturally to expound on their influences, their approach to playing jazz, and to give opinions on issues pertinent to jazz. These programs offer intimate seminars on ways and means of contemporary jazz piano.
This musical and conversational dialogue is in the nature of an improvised exchange, and Marian McPartland is skilled in harnessing the flow of what emerges, allowing musicians to elaborate on their background and approach while avoiding any rambling. As well as anchoring the show as host, she also provides the stylistic barometer against which other musicians can be evaluated. Eager to be inspired by ideas from other pianists and slot in musically to their chosen style, she enjoys being challenged by surprises in repertoire or arrangements. The educational value of these programs is a testimony to Marian McPartland’s dedication to taking a pedagogical perspective when questioning her guests on their stylistic approach. In the wider context of jazz broadcasting, the unique quality of Piano Jazz goes beyond interviewing and playing recordings, and has set a benchmark for being accessible to
23 musicians and fans alike. One critic has written that, ‘McPartland has become a conduit for the spreading and channelling of a wide range of piano styles. This has perhaps been her own strongest contribution’ (Lyons, 1983: 168). In terms of an historical record, the conservation of recorded broadcasts at the Rodgers & Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound and within the Library of Congress represents an archive of recorded jazz history for posterity.
This research has surveyed the scope of Marian McPartland’s activities as a musician, educator, writer, recording producer and artist, and broadcaster. Through her overlapping roles, Marian McPartland has taken her music out into other spheres, and has expanded audience appreciation across a wide spectrum of media sources.
Spheres Of Influence: The second perspective, based on the second research question, focuses on Marian McPartland’s spheres of influence, and draws conclusions from the evidence presented in the Website about the impact of her musical career. From the areas of interrelated activity she engaged in, both Marian McPartland’s impact on the jazz industry and her significance as a jazz musician can be evaluated. Although moving with the ebb and flow of jazz styles, Marian McPartland has carved out a pattern of continuity and consistency that can be mapped.
From a global perspective, Marian McPartland’s career roles and advocacy have had an impact on four broad areas of the music world:
1. The Performing Arts Industry;
2. The Jazz Academy;
3. The Jazz Fraternity;
4. The Medium of Radio.
Looking first at the overall performing arts industry, through her performing alone Marian McPartland has expanded audiences worldwide through spreading her talents so widely across the globe via live performances, recordings, and on radio. Through her preparedness to be interviewed before performances, Marian McPartland has not only reflected on her own career as a musician, but has used these pre-concert
24 dialogues to influence thinking on jazz styles, jazz policies, and funding for jazz. She has offered employment opportunities to countless bass players and drummers in her trios, guiding and training them in her ‘graduate school’ of jazz. She has also influenced repertoire, through her innovative approach to stylistic interpretations, through drawing from both classical and contemporary music, and through the quality of her own compositions, extensively recorded by herself and others.
Marian McPartland has had a major influence on the recording industry as a producer with vision, with the determination to see a project through. By setting up her own marketing machine for Halcyon Records, Marian McPartland became aware of the power of networking in selling her product. By encouraging people to purchase jazz recordings, she was supporting the artists who made the recording, and developing a wider audience for jazz. She claims to have broken even in this successful venture, even after the passing of the wealthy industrialist who bankrolled the idea initially. Combining both her recorded output and her radio broadcasts, Marian McPartland has increased jazz exposure in the marketplace, as well as developing a fan base with a deeper understanding of jazz through being exposed to quality music. Better informed audiences are more likely to support the music industry rather than the sports industry, and better informed government bodies are more likely to allocate funding for recreation to music when influenced by people like Marian McPartland lobbying for funding and exposure for jazz within the community.
Jazz music, once assimilated orally and aurally from recordings or on stage, is now institutionalized. Within educational institutions offering jazz studies at an academic level, Marian McPartland has been skilled and effective as a teacher, and forceful and influential as a spokesperson. In the classroom situation, she actually performed the history of jazz at every lesson, and her workshops and masterclasses are in themselves courses in jazz appreciation. She has performed and conducted workshops at many universities, and has been a member of the teaching faculty at countless Summer Jazz Camps. Many of Marian McPartland’s jazz improvisations on her own compositions have been transcribed and published, and these scores are an invaluable resource for analysis and performance, along with her comments on interpretation. She is a walking encyclopedia of jazz history, having immersed herself in American jazz since 1946, and having spread the gospel of jazz to many eager students.
25 Marian McPartland has also used her writings, interview opportunities, the concert stage, and her role as a broadcaster, as platforms for sharing knowledge and publicizing jazz. Her jazz education programs have revolutionized the way school curricula can be taught creatively when combined with jazz music. She has actively sought out ‘hands on’ experience of working with young musicians, and she has recognized talent and ignited many careers. She has contributed archival material to the Alec Wilder Archives in Rochester, and to the Jimmy and Marian McPartland Listening Library at Port Washington’s Schreiber High School. Much of Marian McPartland’s personal jazz history is archived at the Institute of Jazz Studies in New Jersey. Programs of Piano Jazz are also archived within the Rodgers & Hammerstein Archives Of Recorded Sound annexed to the New York Public Library, and lodged with the Library of Congress, giving the series historical significance and making it available to potential jazz scholars for future research. SCETV (producer of Piano Jazz) is presently completing an Archive Project of converting reel-to-reel and DAT tapes from the entire series to CD to update the collections of both the New York Public Library and the Library of Congress by the spring of 2006.
Marian McPartland occupies a pivotal role in the jazz fraternity. She is not only a performing member, but is a senior stateswoman willing to act as a custodian for the music, and her articulate advocacy has been powerful and constant. Through her writings, she has given both publicity and exposure to many other musicians. She is known for drawing attention to younger musicians and has been especially helpful to women artists needing encouragement in the world of jazz. Her opinion-pieces have opened up many issues for debate within the jazz fraternity. One such article was written in 1950 for Down Beat Magazine when union bans prevented British musicians from visiting the USA and vice versa (McPartland, 1950). Perhaps Marian McPartland’s major impact on the jazz community has been her advocacy for women musicians. Early in her career, she realized some of the difficulties women encountered, and has since used every available media source to focus attention on women instrumentalists, and to encourage them to take charge of their careers and claim their right to express themselves through the jazz language. Through her outspokenness, Marian McPartland has taken the position of defending the less advantaged, of promoting jazz over other types of music, and of supporting other artists in need of encouragement.
26 Through the medium of radio, Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz has created a weighty historical audio documentation of jazz figures and jazz styles. Aware of the power of the microphone to educate, she poses incisive questions to her guests, breaking down the mystique of jazz through conversational and musical exchanges. She has also extended the range of her listenership by making jazz accessible to people of all ages. Piano Jazz is broadcast weekly on 246 stations nationwide, and attracts an estimated total audience of 415,000 listeners. The show has carriage in 44 US States and in Saipan, Guam, and Puerto Rico. The series is also heard further afield via NPR worldwide, a satellite broadcast (www.myetv.org). By interrogating the jazz idiom and its practitioners on Piano Jazz, Marian McPartland has dispensed knowledge on matters of background, influences, style, technique, repertoire, history and philosophy. The weekly program has also transported listeners into the inner sanctum of jazz, giving insights into how jazz musicians think and play, and how their lives have been molded by jazz. This strengthens the sense of ownership possessed by so many jazz enthusiasts towards the music and their favorite artists, and is Marian McPartland’s generous gift to the world of radio listeners. Countless younger and older artists have gained audience exposure on her program, and she offers an informative and entertaining stance on the history of jazz, its practitioners, and the jazz repertoire. George Wein, producer of the long-running Newport Jazz Festival, summed up the impact and significance of Piano Jazz in terms of Marian McPartland’s dedication to the piano, the program, and to her audiences:
With Piano Jazz, Marian has done more for the jazz piano than anyone else. It’s more than an education – it’s the glorification of a great instrument and the scope of what it means and what it can do as a solo instrument, a rhythm instrument, or as a band instrument….Truly, her main impact has been with her radio program. It educates listeners about the scope of jazz piano, which encompasses everything from Jelly Roll Morton right to the avant garde. There are so many voices in jazz piano. And Marian just grows all the time because she never stops listening to the other players out there. She’s also unselfish. If I call her to perform at a benefit, she’ll be there (Zych, 1997: 37).
Broadcaster, author, interviewer and social historian, Studs Terkel, believes that Marian McPartland’s greatest contribution to jazz is ‘her very presence among both jazz artists and fans’ (Hansson, Written Interview of Studs Terkel, 1999). Thus, by her very presence, and accessibility on Piano Jazz, the jazz music world is richer.
27 Marian McPartland’s Significance: This overview to Marian McPartland’s individual achievements and her impact on the jazz scene has demonstrated a successful career path and a world of influence that can be categorized from common themes emerging from the Website. Qualities that distinguish this artist are apparent in the following categories:
• as a musician, Marian McPartland is both a pianist and a composer;
• as an educator, Marian McPartland is both an innovator and an animateur;
• as a writer, Marian McPartland is both a chronicler and provocateur;
• as a recording artist, Marian McPartland is both a producer and a promoter;
• as a radio broadcaster, Marian McPartland is both a catalyst for disseminating jazz styles and a historian;
• as an advocate, Marian McPartland is both a role model and a mentor.
These qualities extend beyond the realm of career advancement for purely individual satisfaction, and clearly demonstrate Marian McPartland’s desire to inform, influence and inspire students, readers, listeners, musicians of whatever age, gender or color, industry moguls, and funding bodies.
What is most significant about the musical career of Marian McPartland is that she has been able to effect changes in her own career path and within the jazz industry through the power of her ideas. She continually demonstrated that, through her musical ideas, she was able to develop audiences, and to match the mood of her audiences with her repertoire and her expression of it. By combining the music she makes with her roles as educator, writer, producer, broadcaster and advocate, she has used her experience creatively step-by-step with parallel crises in jazz. The potency of Marian McPartland’s past experiences, musical and non-musical, along with her intuitive capacity for invention, has molded her into the jazz being she has created for herself. She has used opportunities, or overcome barriers, in order to create, structure, and maintain this multi-layered career. She has set standards of networking and diversifying to consolidate and refresh her career, keeping it buoyant through the standard of her musicianship, combined with her energy, elegance, wit and a sense of
28 the unpredictable – what she calls ‘living dangerously’. If there is a goal she has not yet achieved, it is to appear a guest soloist with the Boston Pops Orchestra (Teachout, 1998: 37). Marian McPartland has certainly proved that she has the technique, the repertoire, the experience and the enthusiasm to take on such a project.
Marian McPartland has also used her gender creatively, recognizing the position she occupies as a high-profile woman musician, and using that position to influence thinking on injustices. However, she did not need to use her gender as a wedge into the performing industry, as that step was facilitated by Jimmy McPartland initially. Once she gained entry, she had the talent to prove her mettle in the toughest of musical environments. It is interesting to observe that, except for special projects, Marian McPartland has generally chosen male musicians to form her trios, citing a preference for the chemistry of the mix of female and male musicians rather than that of an all-women group.
Many previously disadvantaged musicians, both female and male, owe their success to Marian McPartland recognizing their potential. She has outlived many of her musical colleagues, and this is a tribute to her tenacity and endurance, contrary to the choice of some veteran musicians to scale down their activities, or retire from public performance. There is no doubt that Marian McPartland’s career path as a jazz pianist has set a benchmark for future generations of jazz musicians to be confident of success in their chosen profession. The young English girl who defied all the conventions to become a jazz musician has given ‘piano jazz’ a new meaning in American jazz. Her significance is summed up in this paragraph:
Pianist, bandleader, composer, educator, radio personality, and author, Marian McPartland is aptly dubbed ‘The First Lady of Jazz’. With a long and storied career that has outlived numerous stylistic changes in jazz, the classically trained McPartland has released more than one hundred recordings as a leader. Her integrity and acumen on both the artistic and entrepreneurial fronts of the music business have made her a role model for men and women alike in the jazz idiom (Enstice and Stockhouse, 2004: 231).
Marian McPartland has personally used her relationship with the piano as a metaphor for living a fully realized jazz life. Finally, through sharing the legacy of her combined musical experiences and involvements, Marian McPartland has exerted an enduring and positive influence on the jazz scene, musicians, and audiences.
29 References: Hentoff, N. (1956) ‘British Gift To Jazz’, Record Whirl, February, pp. 26-27
Zych, D. (1997) ‘Marian McPartland: True Devotion’, JazzTimes, vol. 27, no. 8, October, pp. 31-37
Simon, G. T. (ed.) (1955) Metronome Yearbook
Wilson, J. S. (1969) ‘Marian McPartland At The Library And Museum Of The Performing Arts’, Typed Review, The New York Times, April 8
Hansson, C. (1999) Interview of James T. Maher, New York, November 4
Chemerka, B. (1980) ‘After 40 Years, Improvisation Is Still The Keynote For Jazz Pianist Marian McPartland’, Jazz Interview, Unknown source
McPartland, M. (1987) All In Good Time, New York: Oxford University Press
MacFadyen, J. Tevere (1985) ‘Marian McPartland…A Reflection’, The Artistry Of Marian McPartland, Miami, Florida: Warner Bros. Publications, pp. 3-4
Morrison, B. (1974) ‘Jazz Star Envies That Wilder Touch’, The News And Observer, April 21
Sudhalter, R. M. (1997) Liner notes to Marian McPartland With Strings: Silent Pool, Concord Jazz Inc
Nostro, F. (2000) Class of 1973, Northpoint Junior High School, Long Island
McPartland, M. (1949) ‘Crowds Jam Paris Festival’, Down Beat, July 1
Gottlieb, A. (1977) Liner Notes to Now’s The Time, Halcyon Records
Lyons, L. (1983) The Great Jazz Pianists, New York: Da Capo Press Inc
McPartland, M. (1950) ‘British Cats Fight To Sound Their “A”’, Down Beat, April 7
Unknown author (2005) ‘Encores And Classics From The Vaults Of Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz’, Available: http://www.myetv/org/radio/programs/piano_jazz/index.cfm [January 4, 2004]
Hansson, C. (1999) Written Interview of Studs Terkel, Chicago, 1999
Teachout, T. (1998) ‘The Grande Dame Of Jazz, But Don’t Tell Her That’, The New York Times, March 15, pp. 2, 27
Enstice, W. and Stockhouse, J. (2004) ‘Interview With Marian McPartland’, Jazzwomen: Conversations With Twenty-One Musicians, Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, pp. 230-251
30 APPENDIX 1:
List Of Publications: Hansson, C. (1998) ‘Keeper Of The Keys’, Quarterly Rag, [Sydney Jazz Club], no. 86, January [issued July 1998], pp. 5-8 Hansson, C. (1998) in Newton, P. J. F. (ed.) ‘Jazzwoman’, Word Jazz Down Under, Sydney Hansson, C. (1999) ‘New York Jottings’, Bellingen Jazz Society Newsletter, New South Wales, December, pp. 17-19 Hansson, C. (2000) ‘Review Of Dreyfus, K. (1999) Sweethearts Of Rhythm: The Story Of Australia’s All-Girl Bands And Orchestras To The End Of The Second World War, Sydney: Currency Press, in Journal Of Australian Studies: Vision Splendid, Issue 66, pp. 223-225 Hansson, C. (2000) ‘Review Of Johnson, B. (1999) The Inaudible Music: Jazz, Gender And Australian Modernity’, Sydney: Currency Press, in Journal Of Australian Studies: Vision Splendid’, Issue 66, pp. 225-226 Hansson, C. (2001) ‘Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz: A Model For Jazz Education’, Jazz Research Proceedings Yearbook, International Association Of Jazz Educators Conference, New York, January, pp. 19-25 Hansson, C. (2001) ‘Jazz A Womanly Thing? A Woman’s Place Is In The Band’, Bikwil, Sydney, no. 23, January, pp. 3-6 Hansson, C. (2001) ‘In Search Of Jazz’, Quarterly Rag [Sydney Jazz Club], no. 98, January-March, pp. 22-23 Hansson, C. (2001) ‘In Search Of Jazz’, Bellingen Jazz Society Newsletter, New South Wales, June, pp. 13-15 Hansson, C. (2001) ‘Jazz In Black And White’, Bikwil, New South Wales, no. 26, July, pp.13-14 Hansson, C. (2001) ‘All That Jazz In New York City’, Perform, Brisbane, June- August, p. 5 Hansson, C. (2001) ‘To Each Her Own’, Jazzchord, Sydney, August/September, pp. 7-8 Hansson, C. (2003) ‘White Woman Of Jazz’ in Jorgensen, C. (ed.) You’re A Legend!: Short Biographies, Stories and Poems About Who And What Has Inspired Legendary Queenslanders, Brisbane: Blake Publications, pp. 158-161 Hansson, C. (2004) ‘”I Hear A Rhapsody”: Essentials Of Marian McPartland’s Pianistic Approach’, Jazz Research Proceedings Yearbook, International Association For Jazz Education Conference, New York, January, pp. 64-78 Hansson, C. (2004) ‘Under A Blanket Of Snow’, Bellingen Jazz Society Newsletter, New South Wales, April, p. 10