Health & Fitness
Gifted Musician and Port Resident Marian McPartland Dies
The many gifted voices of Port Washington resident Marian McPartland are silenced with her passing.
A musical voice can refer to a singer like Tony Bennett. Or it can refer to a voice in an orchestra of voices -- like Arturo Sandoval's trumpet.
In the case of the late Marian McPartland, several voices that have sung together in perfect harmony have been silenced.
It is a big loss in our small town.
The Port Washington resident who died on 20 August had been known to some as a jazz pianist, to others as an educator, record producer (Halcyon Records), and composer -- and to still others as the host of a long-running NPR radio show. That show, which aired from 1978 until 2010, and its precursor show on WBAI that began in 1964, introduced many listeners to jazz. "Piano Jazz" was heard on 200 radio stations around the world, and focused mainly on pianists, but included jazz vocalists and other instrumentalists as well.
"Piano Jazz" no doubt built the largest audience for Ms. McPartland, but she was a capable musician herself who was drawn in her formative years to the most inventive dimensions on the jazz scene. Hers was a career that spanned her time entertaining Allied troops during World War II and interviewing luminaries like Ramsey Lewis. She continued to record albums like the "Single Petal of a Rose: The Essence of Duke Ellington" (2000) and to perform with other jazz greats such as Dave Brubeck.
In 2006 Ms. McPartland hosted Arturo Sandoval on "Piano Jazz." Sandoval, who performed at Port Washington's Landmark last past April, was featured playing with McPartland on the broadcast. A few short years earlier and Port audiences might have been treated to such a duet at the Landmark.
Listen to some of Marian McPartland's compositions at an NPR compilation here. Hear her playing with the likes of Elvis Costello, Peggy Lee and Sarah Vaughan. But to truly understand the breadth of her vision, listen to her tribute to Rachel Carson [video] , in which she combined her love of music and an environmentalist's reverence for the planet.
A planet that is smaller without her in it.
-@darkviolin
