Theme 3: Legacy and Impact
Marian McPartland’s legacy lies deep in her success on Piano Jazz, but her impact and influence on the young minds of jazz is too frequently forgotten. McPartland was able to be given a grant for three months to travel to Washington D.C. and teach the children in public schools how to play jazz. She recalls it as “one of the great experiences of my life” (line 488). She was able to get the kids in these schools to not only learn songs but to learn how to improvise and gave them the chance to improvise with the Navy band. With a laundry list of achievements and success, McPartland’s impact of teaching children the art of jazz and giving them unforgettable experiences was one her largest.
The successes of Maria Schneider are of no comparison to the passion she has by impacting her students and compelling them to consider jazz a natural and not complex art. Schneider is a huge proponent of finding oneself and creating one’s own path, so she prides herself on teaching her students how to be individuals. She tells her students, “your job is to become you to the deepest degree that you can, and that’s where your beauty and that’s where your mastery is, in developing yourself” (line 282). She continues to say, “I think so often it’s really easy to look at other people and say oh he’s a master, I have to try to be like that, I have to follow him. No, you have to find the depth of yourself and be disciplined and develop yourself to the same degree that those people were disciplined and developed themselves” (lines 283-286). Having someone who is such a strong supporter of creating one’s own path is so influential in the minds of young students and creates an everlasting impact on how they continue on with not only their music but also their life choices and attitudes. It is this wisdom that Schneider learned throughout her journey in jazz that leaves her legacy not only as the receiver of lists of awards, but as a woman in jazz that left a huge mark on the lives and minds of younger generations.
Jane Ira Bloom is an incredibly successful jazz artist and composer. She composed work for films, television shows, dance groups and more. In addition, she has won many awards for her compositions. She did very innovative work by combining different types of media such as painting with music and movement. By doing this, she explored a new genre of art by creating multi-media pieces. Bloom also spends her time taking black and white photography and practicing Tai Chi which helps her, “gets in line with my feeling about the physicalness of things that I feel, you know the old sound body, sound mind, you know, when I’m physically aware I feel mentally aware too for playing and clear, empty, you know what I mean, to play” (725-728.) Bloom now lives in NYC and is a professor at at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, which is a sub-school of Parsons. She works with students giving back to aspiring artists and helping them to achieve their musical goals. She also continues to play gigs in NYC because she believes that musically, she belongs in NYC. Blooms long list of accomplishments speak for themselves, but her work to help aspiring students of music displays her dedication to helping others.